6 Social Media Trends You Should Not Ignore in 2013

What significant social media events happened?

Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion and then went public. The question is, will Instagram survive the embrace of its owner and benefactor or will it be its demise. That question is yet to be answered but removing part of its access to Twitter and also announcing new terms of use that was a PR disaster are maybe signs that Facebook could stuff it up.

Pinterest became the darling of the social media set, especially the ladies and fashionistas. Twitter continued to grow after being welcomed into the Apple fold with its inclusion in the mobile operating system on its iPhones.

Google+ continued to grow and with 5 billion “+1″ buttons being clicked on every day and with over 400 million users its success makes Google’s investment of over half a billion dollars in the social network platform look like a good decision.

LinkedIn decided its user interface needed a makeover and re-designed its website to increase its social attractiveness.

So what social media trends will we need to keep an eye on as we move through 2013 to ensure our marketing and communication is effective?

#1. Social content is the “new” king

Content has become mainstream as the foundation and cornerstone of social media marketing effort. Google has significantly changed the game by adding the social signals of the “+1” button with its Google+ platform as an important part of determining what content to serve up and how it is indexed so it appears higher in search results.

Expect to see more content marketing tools, tactics and strategies that accept the fact that social, search and content are increasingly integrated and intertwined.

Content is still king but the shiny social media toys distracted us for a while from the importance of building content rich multi-media digital assets.

#2. Social at scale

Most people started to realize that despite the social networks being free to use, the resources required to play in the social media sandpit are substantial and can be expensive. Sourcing and creating content, publishing it and managing it are time consuming and require skills beyond finding interns who will work for free.

The big players are emerging such as Adobe Social, Exact Target and Salesforce.com (with its Radian 6 and Buddy Media acquisitions) realized doing social media at scale requires enterprise class platforms. They are providing the tools and platforms to this within the enterprise.

#3. 140 characters will become cooler

Twitter has captured the imagination of the younger generation and is no longer the enigma. It is indeed the new black and brands will be building focused Twitter tribes that extend and amplify their reach.

Twitter doesn’t filter its stream and as Facebook continues to censor your visible content to their “pages” fans, Twitter is starting to look more attractive.

So expect brands to add to the social media toolkit a more vibrant and focused attention on Twitter.

You cannot ignore Twitter anymore in 2013.

#4. Social Dominatrix continues its grip

Facebook will continue to strengthen its grip as the de facto social network of choice as it builds mobile advertising and allows integration with apps and other platforms. Instagram will evolve to provide a means to mobile advertising for Facebook.

Despite the looming Google+ juggernaut, Facebook will continue to thrive.  The platforms in one sense do not compete but complement.

You will need to get smarter at integrating Facebook commerce, build fans and grow your email list via custom tabs that offer exclusive content when liked.

So continue to keep an eye on developments with Facebook this year so that your marketing doesn’t become stale

#5. Visual as a social media weapon of mass destruction

Pinterest went from just being a fun way to share images to a serious traffic source and sales referer for online stores. Pinterest in some cases surpasses Facebook as a social media platform that creates real revenue and hard cash.

The visual social web is still rapidly evolving and is impacting web design interfaces and platforms. Sites such as Airbnb are offering Pinterest inspired platforms with compelling imagery that bypass traditional accomodation sites and also taps into the power of the social networks. Renting that spare room, bunglaow or cottage has never been easier!

Designing your website, blog and online stores now needs to include strong, large and high definition photos and images that are easy to share.

Don’t ignore the use of images and visuals in your content creation and design.

#6. Social and Mobile

Designing and creating content for a social mobile web is becoming important as people find and consume information on tablets and smart phones. Responsive web technology that re-sizes text and images to fit any screen is becoming the norm with new websites.

As tablets are replacing magazines on your coffee table make sure that a TV inspired thought can ensure that if they visit your site that your design and content is able to be viewed on mobile and also easily shared and maybe even bought.

Source: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/01/03/6-social-media-trends-you-should-not-ignore-in-2013

5 Tips for Choosing a Great Domain Name

1.    Keep it Short: Remember that many visitors will arrive at your website by typing your address directly into their browser bar. Aim for 20 characters or less to maximize your type-in traffic.

2.    Be Simple and Obvious: Make sure your domain is easy to remember and spell. If possible, it's best to err on the side of being straightforward.

3.    Avoid Numerals, Underscores and Hyphens If You Can: Adding numbers and non-alphabet characters to your domain name can cause confusion likely to result in lost traffic to your site.

4.    Consider Keywords and Cleverness: If your top domain choice is not available, consider adding a descriptive keyword as a starting point to brainstorm alternative ideas.

5.    Register Your Domain for Multiple Years: If your budget permits, registering your domain for multiple years can help your site rank higher with search engines like Google and secure the investment in your website brand.

4 Reasons Why your Facebook Business Page Sucks

It has been one year since you launched your Facebook page and you still have a very low number of likes but most importantly none of your fans are talking about your brand.

Before I move on, you need to understand that it takes time for your social media investment to realize any return; this is why I intentionally said, one year. Investing in social media, as in any other field, requires patience and long term thinking. Anything that is worthwhile takes time to build and growing tribes and followers on social networks and creating community takes focused effort.

One way to think of it is like building a house…”one brick at a time“. In the case of social media it is one piece of content at a time.

So, in other words, your Facebook page sucks and there are many out there that really do.

So, here are 4 reasons why your Facebook page sucks:

1. No social media strategy

What is the goal of your Facebook page? Get more likes? Increase brand awareness? Increase sales? Actually, it can consist of all these goals; however, you need to be very clear. This will help you determine the tools and tactics you need to use in order to achieve your goals. Do not just launch a Facebook page because your competitors have one. A key factor to a successful social media strategy is having the right resources available, so make sure you have everything you need to make things happen.

2. No updated content

Make no mistake here, the only reason people visit a Facebook page is because of its content. If you do not post anything, none will visit your Facebook page. We live in a very fast moving world where yesterday’s news is outdated content. Post content very often, if possible once a day. In fact 3-4 times per day is better.

There is no short cut on this.

3. Your content is boring

When you own a restaurant, make sure you post content related to food, drinks and entertainment and not only your latest promotions. When people come to your page, they are looking for interesting and fun content:

They want to see what your new menu is

• New dishes you recommend
• Teach them how to cook one of your dishes
• Tell them where to find other great food within your city
• Ask for customers to leave a review
• Show them a video on how you prepare your flag dish

In other words, the content must be relevant to your business and most importantly engaging and exciting. This does not mean that you should never post any special promotions or deals, however, do it moderately and collect feedback on what your fans really want to see.

4. You do not post any photos

The Facebook timeline is focusing entirely on visual content; hence, if you decide to keep posting long text messages, none will read them. Invest in getting high quality pictures that attract attention, it is human nature to stumble upon great visual content. There are plenty of tools available to help you edit your pictures and make them look appealing.

Source: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/12/17/4-reasons-why-your-facebook-page-sucks/