Top 10 Social Media Trends To Watch Out For In 2013

Yet another year has passed with so many predictions and expectations coming true (not the one about the end of the world though, thankfully). Facebook went for an IPO and also reached 1 billion users, Twitter hit 500 million users, LinkedIn launched timeline style pages and Google + launched hangouts and communities.

The common factor in 2012 with regards to social media platforms was they recognised the need to offer localised information and mobile based applications. This trend is set to continue well into 2013 (Social.Local.Mobile). The diagram below indicates how some of the key social media platforms will continue to evolve.

Source: – http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-marketing-future_b31172

Without further ado, here’s our list of key trends that will govern social media platforms this year:

1. With mobile applications ruling the world, it goes without saying that mobile advertising will become a key revenue generator for social media platforms and companies.
2. Social media has moved well beyond engagement and content. It has become a bona fide experience marketing channel.
3. Location based marketing is going to become a key to unlocking customer purchases and drive online sales.
4. Search engine marketing is moving beyond the web and into mobile. Web optimised content alone is not going to create customer leads. Mobile and tablet optimised content will become another service offering for digital marketing agencies.
5. Mobile will become the biggest game changer, not just through mobile applications and in-app advertising, but also through other mediums such as 2D barcodes (QR codes) and Near Field Communications (NFC).
6. Marketers will begin to understand the ROI associated with social media marketing. We always knew that social media marketing generated revenue via referral marketing. But marketers always had a tough time pinning an exact number to this revenue stream. But this will change, especially because smart-phones have becomes consumers’ personal shoppers.
7. It’s crunch time for Google +! This will be the year that Google’s social media platform either takes off in a big way or dies down.
8. Social media platforms will become the biggest source of business intelligence for organisations. The shift has already started, but the economic downturn and the cost of conducting market research will hasten the process.
9. Facebook will make a shift from being a C2C platform to a more B2B platform. If the biggest social media platform is to ensure its survival, it needs to also start focusing on the B2B market.
10. Organisations will take a more integrated and centralised approach to social media marketing and consider it in the overarching organisational goals and strategies.

Localised content via mobile devices is going to become the biggest trend in 2013. More and more companies will stop using social media platforms as marketing and customer engagement channels and start integrating them into the core business. 2013 is will be the year that we realise that “social” is no longer limited to social media; it encompasses consumer behaviour, data and shopping.

The world has gone social, and not just on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+!

About solomoIT

SolomoIT is a digital marketing agency, based in Sydney, Australia, offering fully integrated social, local and mobile marketing solutions.