Social Media in 2013 - what are the new trends?

Social media has had some pretty big events in 2012, and now that we are into the new year can we identify the new trends to get ahead of the game?

Did you know that social media use increased by 20% around the world in 2012? It really does make you wonder what 2013 has got in store for us.

 A quick note: within this article 'SM' refers to Social Media

Mobile Madness and Social Media

According to new studies, in the US alone 38 million citizens use their mobile phones to access their SM accounts almost daily. There have been many reports published in 2012 questioning and investigating how mobile phones are changing the face of SM. This really demonstrates the importance of considering consumers who are using their mobiles to access their social media accounts. We will need to reconsider how to best create positive engagement with them to suit their on the go lifestyle.

Did you know that there are more than 100 million active users currently accessing their Facebook accounts through their mobile phones?

 

Pin it!

Pinterest may be the new kid on the block, but its oh so important to consider in today's social media industry. Many have not yet taken advantage of Pinterest's popularity but they should for many reasons. Here's one reason why; Pinterest usage has grown by over 1000% in the past year. Here's another; 50 brands who promoted products with Pinterest found a 150% increase in followers. Not bad eh?

People respond more to images, so set up a Pinterest account and start pinning!

Did you know that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text.

 

Fans = Sales and Sales = Fans

Recommendations for products/ services are like gold. Never underestimate this. People will always trust others who are similar to themselves rather than big flashy marketing campaigns. The fans you have that are relevant, the more feedback you will receive. If you make one good sale, and that customer gives you great feedback via SM this could result in more customers. The more fantastic content you provide within your social media accounts, the more people will communicate with you, follow you, like you and in the end think of YOU when they are in need of the product or service you provide.

Staying in

Have you ever considered internal social networks? A lot of companies are now doing this with the intention of boosting morale and generating ideas, so it is very likely that we could hear more about this in 2013 SM news. For example at Dell they use 'Salesforce Chatter' which is a collaboration tool that enables internal social networking. It gives a familiar look and feel to the big social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter in order to enterprise customers on a platform that is secure.

 

Demographic Importance

Social media is now so widely used that you have to consider every demographic. Think about who your target audience is and remember that there are more over 50's now using Facebook than ever. It is worth looking at the general demographics of SM at the moment, and think of how best to target your audience. Judging by the success of Facebook Analytics, it's predictable that 2013 will bring more focus on demographics which is fantastic for marketing your SM campaigns.

 

Summary

There are sure to be many new releases in the world of SM in 2013, such as the Facebook Graph for example or the Tweetrank from Twitter. The important thing to remember is to stay ahead of the game, consider predictions and think about your marketing strategy. Will marketeers be increasing social media spend? Should we be using more visuals to reach our target audience? Will a new social media emerge? How do we adapt to consumers accessing social media through their smart phones? All of these questions should be given some deep thought in 2013.

What do you think will happen to social media in 2o13? Let us know your opinion.

 

Or alternatively, if you would like more information about the services PS Website Design offers why not click through to our Social Media Marketing Page?

 

 

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