In a previous post I briefly ran through a list of 12 Social Media Trends Australian Companies Should Look Out For This Year
In this (and the next post) I extrapolate on my thoughts pertaining to said list of trends.
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THE RISE AND RISE OF THE POWER BLOGGER
This is a trend I’ve been watching closely for some time and have blogged about a bit of late (see links below).
Overseas we’re seeing some of the more established bloggers become even more popular and influential while there is no shortage of new voices emerging plus others in the wings biding their time and building their following.
The reasons are several:
- Bloggers are becoming more sophisticated and quicker to adapt to new technologies than traditional news outlets (although the latter group – especially print media – is catching up quickly). They are not just relying on a written blog but are also producing video and/or podcasts as well – and they’re spreading their content across multiple platforms.
- Successful bloggers also tend to be super-connected on the social web; what they’re good at doing is building community, whereas that concept is still a little untested in the traditional media.
In Australia, while we’ve been a little behind the overseas blogging trend, the movement has well and truly secured a toehold locally with some fast-rising stars across various blogging ‘categories’ including mummy/parenting, business and marketing, food and lifestyle, technology, entertainment and pop culture.
That we have some of the world’s biggest bloggers living in Australia (including Melburnian Darren Rowse aka Problogger) is testament to the fact we’re no longer a backwater in this space.
Expect the blogging movement to continue its explosive growth while the elite of this group will become even bigger and more influential in their space.
The opportunity for companies is the potential to partner with bloggers (‘personality-based brands’) to bring branded content to life via an independent and authentic voice.
SOURCES:
Have We Seen the End of Blogging as We Know It?
What’s in store for Australian blogging in 2012? Here are 4 predictions
The One Big Thing I Learned at BlogWorld LA 2011
CONTINUED DEBATE AROUND ROI
The hue-and-cry around social media ROI will continue but hopefully in 2012 the debate and conversation will be more measured and centered on productive discourse versus the stonewalling ‘what’s the ROI’ question that’s often asked (generally before communications objectives have even been set!).
Social media activity can be measured but marketers and the C-suite need to be cognisant of what social media can and can’t achieve (it’s not a silver bullet) and that it can’t be evaluated in the same way as traditional media.
Too much emphasis is often placed on attaining Twitter followers and Facebook fans. That’s fine, but what are you planning to do with them? In 2012, as an industry (brands and their agencies) need to get past such simplistic metrics.
"Activate your fans, don’t just collect them like baseball cards." - Jay Baer, Convince & Convert
RECOMMENDED READING: 101 Examples of Social Business ROI
In next post:
GROWTH IN CONTENT CURATION
THE RISE IN STATUS OF THE COMMUNITY MANAGER
