SCG Social Marketing Trends for 2012

Social Marketing2011 Year in Review + 2012 Trends

2011 was another eventful year in the socialmarketing space. As the landscape matured,we saw more consolidation, new innovation,and better integration. We’ve compiled asummary of highlights to help put it all intoperspective.In addition, we’ve shared our predictionsabout how the world of social marketing willevolve in 2012. Please reach out to us onFacebook, Twitter, or via our blog and let usknow your thoughts. Clay McDaniel Managing Director Spring Creek GroupSpring Creek Group is a Seattle-based social marketing agency that workswith some of the world’s leading global brands. It operates as a subsidiaryof Interpublic Group’s Mediabrands Audience Platform division.

What Happened Over the Past Year?

2011 in Facebook Broadened Google Bet Big on Social Hindsight Sharing OptionsServices Began to The Daily Deals Space Social-Local-MobileConsolidate Evolved Functionality ImprovedTumblr’s Popularity Big Brands Social EntertainmentSoared Embraced Gamification Services Made Their Mark

Facebook Broadened Sharing Options and Deepened Analytics At Facebook’s f8 developer conference in September, the company announced a broad set of changes that could boost sharing and improve the quality of information people push through the network, making it evenmore valuable as an advertising medium. Facebook’s Open Graph system will let users share what they listen to, watch, read, eat, and more. See the Search Engine Watch f8 recap for details.

Google Bet Bigon SocialLaunched in mid-2011, Google+surged to 25 million uniqueglobal visitors and did so fasterthan any other social network. Ittook Facebook 36 months andTwitter 33 months to recruit asmany users.At present, Google+ has 65million global visitors, comprising5 percent of social network usersworldwide. For more info, checkout comScore’s “Top 10 Need-to-Knows” report.

Services Began to ConsolidateIn December 2011, Facebook confirmed its acquisition of location-basedsocial network Gowalla, previously a Foursquare competitor. This is just oneof the strategic moves Facebook is making as it gears up for a potential IPO in2012.Earlier this year, enterprise CRM software and cloud computing companySalesforce acquired social media monitoring platform Radian6, signalingfurther integration between the two service categories.

The Daily Deals Space Evolved Facebook and Yelp set out to compete with Groupon, but bothcompanies have since stepped away from daily deals. As CNET reports, there are at least 600 players oversaturating the market. The space is now evolving to serve narrower niches. For example, Gilt City, Bloomspot, and iDeeli are specializing in “members only” discounts on high-end luxury goods, while Gaypon offers deals from gay-friendly businesses.

Social-Local-Mobile (aka SoLoMo)Functionality ImprovedFoursquare now has over 15 million users and more than 600,000participating merchants. In an interview with the Wall StreetJournal, Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley said the service is no longer just forchecking in. The company is increasing its breadth of location-based servicesto help users discover nearby businesses and deals, making it more of a“recommendation engine.” But Foursquare is facing fierce competitionfollowing Facebook’s acquisition of Gowalla; the Gowalla crew willreportedly join Facebook’s design and engineering team in January 2012.

Tumblr’s Popularity Soared According to NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey Company, Tumblr nearly tripled its U.S. audience over the last year. It’s now the 8th largest site among the top U.S. social networks and blogs. Tumblr is also a popular conversation topic. On average, it generates more than 20,000 messages and links to the site per day, fueling its viral growth.

Big Brands Embraced GamificationForrester defines gamification as “the insertion of game dynamics andmechanics into non-game activities to drive a desired behavior.” Coca-Cola isusing game mechanics to drive brand engagement with its Freestylecampaign, which invites consumers to create their own unique flavorcombinations. The campaign includes a Facebook app that simulates the real-life experience – complete with sound effects – and allows users to sharetheir creations with friends.

Social Entertainment Services Made Their Mark In 2011, some TV networks partnered with app companies, some developed their own proprietary apps, and some did both. GetGlue is a leader in the space, with over 1 million users and relationships with more than 35 TVnetworks. Miso, a GetGlue competitor, enables developers to create social TV experiences. And NBC and VH1 have created their own apps that curate the social stream for various programs. See the eMarketer “Socializing the TV Experience” report for more info.

What’s Next?

2012 Companies Will Increase Social CRM Will BePredictions Investments in Social Adopted More BroadlySharing Will Become Influencer Targeting Will SoLoMo Will EnhanceSecond Nature Evolve Product ExperiencesBrands Will Become Entertainment and Social QR and AR Will FurtherMore Playful Will Continue to Merge Integrate with Social

Companies Will Increase Investments in SocialAccording to a 2011 study from the University of Massachusetts atDartmouth, the majority of the Fortune 500 companies have incorporatedsocial media across multiple channels (blogs – 91 percent, Twitter – 62percent or Facebook – 56 percent) into their marketing mix. The August 2011CMO Survey reported that social budgets have increased by approximately 10percent to support additional community managers, content services, andsocial media tools.

Social CRM Will Be Adopted More BroadlyGartner forecasts over $1 billion in revenue for the social customer relationship management (sCRM) market for 2012, up from approximately $625 million in 2010. As companies adopt sCRM, they’ll gain a better understanding of their customer base, which will contribute to higher ROI.

Sharing Will BecomeSecond NatureIn June 2011, Facebook reported thatits users were publicly sharingapproximately 4 billion statusupdates, images, etc. per day.According to Zuckerberg’s Law ofSocial Sharing, users could pass along8 billion pieces of content in 2012.How will this content be shared?More than likely, via mobile. AddThisreported that, in 2011, social mediausers did six times more sharing viamobile devices than they did in 2010.

Influencer Targeting Will EvolveAccording to McKinsey & Co., 20 to 50 percent of purchases involve a peerrecommendation. Algorithm-based influence score providers like Klout andPeerIndex aim to capitalize on this trend, though their methodology has facedcriticism from some corners of the industry. The key for marketers in 2012 willbe to focus on both quantitative and qualitative data, and to recognize thatvolume is not the only measure of influence.

SoLoMo Will Enhance Product ExperiencesAccording to Forrester Research, although just 5 percent of Americans regularlyuse services like Foursquare, location is the future of mobile. That’s becauselocation will no longer be considered a service, like maps or navigation, but ratheran invisible enabler of new product experiences.

Brands Will Become More Playful Gartner projects that 20 percent of Global 2000 organizations will deploy a gamified application in 2012. This number will exceed 70 percent by 2014. Zynga is the leader in social gaming, thanks in large part tothe popularity of FarmVille andZynga’s other Facebook-hosted offerings (Pivot Conference “State of Social Marketing” report).

Entertainment and Social Will Continue to Merge43 percent of American adults who use the internet say they have gone online or used social media to comment, post, watch, or read something about a television show or program. According to Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst, “For the networks, social media may be one of the last bestways to bring viewers back together again.” See the eMarketer “Socializing the TV Experience” report for additional details.

QR Codes and AugmentedReality (AR) Will FurtherIntegrate with SocialU.K.-based Juniper Research predictsannual downloads of AR apps worldwidewill climb to 1.4 billion by 2015, up fromjust over 11 million in 2010.Mobile barcode reading solution provider3GVision reports the use of QR codes isalso on the rise, with a 20 percent increasefrom Q2 to Q3 2011. Ad Age sharesguidance on how to successfully leverageQR codes.

Spring Creek Group is a frequent contributor to social media and marketing industry publications. Recent articles can be found in our newsroom. For media inquiries, please contact press@springcreekgroup.com.

SourcesAzhar, Azeem. "The New Marketing Model: Peer Index Marketing." GigaOm, August 13, 2011.http://gigaom.com/2011/08/13/the-new-marketing-model-peer-index-marketing.Barnes, Nora Ganim and Justina Andonian. "The 2011 Fortune 500 and Social Media Adoption:Have Americas Largest Companies Reached a Social Media Plateau?" Center for MarketingResearch at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 2011.http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesandresearch/2011fortune500/?sf2654705=1.comScore. "Its a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-Knows About Social Networking and Where ItsHeaded." December 21, 2011.http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/it_is_a_social_world_top_10_need-to-knows_about_social_networking.Cypes, Greg. "Sharing Trends in 2011." AddThis Blog, December 13, 2011.http://www.addthis.com/blog/2011/12/13/sharing-trends-in-2011/#.TwSpG9QS3rx.

Sources"Foursquare on Social, Mobile and Local Internet." Wall Street Journal, December 9, 2011.http://online.wsj.com/video/foursquare-on-social-mobile-and-local-internet/55FAEDE6-9DF3-4971-9A1A-3613E0FDE5F3.htmlGartner. "Gartner Predicts Over 70 Percent of Global 2000 Organisations Will Have at Least OneGamified Application by 2014." Gartner, November 9, 2011.http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1844115.Holden, Windsor. "Mobile Augmented Reality to Generate 1.4 billion Downloads by 2015 as MajorBrands and Mobile Developers Embrace the Concept." Juniper Research, February 28, 2011.http://juniperresearch.com/viewpressrelease.php?pr=232.Husson, Thomas. "Mobile Location Becomes Invisible." Forrester Blogs, August 3, 2011.http://blogs.forrester.com/thomas_husson/11-08-03-mobile_location_becomes_invisible.Locke, Laura. "Whats the Deal with Daily Deals?" CNET, September 12, 2011.http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20104683-93/whats-the-deal-with-daily-deals.

SourcesMiller, Miranda. "Facebook F8 Wrapup: Timeline, Ticker, GraphRank for Users & Marketers."Search Engine Watch, September 22, 2011.http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2111486/Facebook-F8-Wrapup-Timeline-Ticker-GraphRank-for-Users-Marketers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+sew+(Search+Engine+Watch).Moorman, Christine. "How Much Firms Spend on Marketing." The CMO Survey, November15, 2011. http://www.cmosurvey.org/blog/how-much-firms-spend-on-marketing/?sf2654705=1.NM Incite. "State of the Media: The Social Media Report Q3 2011." September 14, 2011.http://www.slideshare.net/tanmayms/nielsen-social-media-report-9250389.Ochman, B. L. "No, QR Codes Arent Dead. Theyre Just Used Badly." Ad Age Digital, October26, 2011. http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/qr-codes-dead-badly/230639.Pivot. "The State of Social Marketing 2011 - 2012." Pivot Conference, December 2011.http://2012.pivotcon.com.

SourcesRao, Leena. "Gartner: Social CRM Market Will Reach $1B In Revenue By 2012." Tech Crunch,August 30, 2011. http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/30/gartner-social-crm-market-will-reach-1b-in-revenue-by-2012.Shaw, Elizabeth. "Gamification: Defining a Shiny New Thing." Forrester Blogs, June 30, 2011.http://blogs.forrester.com/elizabeth_shaw/11-06-30-gamification_defining_a_shiny_new_thing.Tsotsis, Alexia. "Mark Zuckerberg Explains His Law Of Social Sharing." Tech Crunch, July 6,2011. http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/06/mark-zuckerberg-explains-his-law-of-social-sharing-video.Wasserman, Todd. "Facebook Confirms Gowalla Acquisition." Mashable Social Media,December 5, 2011. http://mashable.com/2011/12/05/facebooks-acquires-gowalla.Wauters, Robin. "Salesforce Buys Social Media Monitoring Company Radian6 For $326Million." Tech Crunch, March 30, 2011. http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/30/salesforce-buys-social-media-monitoring-company-radian6-for-326-million.Williamson, Debra Aho. "Socializing the TV Experience." eMarketer, June 2011.

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SCG Social Marketing Trends for 2012

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