20 Social Media Trends for
Business Thought-Starters for 2011 Dave Fleet VP Digital, Edelman

Themes 1. Silo busting 2.
Maturation of social media 3. Rise of the „less shiny object‟ 4. Communication accelerates 5. Ubiquitous social Edelman.ca

Theme #1:
Silo busting

Trend #1: Integration Organizations will
increasingly realize that social media achieves little unless they integrate it with other communication forms and with other business functions Edelman.ca

Trend #1: Best practices •
Structure social media across silos • Integrate and share intelligence across the enterprise • Plan communications across functions • Bring diverse departments together for planning Edelman.ca

Trend #2: Social customer support
Multiple factors lead companies to adopt social support activities alongside their traditional channels Edelman.ca

Trend #2: Best practices •
Engage proactively AND reactively • Where possible, solve problems in public • Support resolution by the community • Reward third-party advocates Photo: angelaarcher Edelman.ca

Trend #3: Social impact drives
reputation BP‟s deep-water disaster reminded organizations – and people – that their social impact affects their reputation Edelman.ca

Trend #3: Best practices •
Look towards social impact of business • Invest in CSR activities… and communicate them effectively • Avoid „greenwashing‟ Edelman.ca

Theme #2: Maturation of social
media

Trend #4: Death of the
campaign Companies look beyond campaigns and towards ongoing activities as drivers of results in social media activities Edelman.ca

Trend #4: Best practices •
Identify an executive sponsor • Budget, staff, plan for ongoing activities • Diversify responsibility for activities – Between functions – Within functions Edelman.ca

Trend #5: Consolidation Consolidation in
social media tools will continue in established sectors such as blogging platforms and monitoring. We‟ll see that expand to sectors such as social CRM and campaign management platforms in future years. Edelman.ca

Trend #5: Best practices •
Build your social media presence around a „home base‟ • Plan your social presence carefully • Don‟t chase after shiny Edelman.ca

Trend #6: "Influence" matures Companies
evolve their approach to influence beyond just considering reach. Thought leadership and experts take precedence. Edelman.ca

Trend #6: Best practices •
Consider context • Consider spheres of influence outside the top tier • Measure outcomes to refine approach Edelman.ca

Trend #7: Democratization of voice
Companies continue the path broken by others to allow additional corporate spokespeople in the online space Edelman.ca

Trend #7: Best practices •
Set boundaries for free engagement • Develop community guides to ensure consistency in approach • Hire experience and train for success Edelman.ca

Trend #8: Return of websites
After several years of being told to “fish where the fish are” businesses realize that social integration to existing web sites doesn’t only help them become relevant—users will expect it. Edelman.ca

Trend #8: Best practices •
Incorporate social data from connections, friends • Design for function & form • Be conservative on privacy Edelman.ca

Theme #3: Rise of the
“less shiny object”

Trend #9: Digitally driven crises
No-one thinks they're going to experience a crisis until they do. More and more organizations will realize too late that they need to incorporate digital into their crisis plans. Edelman.ca

Trend #9: Best practices •
Identify potential sources of crises • Plan ahead • Monitor continuously for emerging issues • Practice through crisis simulations Edelman.ca

Trend #10: Digital Curation Social
media allows everyone to produce content. Some is good; some is bad. As the volume of information increases, companies may benefit from curating the former. Edelman.ca

Trend #10: Best practices •
Identify under-served niches and meet them • Frame up issues and discussions; editorialize • Make curation collaborative and social Photo by chrisjbarker Edelman.ca

Trend #11: Search strategy Companies
will increasingly factor search considerations into the earned and social realms of their online activities. Edelman.ca

Trend #11: Best practices •
Think beyond SEM and on-domain SEO • Factor search considerations into communications planning, not just content • Optimize activities to realize long-term benefit from short-term campaigns Edelman.ca

Trend #12: Community management Community
management evolves beyond random engagement and towards rigorous, measured strategic activity Edelman.ca

Trend #12: Best practices •
Engage community members and encourage participation • Personalize interactions while reinforcing corporate priorities • Act transparently • Engage respectfully • Act as a real-time first line of defense for online issues Edelman.ca

Trend #13: Developer Engagement Developers
are driving innovation across all key digital platforms. Marketing innovators will begin working with developers to scale their programs and boost their surface area. Photo by bugbbq Edelman.ca 30

Trend #13: Best practices •
Make valuable assets available for developers – e.g. art, text, videos, data • Build APIs and cultivate a rich developer network • Adopt developer creations Edelman.ca 31

Trend #14: Measurement matures Measurement
has long been an Achilles heel for PR. Advertising agencies are still stuck measuring impressions. Measurement will, by necessity, evolve in 2011. Edelman.ca

Trend #14: Best practices •
Mandate metric sharing between company and agencies, & between agency partners • Measure outcomes of activities, not outputs • Consider measurement at the beginning and middle – not just the end • Tailor reports to the audience • Insist on context alongside numbers Edelman.ca

Trend #15: Rise of the
content strategist As campaigns evolve to sit alongside ongoing community management, content creation and optimization takes a central place at the social media table. Photo: John Two Persons Benedick Edelman.ca

Trend #15: Best practices •
Place audiences at the core of content • Plan and maintain a flexible content calendar • Create social objects to drive attention • Optimize based on previous results Edelman.ca

Theme #4:
Communication accelerates

Trend #16: Listening becomes mandatory
Increased occurrences of social media-driven issues, combined with the potential for insights and for building brands and reputations drives monitoring as a core social activity Edelman.ca

Trend #16: Best practices •
Formalize monitoring for the organization • Tailor search taxonomies to functional needs • Establish processes to route and escalate conversations as needed • Extend monitoring boundaries beyond the organization to a wider context Edelman.ca

Trend #17: Marketing in Streams
Increasing prevalence of streams of news means that “what” and “where” no longer answer enough questions. “When” becomes an important consideration. Edelman.ca

Trend #17: Best practices •
Analyse your audience activity • Schedule updates throughout the day • Post content at optimum times Edelman.ca

Trend #18: Social media overload
Social media overload is nothing new to early adopters, but it will become an increasing issue for “average” users Edelman.ca

Trend #18: Best practices •
Don‟t over-extend your presence • Keep participation simple • Integrate social networks into website sign-ins Edelman.ca

Theme #5:
Ubiquitous Mobile

Trend #19: Ubiquitous social Mobility
has already expanded beyond mobiles. The market for tablets will become saturated in 2011, and competition will drive even more innovation Edelman.ca

Trend #19: Best practices •
Plan content for multiple digital experiences & platforms • Optimize for mobility, not just mobile • Combine social sharing integration Edelman.ca

Trend #20: Location, location, Facebook
2010 was Foursquare‟s year, but it never broke through. Facebook is now paying attention to location, and is poised to make location-based marketing relevant. Edelman.ca

Trend #20: Best practices •
Think “LoSoPhoMo,” particularly on Facebook • Combine real and digital world engagement • Reward advocates with additional privileges and rewards Edelman.ca

Questions?
LinkedIn.com/in/davefleet
dave.fleet@edelman.com
416.849.8940
Edelman.ca