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This Year’s Emerging Trends In Social Media

social media portalWill Facebook continue its reign as the king of social media? Will Twitter finally boot Facebook off the social media ladder? Will enterprises, both big and small, gain significant investment returns through social media optimisation (SMO)? Will your mother finally learn how to tweet?

So many questions, so little time.

2013 promises a lot of changes in the horizon. In fact, even just two months into the year and we’re already experiencing major upheavals. It’s not just the Harlem Shake or the Super Bowl controversies, but almost every single aspect of our modern world.

Yes, that includes social media! To give you a sneak peak, here are the trends that may unfold and take root in the coming months:

Social Mobile

These days, everyone is into mobile technology. If you need proof, here are the numbers:

  • 91% of all adults own at least one smartphone.
  • 200 million YouTube videos are seen on mobile devices each day.
  • Adults spend more time on mobile media than they do on newspapers and magazines.
  • 192 million Facebook users use Android, 147 million use iPhone, and 48 million use iPad.

See? With the HUGE number of people falling prey to the lure of smartphones, it’s no wonder that online marketers are seeing major growth potential when they hear the word “mobile”.

But what does this mean for us? Obviously, we need to overhaul our blogs, websites, and social media profiles to make room for the fickleness of the collective mobile-browsing audience.

Photography

Now, everyone can be a professional photographer. With platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Flickr, people can upload images over the Web faster and better. They can use sleek filters, edit and tweak the qualities of the image, and post high-res pictures on social platforms.

But other than improvements on networking sites, we’re experiencing awesome advances in mobile technology, specifically the cameras on smartphones. Now, you don’t need a DSLR to capture memorable moments. At the mere pop of an app, you can take a photo, apply a filter, and post it on any platform you choose.

Internet Memes

These days, it’s easier for people to grab hold of millions of eyeballs through the Internet. Viral sensations literally happen overnight. Great examples are Rebecca Black, Ridiculously Photogenic Guy, Psy’s Gangnam Style, and the most recent, Harlem Shake.

Obviously, social sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, 9gag, TheMetaPicture, Reddit, and Instagram turn these ordinary gags into infamous phenomenon.

It doesn’t end there.

Now, politicians, environment advocates, and other public personalities strive to gain attention on cyberspace as well. Either they clamour to turn their images and videos into viral sensations or they jump on the “most trending” bandwagon and hope for the best.

Pinterest

This newbie social network took the world by surprise when, just last year, it became the third largest and most popular platform on the Internet. Just the figures alone merited it more-than-enough attention from bloggers, online marketers, and even SEO practitioners.

People found it to be a great avenue for sharing photos online. It’s not an invasive site, it focuses more on the relevance and quality of images rather than the sharers, and it requires less personal information from members (a privacy issue that many people are digging into).

BOTTOMLINE

The Internet is no longer just a series of electrical impulses, but a living breathing ecosystem of people who share similar interests and passions.

Isn’t it an amazing fact that we, the global audience, is connected by just a series of programs and network impulses that we can’t even perceive? Isn’t it convenient that we can talk to people from 10,000 thousand miles away in just nanoseconds? Isn’t it remarkable that Game of Thrones fans, rugby enthusiasts, mountain climbing junkies, and other “fanatics” can unite on the Internet and discuss whatever they want to?

Sure, the World Wide Web may seem like a large cornucopia of random people, but the randomness is what makes us cohesive and whole, and social media is a major part of that!

Written By

Richard Eaves is a Digital Marketing Specialist who oversees more than 300 campaigns for Smart Traffic, a London SEO company that offers search-marketing strategies for various companies.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Ravi

    March 2, 2013 at 5:58 pm

    I guess Photo Sharing Websites Gonna get a Boom. Just because I observed a Little thing on FB that Most of the People gets Like more on Photos than on their Statuses

    • Richard

      March 4, 2013 at 6:06 am

      Hi Ravi,

      Thanks for your comment, and yes it’s no surprise that images attract a lot of likes on FB. We’re in an age when information needs to be as easily digestible as possible, and a picture paints a thousand words after all. Just about everyone can now take high quality images through Instagram and Flickr etc and show them to the world, and the world is more than happy to respond.

  2. Pingback: This Content Ranges From Blogs, To Social Networks, Consumer Review Sites, Message Boards And Videos!

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