As 2014 draws to a close, it’s finally time to celebrate a terrific and in many ways groundbreaking year for content at PerformanceIN. 

Seeing the opportunity to look back on fond memories, we’ll be rolling out a series of top-10 lists for our most-read articles in 2014. Here are the results for our social category.

Going Social for Sales? Breaking the Taboo – With modern marketing becoming all the more ROI-driven, few channels are void from discussions regarding bottom-line value. We looked into the situation with social media.

Facebook News Feed Ads Overtake Web Retargeting – Demand for ad space on Facebook shot up this year while research showed it boasting a performance edge over retargeting options.  

What Will Social Media Marketing Look Like in 2014? – At the start of the year, social advertisers were treated to a series of predictions for network-based activity by MySocialAgency’s Mark Mitchell.

Twitter Gets Goal-Based with Latest Ad Service – Twitter may have left it late to introduce ‘objective-based campaigns’ to its ad line-up, but enhanced tracking options pledged to make it easier for brands to unearth conversions from the network.

10 Ways to Improve your Social Media Marketing – Engage, inspire, optimise and… pay-per-click. Tess Agnew’s tips on kickstarting a social media campaign were seen by plenty in December. 

City of Berlin Invests in Social Marketing Startup Brandnew – The City of Berlin’s Program for the Promotion of Research, Innovation and Technology (Pro FIT) has handed the German capital some top startups. Brandnew, which connects advertiser with influencer through native ad opportunities, was the latest to jump on board in late August. 
 
Has Google+ Been Left in the Shadows of the Other Giants? – A delicate point was pondered as Gil Regev examined Google+’s success in comparison to Facebook et al. 

Social Media Library Hits 500 Billion Posts – A serious milestone was reached at Crimson Hexagon HQ; the company’s social data bank ringing the bell for 500 billion posts not out.

How Does Social Media Fit into the Affiliate World? – Affiliates, merchants and even networks were informed that avoiding social media would cost them dearly. Twist Digital’s Chelsea Allenby explained how these groups should go about deploying the ‘human touch’.

Socialbakers Eyes US Glory with Buyout of Analytics Firm – New investment afforded Socialbakers the luxury of being able to expand its social analytics business across the US. The company purchased a fellow social measurement firm – EdgeRank Checker – to boost its stateside presence.