7 Social Media Trends For 2013

Just before Chrtistmas I was asked to write a piece for the company newsletter so I dug out my crystal ball and, instead of putting everthing on black like last time, dished out the big 7 social media trends for 2013. Also known as ‘the most social media trends I could think of before the deadline’.

As a very lazy way of bumping up my own blog content here, I’m going to replicate the piece word for word below. If you want to receive the best monthly newsletter ever… to originate from the Mews in 64 Leeson Street, you can for FREE (!!!), just sign up here.

Having looked at the many developments in social media through 2012, what does the New Year have in store? Here are seven things you should be thinking about now.

Everything is Digital

In 2012 Nestle released chocolate bars that were GPS enabled, the CW network in the USA had a live Twitter feed in a magazine, coat hangers displayed Facebook likes, we added an Augmented Reality layer to pint bottles of Bulmers and there was even NFC enabled socks! Why are non-digital products becoming ‘connected’? Because they can deliver better experiences for the consumer and expect to see more of it in 2013.

Digital is Social
Everything digital will be integrated with social media in one form or another. From being able to log in with social media profiles to personalised recommendations on Amazon.com to sharing from Spotify or even jumping from space! Brands can make the user experience more streamlined, personalised and engaging. If you’re doing anything digital, it has to have social at its heart.

Social is Mobile

With half of all users accessing their Facebook profiles via a mobile can you afford to ignore this audience? Check out Google Analytics to see what percentage of your web traffic is coming from mobile or a tablet. If they cannot get the information they want when they want it they can easily go to a mobile optimised competitor.

Not Just Facebook

Facebook dominates social media but 2013 will see the savvy brands, who haven’t already done so, move onto other networks and beef up their presence there. Facebook is becoming very cluttered and brands now have to invest in paid for media to reach their fanbase through Promoted Posts or Sponsored Stories. This last year has seen steady growth in the numbers using Google +, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest, while Twitter has almost doubled its users to 22% of the Irish population. It still lags behind Facebooks 53%, but it’s growing at a much faster rate.
Second Screening

Have you ever sent a status update or tweet about a TV show while watching it? Then you know what second screening is – the use of two screens at once. In 2013 more brands will offer opportunities for viewers to connect with what’s happening on their TV set. This could be a Shazam enabled television ad, or something more in-depth such as the game we developed for Bank of Ireland. The game allows you to play as the sixth Dragon and earned us the Eircom Spider Grand Prix award last month. Expect to see a lot more of this in the coming year.

Content

Content marketing became a buzz term in 2012, and expect to see it a lot more in 2013. Content comes in many forms from Facebook updates to blog articles, photos, website copy and video clips. You may be familiar with the more high profile examples such as Red Bull reaching for the stars, Volvo’s breathtaking Ballerina Stunt or Bodyform’s witty retort. Content marketing is about telling a story your target audience will get value from. Next year more budget will move from traditional above the line advertising into creating the kind of content your customers will share with their friends.

Data Insights

Did you see what Brad Pitt did for his team in Moneyball? He took a bunch of players written off by other teams and turned them into a near championship winning side. Yes data might be unsexy, but it provides your business with insights that can help you deploy resources more efficiently and develop a competitive advantage. Obama made digital a key cornerstone of his 2008 campaign, in 2012 it was big data and in 2013 more business will be doing this. We’ve developed our own technology in this field called Ripple to build a 360 degree view of the customer across all digital properties.