2012 Social Media Recap – 4 Influential Trends

1. Google+ and Pinterest joined the top social media giants in 2012. In 2011, Google+ reached 25 million unique visitors after only four weeks of operation. Pinterest achieved an average of 11 million visits each week in December 2011 and in 2012 became the fastest site in history to break the 10 million unique visitor mark. The social media companies are currently ranked like this:

Facebook

YouTube

Blogging (using WordPress)

Twitter

LinkedIn

Pinterest

Google+

Tumblr

What this means for marketing strategies in 2013:

Your social media strategy requires several social media sites and more than just a Facebook page. Social media will also benefit from the involvement of company executives in social media activity. It is more effective to consistently use relevant social media calls-to-action instead of blatantly self-advertising.

 

2. Content marketing was a major trend in 2012. Content marketing is a technique of creating and distributing relevant and useful content to engage a well-defined audience without selling the product. Content marketing fuels social media, informs customers, and helps with search engine optimization. Consumers also trust this non-promotional information over advertising. Since the rise of content marketing consumer consumption of content has reached 11.5 hours a day in the U.S. What this means for marketing strategies in 2013: Since we know that customers prefer content marketing you should format your content to facilitate that use. Incorporate your brand into all of your content using your colors, fonts, images, videos, etc. Make your content easier to quickly digest by using bolding, spacing, and bullets. Finally, include images to attract visitors and improve results.

3. Smartphones and tablets sales are on the rise and were both higher than PC sales in 2011. We can now use smartphones and tablets to consume information and communicate through text, email, and voice. What this means for marketing strategies in 2013: All integrated marketing should be planned for mobile devices using both mobile websites and mobile applications.

4. With the combination of increased mobile device ownership and expanded content, consumers are finding new, more efficient way to shop and are more actively seeking extra information about their purchases.

What this means for marketing strategies in 2013:

New methods of mobile payment could support browsing and shopping on mobile devices. So make sure that your retail businesses are present on mobile devices for users who are on the go. Use Pinterest and Tumblr to appeal specifically to tablet shoppers. Lastly, be on the look out for new websites that blend marketing and shopping.

With all of these upcoming changes to social media it is important to make sure your business is equipped to compete effectively.