For the last decade, social media has made a huge impact on the way we interact with each other, including how we interact with businesses we buy products and services from. Over the last ten years, it has evolved: constantly updating and reinventing itself to be an indispensable tool in our society.

As marketers, social media’s changes have to be met with our own set of adjustments. Here are a few predictions from Azita Ardakani, founder and CEO of Lovesocial. Lovesocial’s clients include NPR, Converse, Nike, and TED.

1. Move from Organic to Owned

With many social sites looking to generate advertising revenue, including our favorite Facebook, it’s no surprise that not a lot of us are getting much organic reach. In order for anyone to see content posted on profiles, businesses must consider to “pay to play”. Ardakani mentions there will be rise in owned experiences such as microsites, applications, and content outside of social media platforms.

2. Layer Your Value with CSR

Organizations that add a layer of CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility to their presence on social media effectively build more affinity, loyalty, and trust. Sharing CSR content that address an issue or solves a problem goes beyond just selling a product, and provides to offer more value to the audience than just the norm.

3. Community Before Commerce

More and more organizations are focusing on building a community rather than commerce. That’s because communities go above and beyond in building brand definition, transparency, and additional business opportunities. One of the biggest ways to attract new business is through world of month. When you build a community, in the right way, you have a powerful way to attain conversions and defend your brand in a crisis, thanks to developing a brand voice. What’s more, many brands are getting customers and employees to become brand advocates to “spread the word”.

4. Let Offline Actions Drive Online Conversation

Customers love to talk about experiences online, thanks to the rise of review sites. With that in mind, it’s important for organizations to realize that great brand affinity and loyalty grows form the experiences that customers have when they’re offline. Great experiences are what trigger those talkable moments online. “Physical activations such as pop-up stores will play a huge role in creating digital evangelists.”

5. Authenticity with Credibility

While the words, “authenticity and credibility” have been overused at this point, there’s a big difference between claiming to be and actually “walking the walk”. 80% of customers say “authenticity of content” is the most influential factor in their decision to become a follower of a brand. Brands will need to reach deep and establish why they exist, what problem they’re solving, and what makes them different than other brands. With out this alignment, brands will become irrelevant and see their sales and engagement affected.

>See Lovesocial’s infographic here.