2011 is fully gone, and 2012 has rolled in without missing a beat. The social media marketing industry is growing in leaps and bounds. I often hear business people say social networking is similar to the Wild Wild West! So answer this question for me. Would it be valuable if you knew the future social media marketing trends for 2012? How wonderful would it not be to learn what trends are in store for the coming year? Could you adequately plan this rapidly changing industry? In this posting, I provide my 2012 predictions for the evolving trends in the social-networking industry. It certainly is gratifying when my predictions become a reality. My predictions are not predicated on any sort of special powers. They are based on my industry research, what I read and what I see happening every day in my own work. My accuracy rate in the social media marketing industry has been about 97 percent. However, even when I’m wrong it’s only because my timeline ended up being longer than I thought it had been going to be. I have a knack for spotting social media trends. Which article lists four powerful trends unfolding at this time. You can profit from what I say or ignore me, the choice is yours. Either way these trends will unfold as the year progresses. So continue reading and heed my advice. Ready your social media campaigns to make the most these trends for 2012 and beyond.
Prediction #1) SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Networks and Marketing will continue steadily to grow at an alarming rate.
This past year Facebook grew from around 600 million to 800 million users based on whose numbers you believe. Twitter and LinkedIn also both showed growth and added many new features, (not to mention that they both acquired several new partners and internet assets). Add to this, Google started Google+, and Microsoft is said to be in the works of building their own social networking. The adoption rate of small business will lead just how, but expenditures by large corporations will exceed that of both small and medium-size businesses. My first advice to you is; create and implement “an employee social media use policy” to regulate business hour usage. Second, create a social media marketing plan to reach and engage this enormous market. Combining both engagement and ppc campaigns work best.
Prediction #2) One of the largest players in the social media arena will make a “miss step” in 2012.
I believe that one of the most notable four SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Network companies will make a costly mistake causing them to lose significant market share. At this time several of the larger social media marketing giants like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all share one crucial flaw. They make an effort to make it almost impossible to communicate with them. Take Facebook, for instance. They do not list any contact information other than a Facebook page. Sure they will have lots of help pages. Yes, Facebook has a blog, lots of YouTube videos, but provides no phone number where you can call and speak to a human being? They do have a Facebook page you can enter suggestions on, but that’s it. What goes on when you get yourself a strange message from Facebook, or you’re having trouble with your account? You post a note and never get a reply! Twitter and LinkedIn aren’t much better. Luxury Travel Guides don’t list a contact phone number or address either. However, I’ve found that they do reply to your email and posted messages, although it sometimes takes so long as seven days to obtain a reply.
In my opinion, of the very best three social media marketing companies, LinkedIn supplies the best service. Google is new in this game. It’s not as easy to lump them in with the rest of the social media marketing giants yet. However, I could tell you that Google includes a notoriously poor customer support reputation. It’s been my experience with Google that the grade of service you receive depends on the person you get on the phone. The good news is that you can obtain someone on the phone! Google does list contact numbers. My advice to any business is easy, be ready to make changes to your social media marketing campaign if you need to. Furthermore, if you’re using any of the top four social media marketing services, make a backup of your data. This is in the event you opt to make “the switch” and ditch one of these players.
Prediction #3) Google+ will become one of the top 3, in the social networking arena by the finish of 2012.
I know I’m going out on a limb here, but I believe that is inevitable. Google’s share size and current customer base will allow Google+ to grow at a much faster pace than other social media sites. The exact number of Gmail users is not public, but we do know that it is huge! I have read estimates which range from about 190 million to 250 million accounts. Furthermore, Google owns so many internet properties, that they can easily integrate the utilization of these properties into their social network. This adds value to their social network. Add to this, the fact that Google owns Google Search, Google AdWords, YouTube, Blogger and Picasa. Are you starting to obtain the picture? Google is gigantic. Google controls the lion’s share of internet traffic and advertising dollars.
Google has also been able to make a social-networking product that is user friendly, search engine friendly and innovative. These qualities’ have made them the internet leader they are today. I’m not sure they can keep this frantic pace forever, but for 2012, it’s a done deal. My advice for you is to review where you are spending your advertising money and see if it seems sensible using the Google properties. If you’re an individual, and also have been waiting on the sideline with Google+, stop what you’re doing and take the 10 minutes to set up a Gmail and Google+ account. In the event that you already have a Gmail account, this can only take you about five minutes. The bonus here is also you can setup a Google+ Brand page with out a lot of fuss.