The mainstream press fell in love with Twitter, Facebook grew aggressively and a new wave of companies starting taking social media seriously as a business tool. One of the most powerful potentials of social media is for it to not only connect people online, but facilitate connections offline as well. 2010 will see an increase in location aware apps and games that blur the line between the web and the real work with technologies like Four Square and augmented reality. Driving this will be continued interest in and improvement of mobile web technologies like smart phones and net books. The real world will be important again.
Below are 5 secrets to staying on top of it all in 2010
1. Pay Attention to the Metrics
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Chief Marketing Officers are going to pay more attention to metrics and tie in social media more directly to overall business goals, not just web-related goals. When starting up new project agree on what the metrics should be and what goals are appropriate.
2. Scale Good Habits
As you grow, make sure you match your structure, policy and guidelines to your organization size. What works with 2 people won’t work with 20 people. All in all your structure should encourage good habits. Your entire team should be motivated to respond quickly, post consistently and talk like a human. Speaking of policies and rules…
3. Have Rules, But Trust People
As your social media strategy matures, you’ll add in more rules and guidelines. However, you can’t have a rule for every situation. You need to trust your team. Lead by example, don’t manage with rulebook.
4. Creativity & Personality Trump Big Budget
Social media is definitely one of those areas in life where more money doesn’t always win. Two of the most powerful ingredients in social media are creativity and personality. They are the key to having a viral message and to being a trusted resource. They are also essential to discovering useful strategies and tactics. You can’t be afraid to try something new or go against the grain.
5. Listen Listen & Listen
Don’t focus so much on you and your message. Put that farther down on your To Do List. Focus first on your customers. Hear what they are saying, see what they’re up to. Once you’ve been able to connect, and figure them out, then see how you can help.
The resulting list of popular media for 2010 is as follows:
• Email, with 56.8% realistically planning to use it
• Social networks (56.3%)
• Keyword search (49.7%)
• Radio (42.2%)
• Magazines (42.1%)
• Online display (40.5%)
• Event sponsorship (36.9%)
• Rich media display (35.5%)
• Direct mail (34.7%)
• Regional TV (32.8%)
• Regional newspapers (31.7%)
• Out-of-home (31.2%)
• Email sponsorship (29.5%)
• Online video (26.7%)
• Mobile SMS text (26.1%)
• National TV (18.2%)
• National newspapers (14.8%)
