Looking ahead to 2010, Key Trends
I was interviewed by Mary Ellen Slater of SmartBrief last week on key social trends for 2010. I'm a member of the SmartBrief Social Media Advisory Board and was excited to do this interview. Below is an excerpt of those trends. Find the full interview over at SmartBrief.
Social media is evolving quickly. What are the three trends on the horizon that business leaders absolutely must keep up with?
Social brands. The most successful brands in 2010 are going to be the ones that evolve into social brands. This means that brands that have social voices -- real people participating and talking on their behalf to customers in an engaging, conversational manner. The company must be willing to let its employees and its brand advocates become the face of the brand. Consumers demand that, and brands like Best Buy that are evolving into social brands (think Twelp Force) will be the ones that win. Every brand is going to need to become a social brand at some point.
Real-time brands. Companies that become dynamic and responsive in real time to their customers and their needs will be the ones that succeed. This doesn't just mean real time customer service but real time market research, real time product development, and real time customization and personalization of products and campaigns alike. This also means that the products will need to have a digital pulse in them.
Identifying, nurturing and managing relationships. Customers increasingly are also influencers (expert, positional or referent), and companies will need to know who those people are and how much influence they actually have. A lot more effort is going to go into this. Along those lines, understanding how customers come together as communities and make collective decisions will be important, too.
Read the remainder of the interview at SmartBrief on Social Media and don't miss their year end report.
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