Digital Predictions For 2012
By Tony Hill
Having now settled back in to the new year after a terribly cold and miserable January, it’’s time have a proper look at what is going to be big this year in the world of digital. See below for some of my predictions for trends of 2012.
Purchasing via social networks
Many brands have already committed themselves to launching competitions, incentives and adverts on the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin but some will be making the leap into the Facebook shopping functionality.
If you are a bit cautious about that and would rather wait to see how other brands fair, then try and make the most of social applications instead. For the purpose of capturing data, encouraging honest reviews and enabling social sharing they can work incredibly well.
Mobile matters
For years and years, people have been proclaiming it will be the ”year of the mobile” - but this year, it may well be true.
These days, 76 per cent of the world population (5.3 billion people) use mobile devices, of which over 1 billion are smartphones.
As a result, it looks likely that not only will m-commerce grow but also mobile optimisation of websites, and multichannel promotion will grow too. Many campaigns may be redeemable across social, mobile and print. So prepare yourselves for integrated multi-channel marketing!
However, this is not to say that in house teams will be throwing caution to the wind. In these difficult economic times, 2012 is going to be the year when brands invest time and money but want to make sure they see a visible return.
To do this they need to ensure they truly understand their customers and potential customers.
Commerciality is key and brands will be pushing their agencies to deliver creative and commercially viable solutions.
Customers become product innovators
In the old days of idea generation, creation and collaboration, customers were only used as a touch point for focus groups and interviews.
Now, it seems, the tide is turning. With the use of social networks and online platforms, customers can help to mould the product and service to suit them. Brands may use social networks for collaboration at every stage of the product lifecycle, from idea generation through to launch.
In addition to creating compelling products and services, companies will also be able to boost their digital community and the number of customers engaging with their brand. Rewarding customers for helping you is the best way to approach this and will encourage them to continually engage and feedback to you.
As already stated, one of the most important factors for brands this year will be the magic acronym - ROI. Companies will be spending to see a return and through the creation of a strategy that incorporates both creativity and commerciality, the digital industry should continue to grow at rapid speed.
About The Author
web design agency and SEO kent are currently being researched by Tony, an online marketer
