I had the pleasure of pulling together some trend data for our company offsite meeting to answer the question: Where is social media and social business heading? The answer is not simple – social media and social business are heading many different places all at once. A common thread I saw was increased information and increased access to it. In a recent FastCompany issue editor Robert Saflan said ”in our hypernetworked, mobile, social, global world, the rules and plans of yesterday are increasingly under pressure; the enterprises and individuals that thrive will be those willing to adapt and iterate, in a disciplined, unsentimental way.” I couldn’t agree more! Those that are going to thrive will find ways to improve upon the rules and plans of yesterday by becoming more informed and more disciplined at how they use information and intelligence.
Many experts are sharing their thoughts as to how social media will evolve this year, and I pulled together some of the highlights to share with you. Additionally, I’ve included sources and links in context so you can dig deeper into this research and data for yourself. A big thanks to Dion H at Dachis Group, David Armano at Edelman, Jeremiah at Altimeter and the folks at Nielsen for your work, thought, data, sourcingand insights. To be clear for purposes of definition, I am defining social media as everything that is external to a company, and social business as everything inside a company. Obviously huge opportunities exist to bridge these two concepts into one business continuum.
Social Media Key Trends and Predictions:
Almost 40% of all social media users access social media content from their mobile phones.
Most of us are already experiencing the boom in mobile. Smart phones and tablet devices are as essential as laptops or first generation cell phones used to be. As social media continues to grow, the need for those experiences to seamlessly translate to mobile devices is high. We are a connected society, and while social media started this trend, mobile is enabling it to develop further and will need to be a part of any social media strategy.
Facebook has the second most unique visitors per month in the United States.
At 7Summits we often explain to clients that simply having a Facebook page is not a social media strategy. However, I think you will agree that the data confirms that Facebook is an essential part of a social media strategy. The potential reach is amazing, because Facebook includes all ages and demographics. When combined with one of the most targeted ad platforms available, you can easily reach millions of users with a little effort.
By 2016 advertisers will spend $77 billion on interactive marketing.
Advertisers spending $77 Billion on interactive marketing means the opportunity for new ideas, technologies, tracking tools and more is growing fast, and while some have called it a bubble, a prediction of growth 4 years out signifies we are still far away from that potential bubble bursting.
Social Technology Trend Predictions:
Big Data – Connecting vast streams of information that social media is unleashing within, across, and outside of organizations leads to Social Business Intelligence.
Cloud – Cost and operational agility will start to be something organizations cannot ignore.
The rise of the next Web – Businesses will increasingly look at making their products internet addressable and socially connected through means such as Social Media, HTML5, and mobile devices.
Again we see here the importance of making information available and usable, wherever we are. As more data is acquired, we must be able to collect it, study it, understand it, and share it with the people who can take that intelligence and turn it into actionable items to improve business. Big data brings us the information, cloud and “the next web” will make it easier to access.
Social Business Trend Predictions:
Social business budgets will continue to increase.
There will be a rise of Social Apps and App-stores.
Internal communication will shift to online intranets.
Content Strategy and Integration will be imperative to success.
Digital properties that have made marketing efforts easier and more targeted are now finding their way into an organization’s wheelhouse, making internal communications, collaboration, and knowledge sharing easier than ever. Besides making an employees day to day job easier they also provide real business outcomes allowing companies to decrease costs and improve efficiency. As things like community constructs play a bigger role in business, the need for a holistic approach to integrate, consolidate, and merge content from various sources will continue to present opportunities and challenges. This is always the biggest pain point on any project. While a community will give an audience a reason to stay and engage, content gives them a reason to come.
As you can see, Social Business is rapidly changing, and businesses that learn to change and adapt to the dynamic demands of their customers will thrive. I look forward to seeing how Social Business will continue to evolve in the upcoming years.