Asian Insight

Racepoint Group’s Social Media Predictions for 2012

It’s been an amazing year for social media. From the launch of Google + to augmented reality becoming commonplace, we’ve seen an incredible increase in the number of businesses using social media to connect with customers and social networks responding to meet demands.

As social media becomes a more important aspect of communications, we decided to take a look into the crystal ball and offer our social media predictions for 2012.

Keeping up to date with industry trends will become increasingly important

So this goes without saying, to be at the top of your game, you have to be aware of what your competitors are doing and what is going on in your industry. However, the power of sharing means that you should know about a trend pretty soon after it takes place. Whether it is through Twitter, Facebook, Weibo or LinkedIn, social media will help communicators develop a stronger understanding of their industry.  

The importance of being mobile

In November it was announced that China had exceeded the US to become the world’s largest smartphone market. Whether it’s through iPhones, Androids, iPads or tablets, netizens are becoming mobile and want their social media networks to adapt accordingly. This will see an increase in location based marketing and applications as well as a higher demand for news based applications and websites to become mobile-friendly.

Which leads me to my third point…

News hungry

Have you noticed that your Facebook newsfeed is filled with “Chris Smith read ‘Is the BBC killing off it’s local radio stars’” on The Guadian app? The introduction of news applications for Facebook have been a huge advancement in sharing ideas and information. I can now track every article that my boss reads, just my looking at his Facebook page. This is going to become an increasingly popular method of sharing information and in due course, will become more mobile friendly. As well as this, I also predict that news apps for iPhone and Andriods will become commonplace. With the introduction of ‘Newsstand’ to iOS5 and Flipboard announcing their new iPhone design, we’ll see an increasing number of mobile-based news/magazine applications.

Social Media Influence…. someone has to come up with a decent tool!

We all know how much I love Klout. Or not. I predict that in 2012, someone (hopefully not Klout) is going to come up with a tool that measures online influence in a concise and reputable way. This may be a wish list prediction but I do think that with communication agencies such as Racepoint Group offering social media management as a service, a recognized industry tool would be much appreciated to understand the value of social media for businesses. 

With social media’s value increasing, influence will become very important. If an blogger covers your client, how can the client know whether it is valuable or not? 

Social Media for the older generation or the professional

Despite Facebook boasting 800 million members, there are still a large number of people who aren’t online. My dad, for example. And I know he will never get involved in social media because it’s for “young, hip and trendy people”. My 32-year-old brother refuses because he believes it’s a violation of privacy. Both are more willing to go out and spend more money on products than my 21-year-old brother who is an avid social media fan. In 2012, I think we will see a rise in marketing/advertising on platforms such as LinkedIn to attract a different audience. 

E-commerce in China

As China’s second/third/fourth tier cities begin to boom, e-commerce will become a very important platform for luxury brands. In a recent KPMG survey, 66% of respondents said that owning luxury goods reflects on their social standing and success. As a country that values expensive cars and designer handbags, the demand for these products is high. However, China is a vast country and is expanding in all directions. E-commerce will allow all of these citizens to make their purchases via the internet, rather than the brand having to set up a store in a fourth tier city. 

The social networking space is set to become a very competitive market for companies looking to connect with consumers and we expect to see the value of social media increase. 2012 will be a big year for communications and we cannot wait to be a part of it! 

What are your social media predictions for 2012? I’d love to hear!

- Charlotte