One of the things I love about researching, teaching, and consulting in social media is the fact it is constantly changing and evolving. I remember when I first was starting out in the field in terms of research and being amazed with some of the advancements and changes we were seeing even then. Now, it’s a whole other ball game for everyone online.
This appears to be the summer of trends, new best practices, and case studies in the area of social media. We are seeing brands, individuals, and others breaking some of the established rules and paving their way towards a new set of established practices and strategies.
Here are some major social media takeaways we are seeing based on what has happened so far this summer:
- Sports and social media are becoming one: We have seen this all along in sports, but the level of engagement with fans and others is becoming more and more apparent. Social media allows individuals to be their own media outlet to share their stories from perspectives and point of views that are unique and exclusive to that person. It’s not about who has it first, but who has the right angle and POV – and we saw it this past weekend with the World Cup.
- Traditional media outlets are breaking down silos to get exclusives: Lebron James proved this when he announced he was going to be heading home to Cleveland from the Miami Heat in this letter in Sports Illustrated. The impact? This of course went viral on social media and made Lebron the most popular writer for SI. The integration and connection that social media has with the traditional media is quite apparent, and the lines are definitely blurring together. In case you haven’t seen the letter, you may want to also check out this video Erik Qualman made based on the video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45H8eK-adLE&list=UULC9cX5GntaQmTSF6hTqrzA[/youtube]
- Storytelling is integrated into everything and has to be based on strategy: It’s all about not only the content and stories you are sharing, but how you are sharing it. We are seeing brands this summer have the strategic focus on what they are sharing and how they are sharing this on social media for their audiences. Whether it is connecting with real time events from a brands’ perspective or going to where the audience is having the conversation (like Mercedes has done with Instagram).
- Authenticity and the rise of Communication Marketing: This was a trend we saw at the Edelman Academic Summit last month with Richard Edelman’s keynote. I believe this is a window into the future of not only PR, but it’s relationship with social media. We have to formulate strategies of course for our campaigns and brands, but we first have to make sure we are transparent and authentic with our vision and audiences. This is not just a trend, but becoming the expectation for everyone in the field to follow.
Of course, there is still some time left in the summer, but it is interesting to see how these trends have come up at the forefront for both practitioners, and even academics. I am looking forward to sharing these trends and case studies with my students in my fall classes.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
0 Comments