So as to not replicate the plethora of blog posts covering social media predictions for 2012, I thought it would be worth listing the ten areas I’d like to see develop within the social media and digital comms industry over the next twelve months. In no particular order….
1. Twitter to be able to offer UK case studies for their advertising packages. To date the offering looks unsophisticated with limited results for brands outside of the entertainment industry
2. Brands to get a lot smarter with integrating their above-the-line and social strategies. What really …

Having been a little negative in the past about Facebook’s platform developments (some publicised, others, of course not), I have to say, things have really been hotting up over the past few week with a raft of new changes being introduced. Some of these changes have been in reaction (never a great place to be) to Google +’s introduction a few months back –  easier filtering of friends into specific categories (called ‘lists’) and targeting of messages.  Others, however are really starting to show the integral nature of Facebook’s ‘open …

Over 1 million UK users already for Google+ and despite not personally having huge social circles that really help demonstrate the correlation on everyday search results, the potential impact is still pretty staggering.  Already by optimizing your profile on Google+, as an individual, your digital footprint can be easily identified by Google. Recommended pages are increasingly visible, tailoring a search that is specific to you. Once those in your circles make the most of their accounts and Sparks are less US focused, then Google becomes less of a search engine …

Ok – so I obviously missed the boat first time round with YouTube’s Search Stories Video Director but this is fun and further emphasises the importance of solid SEO in how you/ your company are perceived (yep – I know mine is pretty poor and am trying to work on it). Fun stuff aside, it provides a useful tool to show clients how they are currently performing in Google and therefore provides the opportunity to demonstrate how certain influential sites/social networks impact on results. Oh, and you have your choice …

So you are getting excited about your social media strategy, you have your creative execution standing by and are ready to start counting fans and followers.  Being a small to medium sized business you may not have thought about a Social Media Policy. That’s something only for large corporations and agencies, not you, right?  Wrong.
Before I hear a collective virtual *sigh*, a social media policy is essential for any business who wants to get online – no matter how small. This is because in using online platforms to communicate you …