(from CASE BriefCASE, December 2011) It’s the end of 2011, which means it’s time for predictions for the upcoming year. Marketing and social media experts foresee interesting developments for 2012, both for professionals and users.
Several groups have weighed in on possible trends:
Further integration of social media and marketing: Harvard Business Review’s blog calls it “convergence emergence” where users can check in to a business or institution, pay for services with apps, provide feedback through social networks that can be seen in real-time on billboards or tickers—and meet other users who are in the same area or interested in the same products.
Internal convergence: “Today we talk about mobile, social, marketing, public relations, advertising, direct mail, email, customer service and sales as if they’re working in silos,” writes Ragan Communications. “But 2012 is the year it needs to integrate…You’ll see these disciplines all work together as if they’re in a circle and not in silos.” MediaPost adds that 2012 is the year when social media becomes a standard line item for marketers in much the same way that search functions did. “It’s an always functioning piece of the marketing pie,” the online publication writes. Social Media Explorer predicts that this will result in job positions that integrate data, marketing and app development.
Influence measurement: While Klout and other companies that provide social media analytics have already attempted to measure social influence on Twitter, 2012 will see a continuation of this trend. Social Media Explorer says it won’t “be the year that a perfect tool emerges, but it will be a year for broad adoption of the ranking tools and lots of C-suite talk about ‘influence’ in general.”
Gamification: Check-ins on programs like Foursquare and SCVNGR are already popular on campuses and cities, but 2012 will see further integration of levels, badges and points in other areas. According to Harvard Business Review, “HR, [government], healthcare and even business management” will all integrate game-like qualities.
Further migration of content from print to digital: “You’ll see a big swap of print moving to the tablet in 2012,” predicts MediaPost. BLEgroup notes that “[school] districts need to be prepared for this instant access to new material and anytime, anywhere access.” It predicts that less expensive devices and Android apps will provide viable alternatives to the iPad, which is currently dominating the market for tablets, and that these devices will be provided to schools across the country. Digital e-books and online archived materials will also continue to replace textbooks in education, according to BLEgroup. “The tablet is becoming the student’s backpack.”
Other predictions include an increase in social television, led by tools like GetGlue; crowdsourcing inventions and start-ups with tools like Kickstarter and Quirky; congressional legislation on Internet privacy; and continuing use of email marketing.
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