The team from Beyond Search, the research arm of Arnold Information Technology, conducted a survey of business professionals, interviewed more than 30 business writers, and compiled supplementary research to provide a wealth of data about the implications of social networks for organizations and professionals. The team analyzed the information focused on social networks and distilled its research into the top ten trends leading into 2010.
Most of their research shows trends that would be relevant to larger businesses, but there are a few that pertain to small businesses including photographers. Here are a few of my thoughts and you can read the full Press Release below.
“Marketing via social networks will displace direct mail and slower, more expensive ways to build brands and identify prospects.”
This trend has already begun and will increase going forward in 2010. On the graphics side of my business I’ve certainly seen a drop in printed materials in favor of pdf documents, website updates and email campaigns with a slow adaptation of social media. Companies are finding they get much higher qualified prospects without the cost of traditional methods.
Photographers can take advantage of these same technologies and target higher qualified prospects through social networks like twitter, facebook and linkedIn. A fresh blogsite with interesting content and great portfolio images will help to draw them in. Providing relevant information via email subscription will enable you to keep in touch with prospects on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean traditional methods don’t work anymore because they do, this is just another option to explore and will cost little to try.
“Corporations will continue to invest increasing resources in social media, almost always at the expense of traditional media, despite the lack of clear direction and metrics to determine return on investment figures.”
Social media reminds me of the mid ‘90s when companies were jumping on the website bandwagon.
They were spending incredible amounts of money on sites not knowing if they would pay off, but did because everyone else was. For some visionaries, getting in early paid off big and other companies
were left behind.
Luckily the monetary investment in social media is very low and allows even the smallest company to play on the same field. Take advantage of this opportunity to get in early and be one of the leaders in the social media space.
“The lack of robust, standardized metrics for social media will make it difficult for organizations to establish and understand the true value proposition of their social media efforts.”
This has been an ongoing problem and will continue until standards are established. It’s very difficult for individuals and companies to determine return on investment (ROI) with social media so it’s easy to discount its value.
In social media, ROI means different things to different people. Some want to see a direct increase in sales for their efforts while others are just looking to build exposure for their brand. Trying to sell directly through social networks is considered very negative and will be met with much resistance. Instead, build exposure for your brand by offering relevant information and having a dialog with prospective clients. You’ll gain mindshare and be thought of first when it comes time to hire a photographer.
“Social network technology will displace more expensive, traditional methods in business processes from recruitment to direct marketing.”
Direct marketing is the key here, mailings, telephone calls, etc., no one likes to be sold but we are more than happy to buy from someone we trust. Social networks enable you to build relationships and trust with sales on the backend for minimal out-of-pocket.
Social media and social networks are here to stay. It’s time to embrace and capitalize on these new technologies to grow our businesses in 2010.
PRESS RELEASE
Top Trends in 2010 for Strategic Social Network Use
Beyond Search, http://www.arnoldit.com/wordpress, a Web log focused on news, research and analysis about online search and content processing, has released its list of the top 10 social network trends to come in 2010.
Louisville, KY – December 28, 2009 — Beyond Search, http://www.arnoldit.com/wordpress, a Web log focused on news, research and analysis about online search and content processing, has released its list of the top 10 social network trends to come in 2010.
According to Patricia Roberts, an advisor to Beyond Search: “Social networks will have far reaching impacts on hiring, competitive intelligence, governance and marketing. The buzz about networks like Twitter and Facebook, and the lack of standardized, robust metrics make it difficult to discern the true implications of social communications in business.”
A list of the top 50 social search systems appeared in the Dec. 23, 2009, story Preliminary List of Beyond Search Evaluated Social Search Systems posted at http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/2009/12/23/preliminary-list-of-beyond-search-evaluated-social-search-systems/ .
The Beyond Search team conducted a web survey of business professionals, interviewed more than 30 business writers, and compiled supplementary research in October and November 2009 provided a wealth of data about the implications of social networks for organizations and professionals. The Beyond Search team analyzed the information access systems focused on social networks and distilled its research into the top ten trends unleashed leading into 2010.
1. Virtual organizations will replace traditional business organization models.
2. Marketing via social networks will displace direct mail and slower, more expensive ways to build brands and identify prospects.
3. Governance of social networking will place significant stress on professional interaction. The shift from local communication to diffused communication will stress confidentiality and security procedures set up to handle a 20th century approach to business.
4. Hiring will shift from the traditional hierarchical relationship to an organic, fluid distributed approach.
5. Control of information and organizational “secrets” will become difficult, if not impossible to control, without escalating friction between professionals and the organization itself.
6. Prohibitions against the use of social networks on company time will increase the likelihood of work arounds, undermining mandated policies.
7. Corporations will continue to invest increasing resources in social media, almost always at the expense of traditional media, despite the lack of clear direction and metrics to determine return on investment figures.
8. The lack of robust, standardized metrics for social media will make it difficult for organizations to establish and understand the true value proposition of their social media efforts.
9. 2010 becomes the turning point for the use of social network tools in healthcare. We expect increase use for healthcare education and public health alerts.
10. Social network technology will displace more expensive, traditional methods in business processes from recruitment to direct marketing.
The strategic use of social network systems and tools will have a significant impact on marketing, security, public relations, recruitment, and management systems. “The meaning of a social network is changing and fast”, said John Lack, MBA, an advisor to Beyond Search. “The implications for business and knowledge workers are not well understood.”
In January 2010, Arnold IT will create a new Web log focused on strategic social network tools, systems and applications. A full description of the new service will appear in the Beyond Search Web log at http://www.arnoldit.com/wordpress.
About Arnold Information Technology and Beyond Search
Arnold Information Technology is an organization specializing in electronic publishing, marketing via electronic media, online system engineering and database design. President Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his office in Kentucky. He works with colleagues worldwide on a wide range of online and content-related projects. Beyond Search is the research arm of AIT. The company’s Web site is http://arnoldit.com, and the Beyond Search blog is at http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/.
*The Current Photographer website contains links to our affiliate partners. Purchasing products and services through these links helps support our efforts to bring you the quality information you love and there’s no additional cost to you.
Founder of Current Photographer, co-host of The Digital Photography Cafe Show, Designer, Photographer, and overall tech geek.
Its now a better idea that Marketing via social networks and i think so many are interested.