10 Top Trends in Social Media

I visited Italy recently and as we know the Italians are a very stylish bunch. They seem to know what fashion is really about.

They can wear a scarf with fabulous flair, choose the cool hat that sets off the outfit or select a pair of sexy shoes that make them look like a fashion model and that is just the men!

The Italians have taken “style” to a level that the rest of the world can only aspire to.

Trends in Shoes

Now on the topic of shoes it appears that there is a trend that if it doesn’t stop very soon, it is going to lead to many injuries and even possible death as fashionista women fall from great heights after stumbling in their 30 centimeter high heels!

This will lend a whole new meaning to the term “Fashion Tragics“.

I have to admit though that the shoes in the windows of the fashion brand stores of Rome and Florence were not just fashion items but objects of style, art and creativity. Just not very comfortable or sensible to wear but who said that fashion should be sensible.

The Trends in Social Media

My trip to Italy was not just for looking at shoes but to provide four keynote presentations to the BE-Wizard web conference.

One of these topics was on the “Top 10 Trends in Social  Media” and how business can adapt and use these trends to their commercial advantage.

Social media that was initially seen as a fad 2-3 years ago is now firmly embedded in the fabric of the web and is impacting how business markets, communicates and publishes.

Trend #1  Social Mobile

The first trend we looked at was the the rise of the social mobile. The synergy of mobile and social networks is combining to make us addicted to our socially networked enabled smart phones that allow us to view our Facebook or Twitter account anywhere at anytime.

The numbers

• Current research puts the number of mobiles at north of 5.5 billion devices
• 1,2 billion have internet connected phones (smart phones)
• 425 million users use their mobile to check in to Facebook
• 55% of Twitter traffic is from the mobile
• 400 million YouTube views are from mobile devices

The implications

• Huge growth potential
• Create content for mobile devices
• Design and develop websites and blogs for mobile viewing
• Make it easy for viewers to act on that mobile content in a social manner (sharing)

In essence make it easy for people to buy and share your products and services from your mobile phones.

(Click here or on the image to view to view all  ” Top 10 Social Media Trends” on Slideshare)

Trend #2 Socialization of Search

Google has realized that social networks are here to stay and consequently invested over half a billion dollars in designing and developing Google+ which they launched in June of 2011.

They have realized that in the battle to stay relevant, social networks need to be prioritized when producing search results.

Google considers social as “core” to its strategy and is using the capture of social signals when delivering information from search engines. Consequently you will see the top social networks appearing high in search results pages.

Also it is embedding Google+ into all its web properties including YouTube and Picassa.

Hence the introduction of the “+1″ button in 2011.

The implications

• Create accounts on relevant social media
• Create content for social networks
• Publish and promote on social media
• Treat Facebook as an extension of website
• Optimize social networks for “Search”
• Place Your Media “Everywhere”

If you want to see the other eight trends they can be viewed on the Slideshare presentation.

What About You?

What other social media trends do you think are important?

How can you adapt your business to take advantage of these shifts in communication and marketing?

Look forward to hearing your views and stories.

More Reading

• Why Design Matters
• 5 Lessons from Coca Cola’s New Content Marketing Strategy
• 10 Reasons Why “Liquid” Content Should be Included in Your Social Media Marketing
• What are 10 Addictive Types of Content?
• How to Increase Your Blog Traffic by 55% with One Button
• 5 Motivations for Sharing Content
• 20 Ideas for Social Media Content that Engages
• Is it Better to Share on Google+, Facebook or Twitter
• 9 Questions to Ask your Customers When Creating Content

Image by Jeff Bullas in Rome, Italy