A recent study of 100 of the largest companies in the Fortune 500 list found that 79% of them use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or corporate blogs to communicate with customers and other stakeholders. This study lists many interesting statistics. Two thirds operate at least one Twitter account (on average they have 4.2 Twitters accounts); 54% have at least one Facebook fan page and 50% have at least one YouTube channel. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook are mostly Western-oriented; companies in Asia-Pacific prefer corporate blogs. When these companies do use Twitter or Facebook, it is usually to engage consumers in Europe and North America. The most interesting statistic from this study is that consumers actually do like to engage with companies via social media, making all those channels worthwhile.
Where is this phenomenon headed in 2010? What will social media bring next? What will "being connected" mean? According to Ravit Lichtenberg, US guru on social media strateguies and avid blogger there are 10 ways that social media will change in 2010.
1. Social media will become a single, cohesive experience embedded in our activities
By this time next year, social media will no longer be "social media"—it will be an integrated, unquestionable component of our online and offline experiences.
In 2010, users will access content from various devices and platforms. They will mash-up their photos, videos and text with traditional content while interacting with other people. This trend will cut across activities such as playing games, shopping, e-mailing and texting.
Everything we do online will be gathered and streamed together, allowing people to view their activities as if they were all projected right in front of them—open to change, review and input at any time from any device or online tool.
2. Social media innovation will no longer be limited by technology
In 2010, companies will innovate the way they useexisting technology, rather than focus on technology enhancements themselves.
The advent of the “predictive Web”, in which the Internet already knows what you want before you know you want it, is upon us. In the past, user research required focus groups and usability tests. In 2010, companies will utilize the Web's capabilities to collect information that focus groups once provided. Naturally-occurring conversations will be used to shape product innovation and design, and companies will create incentives for the public’s contributions while repurposing and analyzing content in new ways.
3. Mobile will be king
Worldwide, the iPhone alone accounts for about 33 percent of mobile Web traffic. The analyst firm IDC predicts that the number of mobile Web users will hit one billion by 2010.
As technological barriers come down, people will increasingly use their phones to access social networks, search for information, read content and find location-based information. Our phones will be used as a central hub and beacon—enabling a slew of new capabilities and experiences.
4. The battle over content ownership will heat up
In 2009, content was available anywhere, anytime, by anyone and to everyone; it was the year content exploded across the Web. The issue Google solved so magically—content find-ability—will become all but moot in the coming years. Instead, content relevance and quality will become a key focus.
In 2010, companies will take measures to own the rights to their original content and to control its location and cost. Not long ago, Rupert Murdoch announced that he may opt News Corp. out of Google, instructing Google to de-index his media conglomerate’s publications from the search engine and selling exclusive rightsto News Corp. content to Microsoft’s Bing search engine. Like News Corp., other content publishers will be able to determine where they make their content available and at what cost.
"People don't realize that everything they do—on Facebook, Google and with their credit cards—is being collected, tracked, analyzed, owned and monetized by these companies who provide (so-called) free services. It's not a healthy model,” says John Faber, COO of af83.
5. Enterprises will shape the next generation
It is easy to forget that enterprises and large institutions are the originators of some of social media's pillars: listservs, forums, intranets and collaboration tools. As social media became a public domain, enterprises have been cautious participants, predominantly in the product space, with few visionary leaders like Zappos, IBM and Dell.
But they are wary no more. Today such institutions report a 25 percent average increase in fund allocation toward social media activities. In 2010 we will see a surge in the adoption of social media across product, services and solutions companies. With this shift in budget allocations and a set of unique needs, enterprises will determine the next generation of social experiences.
For example, most recently, Salesforce.com released Chatter, designed to encourage the development of community in Customer Relations Management (CRM). With its application programming interface (API) opening later this year, "Chatter can become a new layer over its Force platform, already being used by 68,000 customers, enabling companies and developers to leverage the Salesforce infrastructure in a secure environment," said Bruce Francis, VP of corporate strategy for Salesforce.
6. ROI will be measured—and it will matter
In 2009, determining return on investment (ROI) on social media activities challenged most companies. Surveys indicate that only 18 percent of companies recognized meaningful return on investment in their social media activities while the other 72 percent reported modest, no return or inability to measure the return on their investment in social media
While the definition of ROI is evolving to better fit the world of relationships and networks, the ability to demonstrate ROI in hard numbers—not in followers or fans—will become a baseline business requirement in 2010. Already, both traditional firms and startups are working feverishly to demonstrate that their social media efforts are not just hype but offer a strong ROI. Companies able to analyze and predict hard returns on such investments will find the most success.
7. Cool and bizarre online-offline integration
Virtual worlds, games and avatars were just the beginning of online-offline integration. In 2010 we'll see a greater push on this front as distance and physical walls will matter even less than they did last year. Augmented reality—already integrated into Yelp's (customer review website yet to be launched in Australia) latest geo-tagging enabled application—will allow users to find relevant information and people depending on their location; Twitter 360 will help people find each other, connect and see updates by location through mobile devices.
People will be able to scan products on shelves but process the sale online. You'll never need to ask for a business card again at events. And you may actually receive local sales promotions and discounts on your mobile device that match your interests.
8. Many "old" skills will be needed again
The economic downturn, coupled with the surge of social media, eliminated many traditional marketing and PR roles. But this year, we'll see the return of professionals to the field. Enterprises will turn back to marketers who specialize in understanding customer psychology and who are experienced in addressing these both off- and online.
Research and development divisions will turn to customer experience professionals to draw on user needs and ideas, and sales and support will continue to deliver services online. Expect to see an upsurge in positions for social media managers, social media psychologists and social media executive administrators to help manage the infinite tasks involved with communities and social media campaigns.
9. Women will rule social media
2009 revealed the growing role women play online. Women make or influence 75 percent of all buying decisionsfor the home, and 85 percent of all consumer purchases. Social networks have at least 50 percent female members, and it iswomenaged 35-55 who make up the fastest-growing population on Facebook, not the general Gen-Y population as previously anticipated. Women are sought-after consumers and often use social media channels for both personal and professional networking purposes. Expect to see greater focus on women as consumers as well as an increase in female dominated social media roles.
10. Social media will move into new domains
As social media becomes more integrated into our experiences online, it will have an impact on verticals such as non-profit, job training, education and health care. University of the People, an initiative supported by the United Nations is using the power of distance learningand virtual collaboration to make free university education available to people all over the globe.
"The top 10 companies to work for are going to become learning companies. Instead of having 10 percent of time to philanthropic activities, they'll spend 10 percent of time on learning or teaching," says Chris Heuer, founder of Social Media Club. "Sites like I’m Too Young For This and Know Cancer Community prove that no topic is too complex for social collaboration."
Social media, even as we knew it six months ago, has changed. By this time next year, it will have become fully integrated into nearly everything we do online and offline. We will no longer speak about social media technology but about what we've been able to do with it. We will discuss power of ownership and only accept quality, relevant content.
Whether you are an individual, a startup, a small business or a large corporation, an online presence and an ongoing conversation with your constituents is a baseline requirement—and building such a relationship will take time and expertise.
As the social media wave dissipates into the vast ocean of connected experiences, the term itself will find its way into dictionaries and encyclopaedias and we will embark on a new era of knowledge, accessibility and experiences not limited by distance, time or physical walls
