2012 is rapidly coming to a close and most organized businesses will be well into the final stages of their strategic planning and budgeting  for 2013.

I wonder how many will have the foresight to grasp (and align themselves with) the major shifts and expanding trends that we can expect for 2013.

Frederic Gonzalo  has written a good overview of the what he sees as the major trends for next year. Although the trends are slanted towards in  tourism & hospitality industry this is a great post as it opens up ideas for discussion and gives you a check list to consider that you may not have thought of.

I have listed the 13 points below, however you will want to visit the main article on business2community.com to get the full heads up and broader view.
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A new ‘small business social media’ survey from email marketing software firm VerticalResponse was published recently.

 

It found that 43% of small businesses (100 employees or less) spend at least six hours a week on social media, with seven percent spending over 21 hours a week on Facebook, Twitter, and such.

The survey doesn’t say a whole lot on how small businesses spend these six, eight, 12 hours a week, but  it did find that two-thirds of small businesses are spending more time on social media than they did a year ago.

This could lead you to conclude that they are either realizing or actually seeing the benefits of their social media marketing efforts.

So what Do Small Businesses Do on Social Media?

To answer that question I’m going to point you in the direction of a great infographic that illustrates the surveys findings (see below) in conjunction with a really well put together article in technorati.com written by Allison Reilly
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Why is it that creating good, consumable content is now so crucial to bloggers and on-line publishers who want more good quality traffic?

 

It’s old news that Google has implemented its new ‘search with value economy’ without blinking an eye and their policies and processes have made many former ‘ranking methods’ obsolete.

You cant deny that for the end user this has been good news however, for the web entrepreneur or business that relies on Google for a steady stream of leads and traffic, it hasn’t been quite so positive an experience.

I’d say that even 2 years on from the first Panda Update things are still not any simpler for the average SEO driven website owner. Backlinks have taken a back seat, and figuring out how to deliver google rated value to a site so it shows up for your keywords has become nothing less than confusing.
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Google+:  What you need to know to get the best marketing and branding juice from this super social- search network

 

Jeff Bulas in his article 64 Google+ Marketing and Branding Tips says:

 

Google+ is a social media network that most people don’t seem to understand. It has now been with us in the social web ecosystem for over 12 months and has now reached over 400 million users. Despite this, it is underestimated as a tool for marketing your business and brand ~ Jeff Bulas

 

This infographic posted and discussed by Jeff Bullas in his article for business2community.com brings you all the fundamentals about how to use Google+ (and therefore Google+ Local) to your best advantage.

 

 

Our opinions of and experience with Google+

Despite that Google+ has huge SEO benefits and powerful personal branding potential, it seems that the international media have marginalised its potential. In my opinion the lack of unbiased reporting about G+ continues to give individuals who engage with it

On a personal note, I find Google+ is an inspiring social and business networking tool. Google+ is a rewarding network to participate and it has made me, my team and my business more confident in my Social Media endeavours.

Our results?

Whether it’s for fun or profit we have found that for every 1 interaction my team gain on Facebook we get 5 on Google+ – and the conversations and +1 are encouraging, business building, truly informative and relationship building – the very essence of personal and business growth wouldn’t you agree?

 But what do you think?

•  Are you on Google+? If not, what would get you there?
• What about Social Media as a whole, do you use it? Do you know it’s value to your business?
• Where do you hang out on-line and why?

I would love to hear your views and stories, so do let me know what you think by leaving a comment below (and remember to +1 and share ~ thanks).