For better or for worse, 2014 escalates the “ubiquity of connectivity.”

From a human standpoint, we’ll be seeing — and experiencing — social media overwhelm and overload and a backlash to being hyper-connected.

Any company that has put all of their marketing, communications and customer service eggs in the social media basket will be in for a rude awakening. Too many of us have looked at “social media” as the focus — the tools and platforms that provide the conduit of connection to our customers. We’ve facebooked, tweeted, youtubed, linked in, pinned, vined, instagrammed — maybe even latergrammed — in the misguided hope of getting more fans and followers. We’ve even…selfied.

Madness.

Peel away the technical frameworks, features and functionality and what you see underneath is the fundamental core of marketing and communications. Keep peeling. Beneath that is the intrinsic nature of human beings.

Why do we do these things? Because human beings want to connect:

We want to be part of something.

We want to find a community where we can belong.

We want to stave off loneliness.

We want answers to the sometimes unanswerable.

We want to make a mark and to feel like we matter.

Some of us want distraction from our lives. Some of us want more meaning in our lives. Whatever our interests or motivations, they are vast, diverse, and subject to change as we grow, learn and experience life.

Social media — and social networks and social networking functionality in particular — tap into human urges to connect, belong and matter.

Brands infiltrating online social spaces reminds me of the 90s when companies suddenly saw the web as the next silver bullet of marketing and proceeded to clutter the nascent network with commercials. Today, companies clamor to figure out how to be in social networks and how to use social networks to market and sell.

It’s the 90s all over again. They throw more and more money at trying to make a big social media splash. In the early web days, we called it hits, then visits, then visitors. Now it’s gone from fans and followers to likes, comments, shares and the distracting and false Holy Grail of Viral.

In 2014, I think companies will find greater long-term success in their digital marketing efforts if they root their strategic plans and tactics in being more human and understanding human nature and behavior.

1. Understand that people in 2014 are ultra-connected.

2. Understand that people in 2014 are overwhelmed and inundated by the ubiquity of connectivity.

Read my marketing recommendations and the entire forecast on Valeria Maltoni’s blog >>“Marketing in 2014: that Rigid approach will Cost you.”

If I were to make one wild prediction about marketing in 2014, it is that 2014 will be the Year of Unplugging.

I actually encourage unplugging. For consumers, this will happen for a myriad of reasons — physical, mental, even spiritual. In some cases, it will be forced on them (repetitive stress disorders, for example). In others, it will be self-imposed (digital detox). For companies, this means stopping, stepping back, and really examining what you’re doing and why.

Look closely at what is working and what isn’t. In our rapid social communications and content landscape, we cannot afford to keep doing what we’ve always done because that’s the way we’ve always done it. We have to be flexible and responsive. Better yet, we have to be emotional and creative. Formulaic will not cut it. Ever-changing technology algorithms and evolving human nature and habits won’t tolerate it.

(this post is excerpted from my contribution to “Marketing in 2014: that Rigid approach will Cost you.”)

top photo by M.J. Wickham