7 Changes to the Way You Use Social Media That We'll Likely See in 2015 ...

One of the big social media changes in 2015 is that it's becoming like your wallet! Big social networks are trying to compete with other payment services like Apple Pay and PayPal! In 2014, Snapchat rolled out its "Snapcash" feature, allowing people to send money to each other through chat! Facebook is also set to have a payment feature in their Messenger app, allowing their users to send each other money using just their debit card information, free of charge. You can definitely expect to see other major social networks trying to find ways to handle your transactions.

Every year, new apps are released. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail. What's been noticed is that interest-based networks have a much better chance at succeeding because it always finds a big audience. Apps like Foodie and Fitocracy worked great because they catered beautifully to the needs of their users. This year, you can expect a lot more interest-based apps that'll make your life seem a bit more convenient.

I'm a fan of anything that makes shopping more accessible! One of the changes you can expect in social media in 2015 is e-commerce. You've probably noticed that Twitter and Facebook have already begun using beta-testing “buy” buttons, which appear alongside certain tweets and posts. This allows users to make purchases quick and easy, without having to ever leave the social network!

Nowadays, it seems like everything you purchase somehow manages to link to your social media accounts. Home appliances like thermostats, refrigerators, and bathroom scales can now collect data and send it off wirelessly to the Internet! The same can be said about some new fitness bracelets and smart watches. Things seem pretty advanced already but in 2015, you can expect it to be done in even more sophisticated ways. Your smart devices will get smarter because it'll start tracking your activities and interactions with friends and followers. Once it knows that, it can start to respond more accordingly!

No one wants to have their every move on social media being documented and broadcasted to the world, right? People want privacy and anonymity and throughout 2014, there's been numerous apps that promised just that! Snapchat, Secret, Whisper, and Yik Yak, – just to name a few – became very popular. However, while it's easy for apps like these to promise full discretion, it's nearly impossible for them to deliver on it. Personal data can still be collected and sold to advertisers! Remember when Snapchat was hacked? Hundreds of thousands of user's photos were posted on the Internet - most of which I'm sure these people hoped would disappear, like the app said it would. In 2015, the demand for anonymous social media will only get bigger and this year, it might actually become a reality. Back in October, Facebook launched their new chat app rooms, where users can connect to other people with the same interests without having to reveal their name and/or location. It's a start, right?

Podcasts definitely had a huge spike in popularity in 2014! It seemed like everyone either hosted one or was binge-listening to one. One of the most recent ones that everyone, myself included, was obsessed with was Serial. It was a 12-week series that had over 40 million downloads. How crazy is that?! Founder of Content Marketing Institute, Joe Pulizzi, said: “podcasting is absolutely going to explode in 2015. We saw the run up in 2014, but we haven’t seen anything yet. 2015 is when large enterprises start to experiment with the platform. Some will do some very creative things and start to build audiences." It'll be very interesting to see how big companies try to take advantage of podcasts' popularity.

Be honest: would you rather read paragraphs worth of text or watch a three-minute video that sums it all up? Most people would choose the video that's why more companies are starting to use videos to get their audiences' attention. Since they have a lot more content to compete with, communicating in a visual way is the fastest way to get results and reactions. So, in 2015, you can expect to see your favorite brands release a lot more video content.

Well, there you have it! These are just seven trends that might change the way you use social media this year. Can you think of any other ways that social media will improve this year? Share them in the comments!