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:
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
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.
From Instagram to Pinterest, visual social media became a must-do in 2012. This year, visual social medias latest iteration is the short video. Reaching more than 13 million users in just five months, Twitters video sharing app Vine is social medias latest darling. Vine lets users create six-second videos. In a world where brevity is increasingly valued for marketing, Vines 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.
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 shoppers social network.
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.