At the beginning of the year, it seems appropriate to look back at 2012 and how these milestones impact your social media marketing strategy.

Major social media events in 2012

If you take a look at the infographic below (courtesy of the SEO Company), you’ll see major social media events in 2012. I’ll highlight just a few that I think significant for their impact on your social media marketing strategy:

  1. Social media continues its growth
    1. Facebook gains its 1 BILLIONth user
    2. LinkedIN gains 175,000 new users per day
    3. The Pope sends his 1st Tweet
    4. The impact of social media on the US Presidential election mirrors the impact of social media for all kinds of business uses. The victory post by President Obama is the most Liked post in history.
    5. rEvolution (Jim Spinelllo) predicts the use of social media marketing by business will become nearly universal.
  2. Social platforms grow and change
    1. Pinterest – named the best new startup in 2011, Pinterest continues to be a force for business (and personal users), sending more traffic to sites than any other social platform. 80% of pins on Pinterest are also repinned — suggesting the virality of pins.
    2. Google+ still struggles – with most businesses posting once then never again and little usage compared with Facebook and Twitter. Yet, Google Hangouts have huge potential, especially now that they allow more than 10 people.
    3. Facebook’s new timeline confuses users.

Social media marketing strategies for 2013

These events suggest somethings for your 2013 social media marketing strategy, such as:

1. If you’re not using social media as an integral part of your marketing strategy — start

Businesses haven’t implemented cohesive social media marketing strategies for a number of reasons — fear, inability, immeasurable ROI, etc. But, social media is a major force driving consumer choice and taking a wait and see strategy is dangerous.

Businesses who wait to implement a social media marketing strategy will find other brand beat them to the party. These brands developed social media communities when it was easier to glean followers because the competition was low. Early adopters of social media marketing learned the complexities of social media marketing and learned from their mistakes early.

The longer you wait to develop and implement a social media marketing strategy, the further behind you’ll be.

2. If you’re not on Pinterest — get on

Pinterest has huge potential for social media marketing strategy because it brings folks to your website and pins are likely to go viral. If you don’t know how to use Pinterest, see my link above.

3. Master Google+

Even though Google+ struggles, I think you should plant a flag and commit some effort on Goggle+ because I predict an increased impact of Google+ on your social media marketing success. That’s because Google is the most popular search engine (accounting for 70% of search engine traffic) and Google +1′s factor into the search algorithm. I expect Google to increase the weight of Google +1′s on SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) to encourage increased utilization of Google+. Plus, Google Hangouts offer a great (FREE) platform for webinars and other forms of online engagement.

4. LinkedIN is important for your social media marketing strategy

Companies increasingly use LinkedIN as a tool for recruiting new hires and networking. But, be careful. Currently, LinkedIN users send promotional emails to connections. Not only are these emails violations of LinkedIN’s terms of service, they’re dangerous as they damage your reputation and show you don’t REALLY understand social media marketing. Instead, use LinkedIN to build your network and your online reputation by posting and engaging with your network and in groups related to your business.

Other ways to build your reputation are through recommendation and endorsements. Request these from your network and clients to validate your services. Social platforms such as Quora and posting to YouTube and Slideshare also increase your reputation.

5. METRICS

Although not mentioned in this infographic, I truly believe social media marketing is growing up and should focus on analytics to monitor performance and build successful social media marketing strategy.

If you need help getting started on your social media marketing strategy, contact us — we’re professional, thorough and affordable.

Hausman and Associates

Hausman and Associates publishes Hausman Marketing Letter and the monthly email newsletter of the same name. We also provide cost-effective marketing and social media through our innovative virtual agency concept. We welcome new clients and would happily provide a proposal to show you how we can make your marketing SIZZLE.

The State of Social Media 2012 by The SEO Company

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