1. Less will be more – most businesses will finally twig that you can’t be everywhere online and do it well without serious commitment of time (and therefore cash). Fewer sites, managed better, will mean enhanced return for most businesses, I promise. More sites, poorly managed due to time/commitment constraints say BAD things about your brand.

2. Finding a different social voice on each site – it’s critical to understand that what may work well on one site may not work on another. Each social networking site has a different tone and style, post frequency etc.. and what is posted on each site needs to respect that to have true reach and impact. If you are still duplicating content across multiple sites, that’s called noise, not added value.

3. Using different sites for different target markets – long gone will be the days where the same information gets churned out across all sites, businesses will realise that an enhance return for their efforts can be attained by breaking down their customer and stakeholder profiles into different categories and using different sites specifically for sections of their target audience, thereby making the objectives for each site much strong. The result: a stronger, more consistent message on each site.

4. Getting more mobile – without doubt the biggest growth area for 2012, so there is growing pressure on businesses to ensure their online presence is mobile friendly: smart phone friendly websites, apps, m-commerce, use of QR codes and augmented reality will become even more commonplace and an essential part of the marketing mix. Remember when people said websites were a fad and would never amount to much? (Sadly, I do!) That’s what a lot of people are saying about people buying goods and services via their mobile & tablets – its happening and it’s growing, fast. Microsoft predict that by 2014, we’ll be using our mobile phones more than our desktops – are you ready?

5. Getting nice(r) – as the brilliant Gary Vaynerchuk says, you need to be a part of the thank you economy to thrive online. You have to work harder than ever to get loyalty for your brand (offline and online), so starting thinking more proactive than reactive in terms of your customers. When was the last time you thanked them for their valued customers with no strings attached? Try it…. When was the last time you ran a competition as a thank you, again with no strings attached? Go on, amaze yourself…

These are just a flavour of the sea changes ahead for 2012 in the world of social media marketing, what would you add to the list?

Wishing all my readers a wonderful festive season and a big thank you for all your comments & support this year!

Jan

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