Sunday, September 9, 2012

Social Media Trends – Module 1



   1.     Why are the major trends important?

a.     The major trends are important for two reasons:
                                               i.     They indicate where the market is:
1.     According to the report, the place for any social media guru to be at the moment is Facebook. While many of us might have assumed that by default, it remains to be seen as to whether Facebook will maintain it dominance now that it is a publicly traded company.
                                              ii.     They indicate where the market is going:
1.     According to the report, marketers are most interested in expanding their YouTube presence, with a whopping 76% of respondents vowing to increase their YouTube presence. This stands to provide significant gains for Google (and possibly Google+), as YouTube is a Google-owned enterprise.

   2.     Personally, I think the trends will follow the report exactly, since – as they say – a picture, (or video) is worth a thousand words. I will admit, however, that I am surprised that YouTube isn’t already more dominant. I would’ve guessed that larger companies had figured out ways to utilize YouTube effectively. General Mills certainly doesn't neglect its power, and I encourage most of my clients to utilize it in new, creative, and fun ways. I’m also interested to see if Facebook remains the market leader now that it must generate value for shareholders – will users jump ship, or will a new market entrant turn Facebook into the MySpace of the present?

   3.     Without question – these trends are of the utmost importance to GMI. We are no slouch when it comes to social media, however. We have major presence on all of the social media outlets, and we regularly utilize YouTube for marketing, recruiting, and informative purposes. I have no doubt that our marketing department considers these trends daily, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re helping to drive their direction in our industry.

Just for fun, check out my favorite video ad of ours – it’s great. ;-P


References:

4 comments:

  1. I think the reason Youtube has fallen to the wayside is because it's been around for so long and some might see it as stale.

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  2. Lol! Nice ad.... How do you think GMI can utilize YouTube and pictures outside of advertising material/content?

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    1. That's a great question, Professor!

      We actually utilize it heavily for recruiting/training as well. Take a look at this example:

      http://www.youtube.com/user/generalmillscareers?feature=results_main

      As I said, we're no slouch with social media. :-P

      In the past, we've also posted statements from senior leaders (i.e. the speech Ken Powell gave standing up for equality for LGBT individuals).

      I'm not sure how marketing will push Youtube even further in the future, but I have no doubt they're "cooking" up some great ideas!

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  3. I honestly didn't put much though into youtube until reading this. Now though I see how useful it can be. It gives me a few ideas to use for my family's own business.

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