The creation of this blog can be credited to the growing popularity of social media over the past few years. It is this popularity that has made understanding social media and how to best utilize these tools effectively a top priority for any business. Although the future of social media is uncertain like anything in the future, it is safe to say that social media is a trend that’s here to stay. That being said, it’s crucial to remember that like all trends, it is constantly evolving and one must follow the changes to ensure success for their business.
Pinterest in the Future
In a past post I explored the new social media site, Pinterest. Known as one of the fastest growing social media sites, it has been refereed to as a “Facebook on steroids.” Pinterest has a user base of about 98% women and a majority of the users fall between the ages of 25-44; the demographic that has the most economic impact. It is this statistic that makes Pinterest such a valuable tool for advertising. Although companies are just starting to figure out how to use Pinterest, I believe that within the next few years businesses will really find their place on Pinterest. Companies such as King Arthur Flower could really benefit from Pinterest by creating pinboards for their products and recipes. Clothing companies and craft companies could create pinboards with highlight spring lines or summer DIY projects for kids. The benefit of using these pinboards is that it allows companies to highlight products in a visual way and provides easy access to their websites where purchases can be made. Due to it’s short time in the social media realm, how a business can best utilize a Pinterest is still in the researching phase,along with leveraging it, and tracking it. In the next few years companies will have figured this out and will be able to measure it’s effectiveness. One thing is certain and that is the fact that Pinterest promotes traffic to all companies whose products are “pinned”.
Future Trends in Social Media
As I mentioned above Pinterest users are about 98% female. I believe within the next year we will see a male version of Pinterest that will gain popularity. There is one in the works already Gentlemint.com I think that sharing through social media will continue to develop and be the key trend. It started with sharing status, upgrades to sharing locations, upgraded again to sharing interests and hobbies.I believe that Facebook will try and counteract Pinterest’s growth by creating a feature on Facebook where users could share interests and hobbies. The only advantage they would have on Pinterest would be that they are an established site and would allow people to keep everything under one account providing convenience and simplicity.
Lastly, I believe that technology, including social media, has provided people with convenience. I have added so many dimensions and activities to my daily routine that without technology, especially my calendar in my smartphone, I truly do not think i would be able to get it all done. To me, social media is an other tool of convenience. Facebook allows me to connect with all of my girlfriends from college in one message and within a matter of minutes I can find out updates on what they are doing. LinkedIn has made it easier for both employers and job seekers to find quality employment. In a matter of minutes an employer can search through a website and can find a handful of candidates as opposed to placing a newspaper ad attracting 60 mildly qualified candidates saving them hours off the review process. As social media develops overtime, I feel as though they will develop more and more tools and sites that allow convenience, and provide a great reward to their users. I am looking forward to see how social media sites combined with smartphone technology advance as well as how government agencies use social media to their benefit. Many news articles can been found suggesting what the future might unfold, however the proof is in the pudding!
Can you think of a tool a social media site could design that would help you in a positive way?
Exploring Social Media 