Get Ready for Ten Top Marketing Trends in Twenty-Ten
Social Metrics Influencing Search Rankings
Do you really think Google will ignore social data? Crawling social sites like Twitter and Facebook was only the first step.
Expect to see Google taking social data into account for organic search rankings. There's too much link data in social sites to be ignored. Expect to see an acquisition of a service like PostRank.
How to prepare: Sign up for a profile on the top social sites, and start growing your presence there. Learn how to properly participate and engage with the community.
Social Fatigue
Brad Mays first mentioned the idea of social fatigue during his presentation at the Social Media Club of Dallas. So much energy and time was spent extolling the virtues of social in 2009 that I think you'll see some thought leaders start a mini-rebellion.
I expect to see some thought leaders try to latch onto the next best thing, or roll the social media category into something much broader like digital strategy or Internet marketing.
How to prepare: Never put all your eggs in one basket. If you're not already, think about planning and executing an integrated marketing campaign that encompasses SEO, PPC, Social, E-mail, and in some cases, some offline spend.
Social Shakedowns
2009 was the year of the "social media expert". Given the young age of the social media industry, it was easy for anyone with a Twitter account to claim the status of expert. Expect to see further distancing between true social media professionals and the social charlatans.
How to prepare: If you're a marketer - keep doing what you're doing, experiment, play, and educate yourself. You'll get to expert status eventually.
If you're a client - do some basic work educating yourself about social media marketing, and be sure to ask potential agency partners to provide examples of work - and in the absence of examples, regular reporting and goal setting will suffice.
An Emphasis on Social ROI and Metrics
Many social media professionals have had the better part of two years to experiment with social tactics and strategy - the best have even more. I believe that the foundation has already been set for how to market successfully using social. Now it's time to start backing up our work with numbers.
How to prepare: Identify measurable goals for your social campaigns, and then find ways to measure and report. Check out sites like Klout, Twitter Grader, PostRank and Social Mention. Surveys are always good too.
Mobile Boom
2009 was already a big year for mobile. Apple launched the 3gs, Palm launched the Pre, and there were several well received Android releases. I expect to see more money spent in 2010 developing mobile applications and websites as more consumers equip themselves with Internet ready mobile devices.
How to prepare: Start thinking about creating a mobile version of your website. Start by analyzing your traffic with Google Analytics to see how many visitors you're getting every month from mobile devices. If it's significant (or growing), you may want to act sooner then later.
Focus on the Hyperlocal
Applications like Gowalla and Foursquare (along with the new geolocation support for Tweets), has brought an emphasis to hyperlocal communities. It's yet to be seen what impact this will have for marketers, but as the applications develop and mature, I expect them to be a part of the mix when it comes to marketing local businesses.
How to prepare: Start playing with mobile applications like Foursquare and Gowalla. Also spend time working on optimizing your Google local business listings.
Living with Less
I don't have to remind you how how tough 2009 was. Companies across the board had to make major staff cuts to remain viable. Don't expect unemployment rates to change too drastically in 2010. Get used to doing more with less.
How to prepare: When was the last time you optimized your workflow? Spend some time learning new social applications that can help you streamline your workflow, and do more with less. Top candidates: Evernote, Google Reader, Gmail Filters, Google Docs, your smartphone of choice.
Social Skills in Demand
As the economy starts a modest rebound, the first marketers to get hired will be those with social experience, and those that have a track record of creating exceptional web content. More companies will look to form internal Internet marketing teams with people who are able to communicate effectively online.
How to prepare: Start a blog and start creating regular content. Install Google Analytics and start marketing your blog across social channels and through traditional SEO. Track the growth over time. Try your hand at building a community. You'll benefit from the experience.
Bing Becomes More Relevant
If I had to make this prediction six months ago, I would not have included this. If Bing manages to sign exclusive content deals with online publishers, it could be game changing for the search industry.
Bing already had a major win when they signed the search deal with Yahoo. People don't always admit it, but Yahoo was working on some very innovative search technology, and now that work belongs to Bing.
How to prepare: Sign up for a Bing webmaster account, and familiarize yourself with Bing's ranking criteria. Sure, it only represents about 10% of the search market today, but that could change quickly.
There's Power in the Niche
From social search tools to search engine optimization and pay per click advertising, finding where your customers spend their digital time is now easier then ever.
It is becoming increasingly harder to justify the huge expense of traditional media (which has typically taken the shotgun approach to marketing), when you can find and target exactly who you need to. Expect to see more campaigns targeting increasingly niche communities online.
How to prepare: Identify where your prospects spend their time. Use sites like Twitter Search, and Social Mention to see where the most activity happens. Once identified, start joining the conversation, and by all means, do not just start broadcasting a marketing message. That won't work.
