Hector The Connector's Social Media Marketing Predictions for Next Year and Beyond

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By Hector Cisneros

It’s almost 2013 and what a wild year, it’s been. We had people predicting the end of the world. A wild and woolly presidential election and Social Media has ushered in so many changes that you have to step back just to try to get the big picture. Speaking of big, last year I predicted growth and lots of it. I made several predictions about specific big-time players and I was right 100% of the time. This year things are wilder than ever. If you use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube or Pinterest, you are going to want to read this blog. So let’s get started with the connectors Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2013.

#1: More Wild West Shows to Come

English: Infographic on how Social Media are being used, and how everything is changed by them. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Internet (a.k.a., the Wild, Wild West), will continue with rapid changes ushered in by aggressive competition, and innovation pressed by the big four players (Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn). Further consolidation will take place as the furious big four buy up smaller players who either have profits for the taking or technologies that are needed. Blogging will continue to force changes in the publishing industry and usher in another revolution. Mobile will play a bigger role in social media as more people upgrade to smartphones, tablets and the like. Also, we will start to see the effects of Smart TVs and other smart connected devices as old media (mainly TV) tries to merge social into its folds.

The social media industry will definitely see winners and losers, just like we saw in 2012. This year will see a continuation of the social nets cannibalizing each other for subscribers. What will make these numbers hard to measure is that when most people switch their allegiance to a different network they usually don’t undo their subscription from their old favorite? They just become more active on the new subscription. So the best way to measure these networks is to look at active users and time on the network. Now let’s look at the rest of the individual elements of my predictions and also look at how I did last year.

#2: Facebook gets a Facelift.  Last year I predicted that Facebook would show significant growth. At the time of my prediction last year, Facebook had reached 800 million subscribers. They reached approximately 1.2 billion by the end of 2012, a huge number by any standard. By year’s end, we have seen their growth level off and I believe this will continue into 2013. I foresee them still growing, but at a much slower rate. However, Facebook will also show that it knows how to make money in the coming year as its revamped PPC model proves profitable for its advertisers.

#3: LinkedIn will Saunter Along to Success

Last year LinkedIn showed itself to be the turtle in the Social media race. Sure and steady was their watchword. They will continue to show steady growth and also add innovation in the arena of building credibility. I also foresee them, adding additional tools for businesses in sales and for enhancing online networking.

#4: Google Will Become a Bigger Gorilla

Google will continue to consolidate its product line into Google+. This includes further integrating Search, YouTube, Picasa, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Local, Maps and their many other products. I predict Google will move to match all comer's move for move as long as it helps them feed their advertising juggernaut. Look to see significant growth for Google+ and YouTube this year.

Blogging To The Bank (Photo credit: lawtonchiles)

#5: Blogging will continue to grow at a mind-boggling pace! More and more businesses will continue to jump on the blogging bandwagon, further fueling its phenomenal growth rate. It will be adopted by more and more companies simply because Google keeps increasing its demands for useful content. This surge in blogging will also spur a huge growth in the book industry.

The huge growth in content will find its way into eBooks at an ever increasing rate. EBooks are becoming a central component of internet marketing. Also, many are discovering the freedom they have as authors to publish their own material without the need for using established publishers. The only downfall to this growth is that most authors have no idea how to market their books and to get traction towards reaching the bestseller list. I foresee the number of eBooks doubling in the next two years if not sooner.

English: Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#6: Pinterest Punches Through to the Next Level

Although a relative newcomer to social media, Pinterest has caught the eye of the media industry (which depends heavily on visual media). I foresee Pinterest growing at an alarming rate, probably doubling or tripling in size by the end of 2013. It is a prime candidate as a buyout.  I foresee Google or one of the other top four players, (maybe even Microsoft) scooping them up to be a gem in their arsenal of internet properties.

 #7: YouTube will Dominate Views

Video will make huge strides in 2013. It will finally evolve from its caterpillar stage to that of the social butterfly it was meant to be. Google will further integrate YouTube so that people can easily subscribe and follow users by further integrating its services into Google Search and Google+. Google will also enhance and improve its PPC capabilities and also improve its management model so that advertisers can better track and move subscribers along on the purchasing path.

There you have it, my social media predictions for 2013. I have covered the important trends worth watching.  Massive change will continue to be the watchword. Take advantage of these changes and be willing to engage these trends with your internet and social media marketing. Never forget that social media is a two-edged sword. Social Media, along with its subscribers, their opinions and their abilities to forward your message is far more powerful than any other form of advertising you can create. Let your follower’s enthusiasm for your products and services spread your message in an organic and viral way. Be prepared to create ads based on their testimonials and reap the rewards of their word of mouth responses. Don’t forget that providing poor or no service will also spread just as quickly. Be prepared to enhance social media support for those rare times when your company makes a mistake. This is a great way to satisfy unhappy customers and then to turn them into your raving fans.

That’s my opinion, I look forward to hearing yours.

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Hector Cisneros is COO and Director of Social Media Marketing at Working the Web to Win, an award-winning Internet marketing company based in Jacksonville, Florida.  He is also the co-host of the weekly Internet radio show, "Working the Web To Win" on BlogTalkRadio.com, which airs every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Hector is a syndicated writer and published author of “60 Seconds to Success.”

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