What will the future of social media look like? Our world is increasingly digital, and our lives become more connected each day. Advances in areas such as social media and mobile technology are changing the ways we interact with our friends and family, but also with brands and organisations. They’re changing the way we do business too, and that change is accelerating at an ever-increasing rate. As a consequence, riding the wave of change and trends is becoming a critical part of on-going business success. To that end, this document explores some of the key themes that we believe will shape the digital world over the course of the coming months.
3. 1 IN 5 PEOPLE ON EARTH ALREADY USES SOCIAL MEDIA
we are social 3
4. JAN
2012 SOCIAL MEDIA PENETRATION
47%
50% 36%
20%
18%
4%
25%
36%
we are social
SOURCES: POPULATION AND URBANISATION DATA: UN (2010); INTERNET USER FIGURES: INTERNET WORLD STATS (LATEST AVAILABLE, JAN 2012);
SOCIAL NETWORKING FIGURES: SOCIALBAKERS (JAN 2012) AND LATEST SITE PRESS RELEASES; MOBILE FIGURES: EXTRAPOLATED FROM ITU DATA (2010)
4
5. HOWEVER, THE MOBILE INTERNET IS
HELPING TO DRIVE EVEN MORE GROWTH
we are social 5
6. JAN
2012 MOBILE PENETRATION
100%
100% 100%
77%
100%
60%
100%
86%
we are social
SOURCES: POPULATION AND URBANISATION DATA: UN (2010); INTERNET USER FIGURES: INTERNET WORLD STATS (LATEST AVAILABLE, JAN 2012);
SOCIAL NETWORKING FIGURES: SOCIALBAKERS (JAN 2012) AND LATEST SITE PRESS RELEASES; MOBILE FIGURES: EXTRAPOLATED FROM ITU DATA (2010)
6
7. BY THE END OF 2012, 1 IN EVERY 4 PEOPLE
AROUND THE WORLD WILL BE USING SOCIAL MEDIA
we are social 7
17. TREND
More and more of our social networking
activity originates in the physical world
we are social 17
18. PREDICTION
‘Social, local, mobile’ (SoLoMo) services
move to the centre of social media experiences
we are social 18
19. IMPLICATIONS
Explore ways to socialise real-life brand experiences –
both in-store and at the point of consumption
Use social listening tools to identify who shares
what, where, and when to identify top influencers
we are social 19
21. ?!
TREND
We rely heavily on recommendations and suggestions
from friends and peers to help make decisions
We increasingly turn to our social networks to
answer the questions search engines can’t solve
we are social 21
22. PREDICTION
Search and social become
more tightly interwoven
we are social 22
23. ( Is Google+ a social network, or
is it a ‘social answers engine’? )
we are social 23
24. IMPLICATIONS
Conversation is the new SEO – the brands that people
talk about most will rise to the top of search engines
we are social 24
26. TREND
Social functionality (e.g. the Like button) is
spreading from host platforms to the wider web
Brands are concerned about over-committing
to individual social networking platforms
we are social 26
27. PREDICTION
Social functionality will become a
natural part of all internet properties,
not just social networking platforms
we are social 27
28. IMPLICATIONS
Brands will need to socialise all of their
web presences, rather than simply creating
a presence in social media platforms
we are social 28
30. TREND
People use social media to interact
with others, not just listen to them
we are social 30
31. PREDICTION
Brands will increasingly use social
channels to deliver customer service-
driven activities rather than advertising
we are social 31
32. IMPLICATIONS
Equip community management teams with
the skills and tools necessary to respond to
customer enquiries, compliments, and complaints
we are social 32
43. TREND
People are struggling to read and
update all their various social profiles
we are social 43
44. PREDICTION
People will consume content through socially
powered curators and aggregators, rather
than through individual platform interfaces
we are social 44
46. IMPLICATIONS
Brands need to explore ways to communicate
with social media audiences without relying
on native apps or social display advertising
we are social 46
48. TREND
Listening to, and interacting with
audiences invariably delivers greater
value than merely talking at them
we are social 48
49. PREDICTION
Brands start to build their own smaller, more
focused social communities where they can learn
more about people’s needs, wants, and desires
we are social 49
50. IMPLICATIONS
Learn how to identify valuable
audience segments and engage them
Trial social research methods and focused crowd-
sourcing to harness your most engaged consumers
we are social 50
51. 10
CORPORATE
SOCIAL
PROACTIVITY
we are social 51
52. TREND
People expect brands to play a bigger
part in making the world a better place
we are social 52
53. PREDICTION
CSR moves out of the annual report
and into meaningful, real-world activities
we are social 53
54. IMPLICATIONS
Find ways to add value to communities that also
build the brand and reinforce valuable relationships
Use social media to share details of CSR activities,
involve relevant communities, and build goodwill
we are social 54
56. +1
TREND
Peer and influencer endorsement
are increasingly valuable to brands
we are social 56
57. PREDICTION
Influence measurement becomes more
sophisticated as marketers invest
more in partnering with influencers
we are social 57
58. IMPLICATIONS
Understand the role influencers play
in the audience’s purchase cycle
Identify the influence metrics
that matter most to the brand
we are social 58
59. $ 12
END-TO-END
ACCOUNTABILITY
we are social 59
60. TREND
As social media evolve into ‘social business’,
marketers need to demonstrate social activities’
contributions to the brand’s bottom line
we are social 60
61. PREDICTION
Social measurement will evolve to
deliver full purchase-cycle tracking
we are social 61
62. IMPLICATIONS
Brands need to ensure that all marketing activity –
both online and offline – can be tracked, and prepare
for this from the outset of social media activities
we are social 62
63. 12 PROVOCATIONS
01 MOBILE SOCIAL 07 INTERFACE INNOVATION
02 SO-LO-MO TAKES OFF 08 CURATION & FUNNELLING
03 SEARCH-SOCIAL CROSSOVER 09 SOCIAL NICHEWORKS
04 SOCIAL BAKED-IN 10 CORPORATE SOCIAL PROACTIVITY
05 SOCIAL CRM 11 INFLUENCER MEASUREMENT
06 INCLUSIVE CONTENT 12 END-TO-END ACCOUNTABILITY
we are social 63
64. WE ARE SOCIAL IS A GLOBAL CONVERSATION AGENCY.
WE HELP BRANDS TO LISTEN TO, UNDERSTAND,
AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE’RE ALREADY HELPING MANY OF THE WORLD’S
TOP BRANDS, INCLUDING ADIDAS, UNILEVER,
DIAGEO, NESTLÉ, HEINZ, AND LVMH.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT US HELPING YOU
TOO, CALL US ON +65 9146 5356, OR EMAIL
US AT SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG.
FIND OUT MORE AT HTTP://WEARESOCIAL.SG/
65. SIMON KEMP
@ESKIMON
+65 9146 5356
SIMON.KEMP@WEARESOCIAL.SG
HTTP://WEARESOCIAL.SG