Eight Social Media Trends for 2012

New social networked and social commerce are certainly the new 'in-thing'. Pinterest is already roaring. And it won't be late before Facebook comes up with some e-commerce features for its business pages.

Even though we are a few months into 2012 now there is still much time to go and I think (hope some of)  these trends actually happen. The idea of checking out using an app on my phone is crazy and crazy in a good way. It will make things so much easier. The other trend being tablets. As a college student the thought of having a textbook on my iPad would be great and easily accessible. But even with these great new technologies and trends there is always that black lash. Like how can stores ensure that people have checked out? Or for the tablets how are textbook and publishing companies going to react when they do not have to same revenue? These are questions that we won't know the answers to unless these trends happen. But I am optimistic that theses trends are going to make things quicker and easier. 

I think a trend that will continue to grow in 2012 is the rise of small business and idea crowd sourcing.  With the unemployment rates still recovering and the rise of a generation of risk takers, it’s a natural progression that people will be looking for funding for their ideas. I think a future where entrepreneurs get funding for their ideas from individuals rather than from institutions is a definite possibility. Thus websites like Kickstarter will continue to grow in 2012. Also, people are not afraid to look for ways to supplement their existing incomes. This will lead to growth in applications like TaskRabbit and AirBnb, where you can take on short-term commitments risk-free for cash. 

I totally agree with you about email marketing. It's still an effective channel, when the marketing was done right.

More privacy concerns in 12. Surprised were not hearing more law suits as privacy becomes violated. I get privacy statements in the mail from all financial institutions I do business with on an ongoing basis. I think eventually that will translate online.

Prediction -In the education realm, online marketing courses will continue on a strong and steady growth with an emphasis on social and mobile media. To get an idea of what is being taught in these growing industries check out the online marketing courses at the University of San Francisco.

http://www.usanfranonline.com/online-internet-marketing-training

Something that I believe will be growing in 2012 is an increase in paid subscriptions for premium content from thought leaders in a variety of fields.

You know, I'm feeling number five. As a marketer, I like creating the content and then tracking the analytics. For me, it ties into number four.

With today's Facebook/FTC settlement, I think that in 2012 you will see a trend of more companies taking proactive steps to protect the personal information of their subscriber base and being much more public about their efforts. With the proliferation of social media and the storage of more personal information about us than any time in digital history, privacy protection has become a hot button issue that will continue to rise in prominence in 2012. Does a company have a right to share personal information about a consumer without their knowledge? How should companies that run SM platforms organize and execute a policy that protects individual rights?

I scrolled through the comments as best as I could and didn't see this issue raised but perhaps I missed it.

Hi Gini, for No. 9 I would suggest - More focus on social proof or validation.

I think we will see its importance and integration become stronger in helping to define relevance, content matchmaking and discerning quality of information and sources. A social currency for share-ability, find-ability and credibility.

This was cool lady.

Regarding email, I think it's more alive than ever. In fact, I think there is going to be an email renaissance in the coming decade due to its connection with content and sales (which is what I'll be speaking on at the email summit in Vegas...mega stoked!! ) ;-)

Thanks for all you do,

Marcus

Great content. Not just rehashed info. I dropped foursquare summer 2010 thinking it was a fad that wouldn't last. Looks like it was just at its precipice. And Pinterest...oy vey. Time to get with it. Keep up the good work. Thanks again. @chasenshaw - http://chasenshaw.com

I realize I'm late to the party and I got dizzy reading all the comments, so I apologize if I'm echoing someone else here.

I think that for small businesses anyway, 2012 is the year of focus. RIght now, it seems businesses just want the shiny icons to throw on their site. They want to be on every social outpost, but don't do any of them well. I think it's time that businesses take their engagement deeper instead of wider - at least for those that don't have the staff and bandwidth to support multiple social networks well. Maybe this is wishful thinking instead of trend predictions, but I'd like to see businesses get things right on one network instead of doing a mediocre job trying to do things across five or six.

I also love the social TV convergence. I noticed that USA Network started asking questions on the footer of the screen during the show and including a hashtag for people to talk about it online. Pretty smart if you ask me.

G'Day Gini,

A really valuable update. I'm still an absolute technical novice struggling to prepare a decent landing page. Normally when people post stuff like yours my eyes close, my head spins and I sink slowly to the floor, frothing at the mouth.

But I didn't with yours. That's a big breakthrough. Well done.

Maybe it will be fun after all.

Best wishes

Leon

Hey Gini,

Loved you're 'what's up next' review last year and looking forward to the next one. I'll add a couple of points on social I think (and hope!) we'll see more businesses doing in 2012. Summarised in four words...

Stand out, help someone.

True Personalisation = better results and engagement over time: (I say 'true' because personalisation is not the new concept)

Congratulations, you now have a facebook, youtube, twitter, tumblr account for your business. Now, for double points and (hopefully) double business, what are the unique touches that make your brand memorable? We all have to work in the constraints of the social network platform - so what are you doing differently to stand out? Ideas like this http://www.psfk.com/2011/11/artist-hand-draws-profile-pics-of-twitter-followers.html are an outstanding example of extended thinking using the constraints of a social platform to stand out... oh and drive business of course.

Help! Thank you [brand]

So you have an app like every other app in your industry. Great, another touchpoint for ppl to connect with your brand. But is this all brands have to offer? What else can they do? Help their target audience. Enter Kate Spade. Her app 'features a daily fully-editable calendar styled in the traditional Kate Spade motif' to allow her busy, professional audience to not only engage with her brand but find usefulness in her product. Love it http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2009/12/07/Kate-Spade-Launches-iPhone-App.aspx

When I went to the LA Auto show most of the sales collateral surrounding the vehicles was contained on iPads or something similar. I love the feel of paper but I think that we are going to see much less of it than we used to.

@Gini Dietrich Has anyone mentioned mobile and/or QR codes? Def something I want to discuss at my new job. With the right size startup and budget, seems we've still only tapped the surface of it all!

Nice picks here lady. One thing that I think we will see is a consolidation of networks. Now this will either be through attrition and closing up shops (Myspace, Gowalla, etc.) or another network buying out another (G+ with Twitter, Google TV or Apple Tv with a GetGlue to use it as a ratings proxy).

Thanks very much for the mention @Gini Dietrich . I can tell you thus far our website traffic is sustaining at a quadruple rate 3 days consecutively. Time will tell, but this could be the best promotion we've done to date from a hitting exact target demo standpoint. Great post & enjoyed reading all the trends! I think Pinterest is going to just climb and climb in user base having a very identifiable demo is fantastic. Happy Cyber Monday! :) _DG

 @maragarettate I love Pinterest! We were just talking about its use for food companies last night. 

 @amandaohaver Some of it will be like the music industry - they'll have to adapt because we demand it. The textbooks on your tablet are coming. As are classes done completely online.

 @danielleawilson And look at how well Kickstarter has done...with no real equity in businesses, but people just giving a few dollars here and there.

 @sherrilynne It's funny how people forget about it. There was a study that came out yesterday (I think) that shows how it's still the most effective tactic for B2B companies.

@hdbbstephen I hope you're right!

I want to meet the woman Dorman called out on his post this week...astonishing. Hi, Molli! @MolliMegasko

@MolliMegasko You. Crack. Me. Up!!!

@John_Trader1 It's not really fair that you get to add this one when it was written BEFORE the settlement. I actually thought privacy would be big this year. I think you're right - it has to go on the 2012 list.

@ChrisBradley Talk more about this...this is good! What kinds of social proof? Like Klout kind? Or... ?

@Marcus_Sheridan I really wish email would die, but alas!

@ChasenShaw I almost dropped Foursquare and now I'm glad I didn't. It's just now starting to become valuable. I'd say in the next six months you'll want to take another look at it.

@lauraclick Food Network is also doing that - especially with their competition shows. I don't use it, but I think it's pretty darn cool.

I love focus. That was the big mantra at Arment Dietrich this year. Sure we need to understand the new technologies because it's our jobs, but we didn't want to get carried away.

@Leon Oh darn! I must try harder next time then.

@alexwood15 This is great! I love that you know the Kate Spade app. I shall check it out.

@TheJackB I think you're right. It's much more green AND easier to carry around.

@byronfernandez No one has mentioned QR codes. Tell me more about what you're thinking.

@jeffespo Are you planning to do this? Is there something you'd like to tell us?

@DanGordon Quadruple?!? Are you measuring that traffic to conversions??

@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing@MolliMegasko She's in the cool name club.

@ginidietrich Social proof, as in the evidence that others have confidence in this, so I should too. It plays to the subconscious of power in numbers, so from a marketing or social media point of view, things like reviews and ratings, endorsements from industry leaders or celebrities, highlighting how socially successful something is.

There are already great examples of this, like Amazon, "your buying X, other people who bought X also bought Y".

But what I think will be interesting next year is to see how the power of social proof will be further developed and more deeply integrated, just off the top of my head, your social share buttons, so 466 people have tweeted this, but what if it said 466 people have tweeted this, and it was retweeted 56 times, or that influential names, X, Y, Z were part of the 466 tweets...

There is loads more scope, and obviously things will be application and target specific, but its going to be exciting to see if we can ever reach a trusted standard, and what shapes social proof will take.

@ginidietrich@Marcus_Sheridan Her disdain for it started right around the second she gave me hers...

@ginidietrich@byronfernandez Honestly...still an utter noob to the subject. However, know someone who wrote an excellent piece on it. Can connect you if you're interested

@ginidietrich I am not rich and you know that. However some of those thoughts are in the draft of a similar post I have... I am planning on buying you though and making you my personal PR person. I heard you would take pay in Skittles

@ChrisBradley You are the winner of the two webinar seats! And...I want to learn more about Publicate.

@ginidietrich Awesome, looking forward to reading it!

@ChrisBradley Got it! I wasn't clear what you meant (and really hoped it wasn't Klout). I actually have a blog post in my drafts about this. It's a fascinating topic to me.

@byronfernandez I was hoping YOU would give me something on the subject so it would be contest ready.

@ginidietrich Lol wow...only just realized I accidentally replied to myself. Derp.

@ginidietrich@rustyspeidel Damn it there goes t he G-Rating of our Skype call

@rustyspeidel@jeffespo And wine.

@ginidietrich@jeffespo You DO??

@jeffespo It's true. I do take pay in Skittles.