6 Reasons Why ‘Less Is More’ Will Be the Social Marketing Mantra in 2012
With companies across verticals creating their “Highlights of 2011” and “Predictions for 2012” lists, we thought it might be interesting to create a more useful hybrid.
— Michael Heffring, Expion News
What if we analyzed the millions of social interactions powered by our platform, found the trends from this year, and created a data-driven set of predictions for next year? We did, and realized that even as marketers are becoming smarter about reaching users with social, consumers continue to get more elusive. So read on for the reasons that we think “Less is more” will be the social media marketing mantra for 2012.
1. In 2012, we’ll see less focus on solely promotional Facebook content and more posts that ask users for feedback on making the brand experience better. Our analysis of the top posts of the year found that the most engaging Facebook content was presented in a fun, Q&A-style, asking users to give feedback that would help companies improve their product or service experience. In contrast, less than 20 percent of the top posts that garnered user comments and “likes” were specific deals or promotions.
2. Expect less focus on custom-tabbed Facebook pages and more focus on building branded applications with a gamification component. We mined data from thousands of branded Facebook pages, and found that the average brand “liker” had roughly 288 friends. Custom landing pages or tabs may be good for initially garnering a “like,” but what about reaching that users’ nearly 300 social connections? Expect to see more brands create apps that entice users to compete, share, and win in an effort to connect with a wider audience.