Since the world didn’t end, neither should your social media planning. It is critical to stay on top of the latest trends instead of looking back on missed opportunities and strategies. When considering your social media marketing plan for 2013, there are a few concepts to keep in mind.
Social Reviews
In order to get the competitive edge this year for your business, you will need to find your brand advocates in social spaces and encourage reviews. Receiving more positive online reviews will be important this year as consumer product research becomes more prevalent. Having ten solid recommendations for your product or service on your Facebook page will be the equivalent of social media gold. Rewarding the promotion of consumer feedback and reviews should be a key strategy to your 2013 plan.
Engaging, Shareable Content
Being visually unique in the online world will become crucial on social sites in 2013. With so many businesses in the social space, you will need to boost your content to be noticed. Any company should take advantage of purely visual social spaces like Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. Adding shareable content to these social spaces is going to be the best way to get unpaid brand exposure. Bottom line – if you personally wouldn’t engage with the post or you wouldn’t share it with your friends, it’s not worth posting.
Changing Methods of Advertising
Whether it’s Facebook Ads, Promoted Posts, Sponsored Stories or YouTube Ads – you have to get your foot in the social advertising waters to stay above the competition. The ad models will be changing frequently in 2013, as they did this past year, in order to increase ROI. This will come in two forms: ad retargeting and closing in on very specific markets. Ad retargeting on Facebook should be part of any B2C’s marketing plan in 2013. Deciphering the exact demographics of your target market will be vital this year when running social ad campaigns as well.
Mobile Social Gaining Momentum
Anything a business does on their social sites needs to be compliant with mobile phones. In 2012, 33% of Facebook’s users ONLY accessed Facebook from their mobile devices. This number is expected to grow in 2013 – and companies must adapt! Another thing to consider is how mobile social sites will affect commerce. If you have a brick and mortar store, developing a mobile social campaign – whether it is on Facebook or Foursquare – should be something to think about in 2013.
Old Players becoming New Players
2013 will the year of the final attempt for Myspace and Google+. If they don’t become prevalent this year, it could be their last hope. With Myspaces new makeover and star backing, it is important to keep an eye on its popularity. If it becomes a contender of Facebook – that will mean your business has to participate. As for Google+, having a business page is not an option. You must have one for search engine ranking reasons, but being highly active on this social space is still a questionable use of time. Keep on top of both of these social sites and make sure you stay ahead of the curve.
Did you know that Volume 9 offers social media marketing services to clients? Let us know if you want any help with your 2013 social strategy!