It’s the end of 2012 and everyone’s talking about New Year’s resolutions. It’s the same for everyone, from the dinner table to the board table. The talk right now across all sectors is about trends – what to expect, what to look for, what’s hot and what’s about to die a death. And in SEO and social media, this talk seems to be centring on a few key topics. Here’s what to look out for in 2013:
Key Social Media and SEO Trends
- In 2012, Pinterest became the fastest growing social network, ever. It’s official – images and video are at the forefront of social engagement. Text alone is out and infographics in particular are very much in.
- Google+ is fast becoming an important factor in social media engagement and people are now engaging with Google on two major levels. Firstly, because after the Penguin and Panda updates they are quite interested to see what Google might be planning next. And secondly, because Google’s new role as content provider is opening up new possibilities for those wishing to take advantage of promoted content.
- Social Media can be used to determine keyword trends, quality content promotion and the quality and possibility of organic marketing via social networking.
- We’ve all been taught not to take candy from strangers, and it seems as if the word has spread to advertising as well. Community brand building is in, advertising is out.
- Content is still the most important principle of any well –thought out social media optimisation campaign.
- An increasingly web-savvy audience now needs to be reached on its own terms, so digital marketing is turning to promotions and sponsored ads instead of traditional banner and interruption ads. Content should become the ad and vice versa, rather than attempting to sit the two side by side.
- In light of the above, inbound community marketers will make up a highly desirable skill set, Strategic content marketing will be required for community development, demand generation, conversion and nurturing. The strongest brands have already begun implementing their social media strategies, and in 2013Trojan horse marketing will be implemented across all social networks.
- Mobile internet browsing will continue to skyrocket, especially as a mode of shopping.
- Social media will begin to overshadow SEO, but the two will still need each other to perform optimally. Failing to recognise the importance or value of one will weaken the position and possibilities of the other, thereby weakening brand value.
Looking Ahead to the New Year
There’s only one way to stay ahead of social media and SEO trends in 2013, and that’s to engage with both. Developing a social strategy will become even more important, as brands need to deliver a uniform message which is evenly diversified across all major social networking channels. And in conjunction with this, instead of keyword development, marketing in 2013 will be about creating deeper brand meaning.
