5 Hot New Trends in Social Media

Amidst all the hype, it’s pretty clear that social media is here to stay as a viable marketing avenue for businesses large and small. Social media marketing changes all the time, and it will likely continue to change as more sophistication and technological developments increase people’s interest and marketers make more headway in learning to use the media for their purposes. It’s interesting to see the trends developing in ways businesses are using the newest tools to their advantage:

• Pinterest Contests – An auto manufacturer asked its Pinterest followers to complete a puzzle made up of images of a brand new car. The pieces of the puzzle were laid out like tiles, but there was one missing. In another contest, a travel company asked Pinterest followers to play a lottery. The winner won a vacation package
• Graphic Facebook Posts – Studies show that fans interact more heavily with Facebook pages that make liberal use of images and video as opposed to strictly text-based.
• LinkedIn for Business – Formerly a glorified “about” page for your business, LinkedIn business pages have become graphically enhanced information outposts for your products and service on this professional networking site. Now businesses can shine on LinkedIn, which will be particularly effective for B2B.
• Crowdfunding – Artists, entrepreneurial startups, and a number of other creative people and organizations are using sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to raise money for startups and new projects. If the necessary seed money is raised, funders get pre-determined rewards. If the needed money isn’t raised, it all goes back to the pledgers.
• Reddit Ask Me Anything – Is your business or profession particularly unique or quirky? Or do you have particular life experiences that make you unique?  Reddit’s AMA (Ask Me Anything) feature helps you establish your expertise online by posting your credentials and answering visitor questions.

Published on: December 26, 2012