2009 was a stellar year for social media marketing for business, but what will 2010 hold and demand for all types of businesses?
David Armano, from the Harvard Business blog, sites the following trends for social media in 2010.
1. Email will slowly disintegrate
iPhone applications are becoming more and more mainstream including Facebook and Twitter apps; more people will utilize mobile apps to share information instead of email.
2. Companies will have a social media policy and will seek to enforce it while on company time
Already small businesses are writing social media policies for its employees, and starting to enforce it. If your company doesn’t already have one, it will likely implement one in 2010. Since social media for business is becoming more mobile, companies are not able to monitor how much time employees waste on updating their Facebook or Twitter on the clock, so it’s likely they will see specific policies on what is acceptable.
3. Social media marketing for business becomes serious
Companies will likely realize the value of “playing” with social media and will encourage trusted employees and execs to participate more to help establish and maintain brand identity, and outdo its competitors. Niche social networks will increase and encourage local and mobile activity.
4. Social media begins to be less social and more about value
With more niche networks becoming popular, networks could begin to feel more “exclusive,” according to Armano. “Perhaps it’s not actually less social, but it might seem that way as we all come to terms with getting value out of our networks — while filtering out the clutter.”
