Blog Archives
2010 Social Media Trend Insight
Yup, yup, it’s that time of year where we’re all trying to figure out where we’ve ended up and where we’ll be a year from now. It’s anyone’s guess to a degree but I did want to check in with a couple social media colleagues to have them share their insight.
Special thanks to Lee Aase and Arik Hanson for helping out!
Lee Aase
Lee is the Manager of Syndication and Social Media at Mayo Clinic and also heads up Social Media University Global. He’s had quite the busy year, spurring along a viral video and traveling across the country to share insight about Mayo Clinic’s social media success. I look forward to presenting with Lee on a Webinar in January for the organ/tissue donation community.
Arik Hanson
Arik has also had a big year as 2009 marked the launch of ACH Communications. A constant innovator and connector, Arik also plays a big role as a mover and shaker in the world of healthcare and social media.
On top of checking out Lee and Arik’s responses below, I’d also encourage you to hop over to David Mullen‘s blog to check out his post on Four PR Trend Predictions for 2010. I always have a grand appreciation for David’s insight and this post will not disappoint.
-Scott
In your mind, what one social media trend dominated 2009?
AH: One trend we saw in 2009 was toward using social media for social good. Just look what Danny Brown and 12for12K Nation did in the last 11 months. What about how Sarah Evans helped a local shelter raise 16K in less than three weeks. Or even what David Armano did early in the year to raise money for a family in need. Maybe not a social cause, but definitely social good. The larger point? Organizations–and people–used social media to make a difference.
LA: I think 2009 was the year of Twitter. With lots of celebrities getting involved it drew millions of others to try it out. I also think we saw the Twitter site make significant changes so that the basic Web interface is much more functional. For instance, it’s now reasonable to follow and participate in a Twitter chat right from your Twitter home page. I did a post on the topic here: 3 Steps to Joining or Leading a Twitter Chat.
I previously would have said you needed to use Tweetdeck or another interface for a Twitter chat. This makes it much more practical for lots of people to get involved in group Twitter chats.
What trend do you think will be big in 2010?
AH: Two things: Mobile and social media “behind the firewall.” With more people buying smart phones every day, mobile marketing is ready to explode. I only see that growing in 2010. And, as the devices evolve, so will our marketing efforts and approaches. There are so many opportunities with mobile video, live streaming, FourSquare, BrightKite, Twitter, etc. Increasingly, people are doing more business on mobile devices. Banking, buying, donating, reading review of restaurants, I could go on and on. Brands would be wise to keep a pulse on this scene.
I think you’ll also see more companies start using social media as a tool “behind the firewall.” To date, more companies have been intrigued by the possibilities social media can provide with customers and other external stakeholders. But, in 2010, I think you’ll see more organizations think about using some of these same tools internally to foster collaboration, innovation and faster decision-making.
Organizations still need to become more efficient. That’s not going away just because the economy is showing signs of life. And, all successful companies thrive on innovation. Most social tools make these processes easier–especially for organizations that operate in a silo or are geographically dispersed.
LA: I think the mobile Web will be even bigger, with Android-based phones providing more smartphone choices, so while apps have been big in 2009, I think they’ll be huge in 2010.
Name one of your social media goals for 2010:
AH: In a word: Read.
Sure, most of my goals revolve around my new business and getting that off the ground, but reading is something that always gets pushed to the backburner. And, I simply can’t let that happen in 2010. By making time for daily reading (i.e., blogs, news sites and other sources of information), I am able to stay better informed of what’s going on in the world which helps me personally, professionally and on the new business front.
Reading blogs has also proven to be a tremendous networking tool for me. In 2009, I started reading Mengel’s Musings, LAF, Dave Fleet, Conversation Agent, Media Emerging, Social Media Explorer and Convince & Convert, among many, many others. That has not only led to learning new skills, generating new ideas and expanding my view in the social sphere, but also to actually meeting the bloggers behind these fantastically smart reads. And, in turn, that has enriched my life. Beyond words. The benefits speak for themselves.
LA: We (Mayo Clinic) had a really exciting year in 2009, launching our Sharing Mayo Clinic blog and syndicating an hour-long radio show nationally using social media (Twitter, streaming audio and our radio.mayoclinic.org blog) for about five percent of the cost of traditional syndication. One of my goals in 2010 is to consolidate some of those activities and create even more efficient and standardized processes, so we can have a good platform from which to launch our next wave.
That next wave is going to be pretty exciting. Stay tuned.
You’ve Got to Be Tweep’n Kidding Me!
Earlier yesterday my super-savvy CG&A coworker Ryan, passed along a link to a new Twitter tool called TweepMe. When I finally clicked through to the site, it took me all of three seconds to raise an eyebrow after reading this:
What is TweepMe?TweepMe is the fastest way to accumulate followers on Twitter. When a new member joins, every other member automatically follows the new member, and the new member follows them back. The process is gradual and happens over the course of weeks or months depending on the number of TweepMe members.
Noooooo. For real?! As you might guess, Twitter has suspended this application for the time being.
I’m not going to echo everything that’s already been said in Cheryl’s assessment of the site, but I will re-emphasize one key point:
Quality vs. Quantity
I’ve harped on this before, but TweepMe is a perfect example to highlight. Why in the world would you want thousands of people following you with 99% of those followers not caring one iota about connecting with you? If you’re going to do that, you might as well sit and talk to yourself in a mirror.
As Cheryl notes, Twitter works and works well when you connect with others that are in your industry, geographic area or those with whom you build strong relationships with because of similar personal or professional interests.
In a phone call with David Mullen a few weeks back, we chatted about managing the Twitter stream and how he is able to keep up with thousands of followers. The reality of the matter is that most people don’t. It’s simply too much.
Naturally, we keep close tabs on a core group of 30-40 people. Humans aren’t capable of maintaining close relationships with thousands of people. Certainly, there are tools such as Tweetdeck that assist our efforts, but most quality conversation is directed toward those with whom we build personal relationships over time.
Don’t worry about getting thousands upon thousands of followers. Instead, hone in on building strong relationships and making a concerted effort to really connect with your core group.
All in all, I’m glad to see Twitter put TweepMe to rest for now. Seems like the site was a recipe for SPAM disaster.
-Scott
Social Media – It’s All So Overwhelming
Clients say it. Your co-workers say it. You utter it to yourself now and again.
Whether you’re a seasoned social media vet or just diving in, social media can definitely be a whirlwind to tackle. Heck, just finding a consistent, agreed upon definition of “social media” can be quite the challenge in and of itself.
It certainly would be nice if there was an established methodology and single handbook to teach a newbie everything you need to know about social media. As humans, we find comfort in routine and knowing that there is a start, finish and ultimate sense of accomplishment. BUT, luckily, we also thrive heavily on creativity, challenge and the unknown.
Social media lends itself to the latter mindset. It’s important to remember that the foundation of social media revolves around basic principals of human communication and interaction. Once you have a solid understanding of tool functionality, your success in using social media becomes highly dependent on developing strategic, creative methods of outreach.
But, where does one even start?
Don’t Think You Need to Eat the Whole Pie
Social media is best served up in slices. You’re not going to learn everything in one day, one week or one year. Learning social media is a neverending process. As the Web grows and technology changes, so will our online communication patterns. Thus, don’t expect to “learn social media” and be done.
If you are just trying to find a starting point with social media there is plenty you can do to increase your social media savvy. Here are three possible ideas:
1) Read Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, Groundswell and Social Media is a Cocktail Party. All three books will provide a solid foundation for understanding the social media landscape.
2) Find 5 blogs (3 professional/client interest, 2 personal interest) and study these blogs for 20 minutes each morning (SMUG, David Mullen and Dave Fleet would be a good start for your professional blogs). Watch how the comment flow impacts the dialogue of each post. Introduce yourself to the author and eventually begin commenting yourself. If you can’t learn to effectively listen and monitor, you don’t stand a chance in fully grasping social media.
3) Pick two tools and tackle them hard. My recommendation would be to choose between LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Don’t just set up profiles but study the wealth of published knowledge about how to use these tools strategically. Research, research, research. Once you feel you have a solid grasp on one tool, try a new one. It’s not until you are actively engaged on these platforms that you will come to understand how they can used as key channels of communication for your business or client.
It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Step back and enjoy each slice of the pie. Be warned, before you know it, social media addiction will take over.
-Scott
