Social Media Trends (2010 and 2011)

03Jan11

Image credit: http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.ca

Social Media’s come a long way in the last year. In fact you could argue that 2010 was a pivotal year.

• Twitter’s matured – gone are its teen years as it’s entered into young adulthood a more confident, meaningful era begins. No longer are we justifying Twitter’s existence (“Who would want to read about what I had for lunch?”). With the new advertising platform behind it, we’re going to see Twitter continue to grow into something special. Although it’s too early to predict, it’s gaining momentum and will be something to watch in 2011.
• We’ve finally started to understand influence online. Remember when Virgin America and Klout partnered together to give away free flights from Toronto to LA/San Fran? Do you remember the combination of utter job and spiraling rage that lashed out during this time?  I would argue that this was the turning point that sparked a fierce debate about social influence. (Check out this post on Advertising Age by Matthew Creamer: Your Followers Are No Measure Of Your Influence as an example of what this debate sounds like.) Although the conversation has come a long way, but by no means is it over. We’ll continue to navigate this one in 2011 and I’m excited to see how this pans out.
• Blogging as news and the disclosure factor. Over the last few years blogging has really taken off and it’s sparked some debate as to whether bloggers can really be journalists.  With the number of social media campaigns growing and tapping into bloggers/other people of social influence, there have been arguments that bloggers must provide disclosure as they are not journalists. (In legal cases, to disclose their sources. In promotional cases, to disclose their working relationships with certain companies.) In 2011 there will be talk about creating some sort of industry blogging standards to cover everyone’s behinds. But, will there be any movement or will it just be all talk?
• Social Media is putting the customer back in customer service. Technical, sales and marketing support at your fingertips…literally! Companies are becoming more involved in conversations which means taking the reign of their own brand online. We’ll see this continue and grow into 2011 but it will spark a debate on how we use that social presence online…in combination with our own. Not sure what I mean?  Scott Stratten has a great post about being a brand ambassador and caring about you customer screw ups – great read to keep in mind as we head into 2011.
• Location-based evolution. With the decline of location-based (LB) powerhouses such as Foursquare and Gowalla combined with the rise of Facebook Places, we’re seeing location-based marketing pull back and taking some time to reflect on its future. Add to the fire the privacy debate that is heating up (again) as people are becoming more aware of what they share online (check out the documentary “We Live In Public“), we’re going to see an interesting evolution take place in the LB space.

And what can we see from social media in 2011?

He’s a detective or sorts isn’t he? (Image credit: Found at http://nicoc.canalblog.com/)

If there was one lesson 2010 has really taught us, it’s to listen to what customers are telling us.
Looking forward to 2011, the concentration will be on deciphering those messages and acting on them. Can’t wait to see how that’s going to go. 🙂

How did you think 2010 went? Where do you think 2011 is going to go?

Filed under: Social Media   |  8 Comments
Tags: Facebook Places, Foursquare, Klout, Location-based marketing, postaweek2011, Putting the customer back in customer service, Understanding social influence, Unmarketing, Virgin America, Virgin America and Klout Giveaway, We Live In Public