Some Social Media Trends to Watch

1. Video Snacking: According to Fred Singer, CEO of Grab Networks, nearly 180 million Americans are “video snacking,” or watching short video clips on, rather than sitting down to an entire video “meal.”What can you do to take advantage of this opportunity?  Feed the beast.  Give audiences brief, engaging and optimized videos that convey your message in an attractive format and share it on YouTube, or any other video-sharing site, and watch it take off!
2. Proliferation of Generation C (Connected Collective Consumers, or native social networkers):  The new digital consumer exhibits a tribal mentality, derives his social status based on the credibility of what he shares, consumes a minimum of 13 hours of content daily, and participates in your conversations.  Generation C, according to Nielsen, is not defined by age group but a state of mind…and they’re not going anywhere.What can you do get Generation C’s attention?  Become a social media expert so you can interact and engage with those consumers.
3. Print media continues along its path toward its demise:  Does this really need any explanation?What can you do to prevent your own untimely death?  Optimize your content for digital platforms by including multimedia elements like hyperlinks, images, video and social networking options.
4. Let’s make a deal:  Sites like Groupon, Woot!, and YouSwoop have made coupon-clipping en vogue and have enjoyed gargantuan success, and will continue to make an impact on consumer shopping in 2011.What can you do to get in on the game?  Announce a new product or service!  Offer a discount to the individuals who mention it.
5. Hyperlocalization: Hyperlocalized sites like Patch.com limit their coverage to a small area to capture the entire audience.  People want to read about what’s near (and dear) to them.What can you do to make yourself more accessible?  Be a hometown hero. Get involved in community events. Sponsor a local 5K run or volunteer at a local charity, and then let the local press know about it. Read more on two other hyperlocal examples: CivilBeat.com and TBD.com.
6. Fragmentation:  Instead of relying on one publication for its online news, content consumers utilize a variety of different sites to meet their needs. They especially depend on niche sites like mashable.com (a leading technology blog) to provide them with the most accurate and in-depth content, but might also visit NYTimes.com to get a broader perspective on national and international events and issues.What can you do fragment yourself?  Target the creators of these niche sites.  This is where eyes are landing and staying these days.