Social Media Trends – What’s Ahead in 2010

November 4, 2009

There’s a great post by David Armano over at the Harvard Business School blog that aims to identify six trends that will emerge in social media in 2010.  It’s worth a read for anyone who currently manages a social media program or is considering launching one in the near future.

While Armano’s predictions are generalized for all businesses, I believe there are a few trends in addition to those he has identified that are specific to the foodservice industry:

• Integration – While 2009 has been the year of social media adoption in the restaurant world, 2010 will be the year of integration.  We’ll likely see restaurant marketers morphing what currently exist as distinct initiatives into global strategies that seamlessly incorporate both online and offline fronts.  Right now it seems the majority of us are focusing upon either Facebook or Twitter as distinct channels and while that’s certainly been a viable approach, I do believe that an integrative plan that unites social networks, corporate websites, blogs and, as Armano points out, mobile technology, will be the inevitable evolution.
• Conversation – Many of us in the hospitality trade have utilized social networks strictly to broadcast to our audience, essentially creating a one-to-many communication stream akin to using a megaphone.  I believe we’ll see an emergence of give-and-take, a conversation of sorts between restaurant brands and their followers/fans.  Listening, in addition to broadcasting, will be critical in 2010. Utilizing the core fan base for new product development or testing could see more action next year; this type of crowdsourcing has been very effective when employed in other industries, particularly in the tech realm.
• Advertising – As social networks seek to monetize their platforms, the ability for marketers to employ their ads to supplement their social campaigns will become more common.  Right now Facebook offers some cool cpc and cpm opportunities to brands; I expect that technology to grow in Facebook and be developed in some form on other networks.

What do you see on the social media horizon?

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