Social Media Predictions for 2012

icon-calendar Date: January 31, 2012

So what’s in store for social media this year? That’s what marketers and business owners are dying to know. We decided to provide you with some of our predictions for the New Year as well as some from other social media experts.

We asked experts on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to weigh-in on their predictions for 2012. Today, we are sharing their responses with you. Take a look at the future of social media below.

1. Impact of Social Media on SEO

“Businesses are going to realize the importance of social media for marketing and for SEO. We’ve all been talking about how important social media is for businesses, but it seems like there are still a lot of businesses not listening. I’ve seen this in LinkedIn discussions where people are claiming Facebook is useless.

I think a lot of business owners are finally going to see the value this year. Statistics are already showing an increasing number of businesses developing a social media strategy in 2012. I think social search is going to be such a large part of getting found online by customers this year that businesses not using social media are going to start in the game too late, but better late than never.

The truth of the matter is that when a business has a large social community, that community provides the business with a large extended network. When Jane Doe is searching for a spa in Florida and five of her friends are fans of a particular spa in Florida, that particular spa is going to show first in her search results because it is a recommendation from a friend. When the spa down the street in Florida realizes their competition is stealing their customers, all because of Facebook friends or Google cirlces, then finally businesses are going to see the light and realize how important social media and an online community of brand advocates really are.”

Tracy Terry

President, Trust eMedia

@trustemedia

2. Increase in Disruptive Advertising

“Another industry that is feeling threatened is the Advertising Industry. For a very long time

advertising as [sic] been a default revenue model. One of the first tremors in the model was the shift from CPM or cost per impression to CPC cost per click. Now, more and more there is evidence that CPC is not performing as well as expected. This may be a result of people who are not advertising professionals now being able to create and post their own ads. There are a lot of bad ads out there and it is quite noisy. But when revenue is at risk, the natural response is to turn up the noise. Facebook recently announced that we will be seeing sponsored stories in our newsfeed. Thanks Facebook – I am sure that will greatly improve my user experience.”

Sherry Heyl

CEO and Community Manager, Concept HUB, Inc.

@sherryheyl, @concepthub

3. Social Convergence

“Major Internet marketing trend of 2012 – We will see our online social activities become more and more part of our daily life. From seeing our Tweets appear on #cnn, to having a discussion about the latest Dateline exclusive on Facebook, social internet and our social life will converge. Facebook addresses, Twitter hashtags, and Google’s +1 will appear on merchandise. The digital social world will become more and more part of the ‘real’ world.”

Lindsey Winsemius

VP of Communications, Apogee Invent

@apogeeinvent

4. Increased Use of SnapTags

“In 2012, be on the look out for an increase of SnapTag usage on marketing materials, business cards, websites and more. Companies like SpyderLynk are taking mobile marketing to the next level with SnapTags. SnapTags are similar to QR Codes, but with a twist. Instead of a barcode that is scanned with a smartphone, SnapTags use company logos to build loyalty and enhance brand recognition. When a consumer sees a SnapTag (most easily described as a logo with a broken ring around it), they simply snap a picture with their mobile device and send it to a designated number. In return, the consumer is connected with promotions and discounts, company information, or product features. What’s amazing is one SnapTag, can be used for 100′s of marketing campaigns by simply rotating the broken ring. The best part is, for both consumers and companies, an app or smartphone is not required to access the benefits of the SnapTag. A mobile device with a camera is all that is necessary and according to SpyderLynk, 88% of mobile phone users are already equipped!”

Nikki Means

CEO, Project Socialize

@projectsocializ

5. Change in Social Sphere

“This question is a real hard one as so many things are going to happen big in 2012. I really see a lot of different events taking shape. Twitter will focus on business branded pages. LinkedIn is going to be making some changes for companies as well. Google+ and Facebook are going to square off with services, integrations, and a race to the finish line. Social bookmarking has been making waves already. StumbleUpon has revamped their site. Delicious has revamped their site. Reddit surpassed Digg. I think the social bookmarking sites are going to be going head to head in 2012. I’m sure there will be something new to surprise us all and make huge waves in the marketing world. Mobile social will keep growing. I’m looking forward to seeing better tools and analytics available to marketers.”

Wayne Terry

Vice-President, Trust eMedia

@waynetterry

6. A Decrease in Print Advertising

“I think we have a great opportunity, from my own experience in running adverts in newsprints, to bypass and create better returns on investments. We can be much more targeted to the people we are looking for through social media.”