Tweet This in 2012
It’s no longer an option as to whether or not your company should have social media accounts, it’s expected, and now that you have them you need to make them work for you! So what’s that mean for you in the New Year? Where’s social media headed and how will this affect the way we market? We see how social media has tapped into everything we do, from shopping, advertising, branding our companies, keeping in touch with clients, to obtaining the latest news…there is literally not one piece of our lives that hasn’t been touched, so bring it 2012, what do you have in store for us?
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2012 will be the year of content marketing – Content has always played a huge role in social media but this year people will pay more attention to the content they are posting. Companies are beginning to see the results of their blogging efforts so it will give them more incentive to become more clever with their blogging. They will look for various ways to expand their reach and broaden their fan base. Posting content and having those links back to your site will be more important to improving your SEO and getting your brand or company noticed. According to an article “Twelve Social Media Trends for 2012” posted by don’tdrinkthekoolaidblog.com, “Brands with the most authentic, engaging, integrated, and useful content will find the most success”.
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A NEW marketing department has entered the building – Gone are the days of Marketing Coordinators that place ads with the local papers or set up the budgets for a new company brochure. Marketing departments will now have Social Media Strategists or Marketing Technologists to implement, track and evolve the social media marketing within a company. They will hire people who can write blogs, create white-papers, publish e-books and develop webinars and apps. This will allow companies to spend less on marketing but have a greater presence by utilizing all the free social media tools available. This new marketing department will also roll out new promotions, products and interesting company news much faster than traditional marketing efforts which will bring companies to the forefront of marketing in “real time”. Social media will now become a critical objective to CEO’s everywhere.
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Social Sharing up the WAZOO – likes, re-posts, re-tweets, follows…we see them everywhere. Big companies have found ways to sneak them in so that we automatically are sharing their products, deals, etc and this will become the norm. Even small companies will take advantage of this and make it easy for their clients to readily share their information. It will become even easier for you to tweet that great deal, recommend the cruise you just booked or the book you just read.
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What you want, when you want it – According to an article “Top 10 Smart Marketing Trends for 2012”, posted by the Daily News, “Nearly half of all U.S. mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone. By 2015, more people will access the Web via a mobile device than through traditional desktop Internet access.” So as marketers we need to be on top of this and make sure our websites are optimized for mobile viewing. More and more people are purchasing and researching right from their smartphones so it is critical that your website is mobile friendly. You can also utilize coupons, check-in deals, QR codes and instant offers to engage these mobile users and their instant gratification.
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Break out that video camera – Videos are a great new tool for most marketers. Youtube has it made it easy for companies to produce small budget videos or even self made promotional pieces to engage their customers. Video testimonials, product demonstrations, or instructional/informational video content will become more popular this year and will become instrumental in attracting and obtaining new customers. Videos also offer another great benefit, as they are now a bigger part of Google’s search results so they will help increase your SEO and website traffic as well.
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Show me the money – Companies are now on board with the importance of social media but they want to be able to see the results. They want to be able to see what they are gaining from all these new marketing efforts so more sites will start making it easy to track where and when people are reading your content, surfing your site or purchasing your product. Companies will be able to track how many people check out their Facebook page and will even start to set up a system where you can purchase a product directly through social media sites, such as Facebook.
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Follow this a few other things you may want to keep your eye on in 2012:
Google + - Google will continue with their efforts to take over the world by improving and expanding their latest social media quest known as Google +. Just like we use Facebook and Twitter companies will find Google + useful, especially now that they have rolled out their brand pages. Look for this site to grow in the coming year.
Political Campaigns – this will be the year that political campaigns zero in on social media and politicians use it to target voters. Social media will be a critical tool of the candidates to drive their campaign.
The Olympics – in 2010 the Winter Olympics broke the ice with bloggers and fan interaction but this will be the year that fans will experience the game socially.
Spotify – is a free music site where you can keep a running playlist, share it with friends easily, all with no downloading will become the model for companies who want to make their sites “sharable”. The site is likely to give Pandora a run for its money this year and gain even more popularity.
Pinterest – is another social site that allows “pinners” to post products, books, looks, recipes and share virtually anything they like with others who have signed up to use the site. Having your product “pinned” can do wonders so companies will start paying attention to this site.
Television – TV shows will encourage their viewers to become more socially integrated by implementing viewer voting, comments and interactions. Look for more shows to incorporate live tweeting or facebook voting/games as you watch.
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg…its full steam ahead for social media in 2012. Make sure you are on board and ready! Take a look at how you are using your social media in conjunction with where it’s headed this year and set your plan in place today! Contact 20 Twenty Graphics today for help getting started!