What are the social media predictions for 2013?

 

Businesses of all sizes pour time and resources into the implementation of social media to engage with potential customers and to create awareness about their product and services. When deciding to use social media as a marketing strategy, it is important to look at upcoming trends in order to strategically create a social media marketing plan. Below is a list of five social media predictions for 2013.

 

 

1. Visuals will play a bigger role than ever before

In 2012 social media sites that are visual networks grew tremendously. Pinterest and Instagram whose sites are both based upon visual content, gained millions of followers this past year. Facebook is even creating a News Feed that is based upon more visual content, including videos. This growth has attracted businesses to not only use more visual social networks, but to also push out more visual content on existing social media sites. This trend will grow in 2013, and businesses will produce visually pleasing content to drive engagement and growth within their social media networks.

2. Businesses will need to optimize content for mobile platforms

Mobile use is growing expeditiously. People are now using their smart phones and tablets to access sites. Businesses will need to make their content mobile friendly in order for potential customers to be able to access their information. Text-heavy content is a thing of the past, links and pictures are easier to digest on the small screens of a smart-phone and tablet.

3. More personalized feeds on social sites

Facebook’s new News Feed allows users to choose the content that is most appealing, to be displayed on the News Feed. Users can choose from multiple options such as close friends, recent stories, music, games, and many more (Click here for more information on Facebook’s new News Feed). Twitter is also predicted to start personalizing your Twitter feed based on an algorithm similar to Facebook’s EdgeRank.

4. Content marketing will become essential in 2013

The content that your business produces must be better than ever before. Concise, well-written, inspiring, and informative content will be necessary to capture your audience. With personalized feeds businesses will not have as large of an organic reach as before. The content produced must compel users to want to share it or return to your site for more information.

5. E-commerce will meet social media in 2013

Social media platforms will enable eager consumers to make purchases via social media. Imagine being able to purchase all the products that are on Instagram and Pinterest without having to search very far. Social media is a useful venue for consumers because of the assimilated communication features. This integration will make purchasing easier and more fun for consumers.

 

Share your social media predictions with us. How will these predictions affect your business’s social media strategy?