As we round the bend to the end of another term of learning and applying the principles of social media marketing, I wonder what 2013 will bring to the social media world. I have spoken to my classes about the history of Marketing, the emergence of social media, and how we utilize social platforms and tools for B2C and B2B.
But, now we need to consider what new tools, processes, trends, and
gaps could appear as social media becomes more pervasive, effective, and
required in business.
In the future, I think we will see a further evolution of how we
produce and consume marketing messages as well an increase in the value
of information produced via social (for business and consumers). Some
points to consider:
Tribes
I believe the future of social media can be seen by looking to
the past. Humans by nature are social creatures, however we have spent
years relying on mass media. As time has passed, we are now relying
less on mass media and more on our peers: we are once again turning to
one another. Consider your friends on Facebook or those you follow on
Twitter. Via social, I have surrounded myself with like minded people
that I can have a symbiotic relationship with. Many of the folks I
follow on Twitter I follow because I can learn from them and I value the
content they produce.
Relevancy
Relevant connections, content, and communications will remain
increasingly important in order to cancel out the “noise”. As consumers
continue to be bombarded with tweets, status updates, mobile marketing
messages and the like, it will be paramount for these communications to
be relevant, timely, and personalized. This is true for the business as
well. I see the future of social including smaller more niche social
groups organized by brands to further identify consumer needs, research,
and for crowdsourcing purposes.
If your business is on a social platform and engaging, good for you.
If you are not utilizing it to facilitate customer service, shame on
you. Obviously, this will take some planning on your part to prepare
staff and get processes in place for customer service inquiries.
Nevertheless, the benefits far outweigh the costs in this situation.
Consider the company who is “on Twitter” and ignores customer inquiries
made via tweets. This is the equivalent of having a customer at your
business, asking you a question (with a store full of other customers
and potential customers) while you stand there not listening with your
hands covering your ears. Potentially disastrous in real life; it would
be online as well.
SoMo
By far the biggest and most exciting area of social will most likely
be SoMo (social mobile). Mobile phones have become an every day item
that are utilized multiple times throughout the day. Smartphones hold
more information on the user than ever before; we rely on them to remind
us of doctors appointments, to take and store photos, to stay in
contact with our friends and family, to do searches, and to sometimes
even make phone calls. New and exciting possibilities abound
surrounding smart phones and equipping them to better know the user,
anticipate needs, and meet those needs. However, with more people using
smart phones as their primary tool for Internet searches, businesses
will need to make changes to webpages and more to accommodate slower
connections and/or smaller screens.
Integration
Mass media and social media will become more integrated across
devices (such as laptop, tablets, smart phones) and platforms (such as
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) to offer more relevant and personalized
experiences. Similarly, we will also see further integration with
local and SoMo: SoLoMo. Consumers will utilize social media via mobile technology to include point of purchase and point of consumption.
The Future
The future of social media is my students, myself, and you….
Each of my students (and you the reader) have created personal
digital brands via blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and/or
Pinterest. As we all leave our digital footprints, we are not only
representing ourselves, we are representing the brands we work for and
the brands we ‘talk’ about via social. Likewise, the individuals that
make up brands are creating engaged company personas with both
personality and transparency. These folks are the future of social
media.
Individuals will shape the future of social media. What steps are you taking to do the most good with your digital footprint!?
The views expressed are those of the author, and do not represent those of Texas A&M University-Commerce or Southern New Hampshire University unless stated explicitly.
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