Not all of us can own a DeLorean (time machine) and take a sneak peek into the future. Thanks to the new medium, and of course the works of “experts” who articulate key words, statistics, trends and phrases about the hottest growth area for the online community “Social Media.”
It’s one month past the New Year, however, zooming into the “Social Media Trends for 2012” is worthwhile. The list shown below is by no means complete, however, I attempt to list what experts have to say about top social marketing developments, new technologies, resources, etc.
Consolidation, integration, convergence
2012 is listed as the year for consolidation, integration, convergence and the likes by most authors, experts and bloggers. For years’ management lessons have preached organizations the benefits of integrating the different business functions and not work in silos. Experts say, social media will witness a similar trend.
It’s one month past the New Year, however, zooming into the “Social Media Trends for 2012” is worthwhile. The list shown below is by no means complete, however, I attempt to list what experts have to say about top social marketing developments, new technologies, resources, etc.
Consolidation, integration, convergence
2012 is listed as the year for consolidation, integration, convergence and the likes by most authors, experts and bloggers. For years’ management lessons have preached organizations the benefits of integrating the different business functions and not work in silos. Experts say, social media will witness a similar trend.
David Armano explains convergence with the example of Domino’s Pizza, posting unfiltered feedback on a large billboard at Times Square. Advertising agency McCann define integration in the form of usage of social media across devices.
John Serpa calls it “Transmedia,” newer ways to narrate real-life experiences in the virtual world. Leo Widrich says, “We will see a lot more apps and companies come to help us free from content overload."
Social + Sharing
According to social media expert, Jay Baer, “2012 will be the year of multimedia social network. Photo and video-based social interaction will grow.” On the same note, new multimedia platforms like Pinterest will grow.
David Armano elaborates and uses the term “Social Sharing”, “Sharing that vacation you just booked, or recommending a product, or service from any site to a social network is where sharing goes next.”
Social + eCommerce
Gartner predicts that by 2013, the number - one way that consumers will be interacting with the Internet is via their smartphones and tablets. Given this, social commerce can definitely be categorized as an upcoming trend for the coming year.
In his explanation, Priit Kallas says, “We will lead into a new era in eCommerce where you can directly purchase from your Facebook account.” Everyone will witness more integration of social media and e-commerce, more than ever.”
“M-Commerce/mobile tactics will be substantial sources of lead generation including the QR codes, near-field and Bluetooth communications, social check-in promotions, mobile search, mobile Web, text/SMS/MMS, email and mobile advertising,” added bloggers’ Jeanne Hopkins and Jamie Turner.
Social + Television
Social Television also climbs up the charts in the social media landscape. Several experts and bloggers like David Armano , Gini Dietrich, Priit Kallas, Elise Moreau say that watching television will get more social and sharable with the introduction of voting on social media for reality shows and apps like Get Glue.They also mention that location and mobile based platforms or applications will be big this year.
“Another way media consumption is becoming social comes from a network called Get Glue which acts as something of a Foursquare for media. Participants can "check-in" to their favorite shows (or other forms of media) and collect stickers to tell the world what programs they love. Watch for more of this this year as ratings rise for socially integrated shows,” David explains.
Results
Businesses will increasingly focus on ROI. We experienced this trend in 2011 and will continue to do so this year as well. I second Susan Gunelius's prediction, “Businesses will make more significant investments in social media marketing in 2012, but they’ll also be focusing on the return on investment (ROI).”
Email + Social Media
Email celebrates its 40th birthday this year. Contrary to popular belief, according to Gini Dietrich it’s still effective and is here to stay. “The platforms (email and social media) will complement one another for smarter, more targeted messaging and list-building efforts,” says Jason Miller.
Here’s a clip recently aired by CBS 5 News that quickly encapsulates the key “Social Media Trends for 2012!”
What according to you will change in 2012? I will be glad if you could help me compile the list!
No comments:
Post a Comment