From Vines to SoMoLo, social media continues to dominate digital marketing with new, innovative platforms for reaching and engaging consumers. In the last three years, social media marketing process expenditures have grown by 140%; no other marketing expenditure has grown this much in the same period. In contrast, traditional advertising expenditures are plummeting – decreasing by 7.9% over the last three years. Social media marketing expenditures are predicted to more than double in the next five years – accounting for nearly one-fifth of a company’s entire marketing budget. (Forbes/CMO Survey)

As social media marketing expenditures increase, businesses must also be more strategic about their social media engagement. Gone are the days when companies could retweet a blog post and call it a day. Small businesses must deliver seamless experiences across all digital touch points – integrating social media with existing digital and traditional marketing for maximum impact.

From a new emphasis on engagement ROI to increased specialization, these are the four hottest social media trends for small businesses in 2013:

1. Engagement meets ROI. 

In 2012, brands finally grasped that social media was all about customer engagement and relationship management. However, while brands can have great conversations on Facebook and Twitter, these conversations mean very little without the analytics to measure their impact and track behaviors. This year, businesses are placing greater precedence on meaningful ROI analytics and asking, "What happens after the tweet?" Key social analytics to track includeL

1. conversation rate (the number of audience replies or comments to a post)
2. amplification rate (number of retweets or shares per post, which quantifies the reach of your network) and
3. conversion rate (the Holy Grail for digital marketing strategists, which tracks how social media traffic interacts with a business’s website).

2. Specialization improves engagement. 

From Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram, in 2012, many businesses believed they needed to be active on every social network. This year, businesses are scaling back their reach and focusing their efforts on two or three key networks that best connect with their target audiences. Specialization matters: businesses that focus on two or three key networks deliver a better overall experience for customers through consistent, quality engagement. After all, keeping up with social media can be a big time suck, especially for small businesses and soloprenuers. Consistent engagement on two networks beats sporadic engagement on five.

3. Social video makes it debut.

From Instagram to Pinterest, visual social media became a must-do in 2012. This year, visual social media’s latest iteration is the short video. Reaching more than 13 million users in just five months, Twitter’s video sharing app Vine is social media’s latest darling. Vine lets users create six-second videos. In a world where brevity is increasingly valued for marketing, Vine’s time limit is forcing businesses to be creative in their content presentation. For example, small businesses are using Vines to show a “behind-the-scenes” sneak peek of the workplace or product launch, as well as creating short “how-to” visual tutorials. The short, stop-motion style boosts brand engagement while presenting useful information in a creative manner. Not to be left out, Instagram launched a new video option in June. Businesses that are active on either Instagram or Twitter can benefit from these new tools.

4. SoMoLo integrates social with mobile search and location-based marketing.

Despite the name, SoMoLo is not a hipster neighborhood in Brooklyn, but the convergence of three major digital marketing trends: social media; mobile search marketing; and location-based marketing. Businesses are exploring new digital platforms that provide highly-targeted, context-rich communication based on location. From mobile payment options like Square and Google Wallet to in-store mobile marketing, SoMoLo is changing eCommerce. Small businesses are already positioning themselves to take advantage of SoMoLo. For example, in-store marketing could nudge indecisive shoppers towards a specific product by showing product reviews made by members of the shopper’s social network.

Summary

From Facebook to LinkedIn, social media is still all about customer engagement. Small businesses that understand the social media marketing process (e.g., the ROI for different social strategies) are poised to benefit the greatest from new developments like Vine and SoMoLo. In order to capitalize on real-time opportunities, small businesses must not only be up to date on the latest trends, but also ensure their social strategy is well integrated with all aspects of their existing marketing program.