Can You Anticpate and Predict Trends?

When it comes to Social Media Marketing, what are the latest trends?  Where is the ROI?  How can you use it to successfully reach your target audience and convert them to customers?  After all…somebody’s got to answer to key stakeholders and bottom-line results. 

What effect will emerging technology applications have?  What are the emerging technology platforms?   These conversations  are on the minds of  business leaders around the world and they are addressed in this blog.

David Armano, Conversation Starter blogger for Harvard Business.org , stepped back from his Austin based consultancy delivering social business design services to contemplate and summarize Six (6) Social Media Trends for 2010 from a human behavior perspective.  They are:

1.  Social media begins to look less social

2.  Corporations look to scale (BestBuy’s Twelpforce on Twitter)

3.  Social business becomes serious play (Foursquare)

4.  Your company will have a social media policy (and it might actually be enforced)

5.  Mobile becomes a social media lifeline

6. Sharing no longer means e-mail (New York Times iPhone application)

Viewers of the blog quickly furthered the conversation – sharing from a technology perspective as well.  Citing current innovative applications like lifestreaming platforms (Foursquare or Brightkite) to emerging technology platforms and concepts like storystreaming. 

Predictions were made that:  small businesses will increase using social media as the main way of communicating  with customers and prospecting;  …we will see growth in the usage of social media in the capital markets and investor relations arena;  …social media will become more global – reducing the need of multi-national brand managers to travel overseas to reach marketing objectives.

One response likened the request for the ROI on social media to asking for the ROI on the phone system stating that it’s a channel.   Another person went on to complete Armano’s list by adding their own numbers 7, 8 and 9 to the 2010 Social Media Trends list.

>>Can you do that?  Can you anticipate and predict trends for the industry you are in?

>>Can you sit back, close your eyes - take a deep cleansing breath or three? 
>> And, when you’re done, open your eyes and clearly summarize the current state of your industry?

>> Then, can you go even deeper to See and articulate the predictable future?  

With a little or lot of practice, I believe you can.   

The power of anticipation is a key element to thought leadership, leveraging your ability to predict, setting trends and to your business survival.   The increased ability to powerfully anticipate is like building a muscle.   It is a process.    According to wikiHow, your body builds muscle naturally in response to strenuous activity.   But if your daily routine doesn’t involve challenging your muscles to grow, how do you trigger the muscle-building process?   Sharpening your ability to anticipate and the ability to create a new trend is also a process.    You can start the process with a mindset to Be Proactive.   A professional coach can help you see it through.

I want to leave you with the question:

>>Can you predict the 2010 trends for your business?   Give it a try!

 For the complete article and comments for–Six Social Media Trends for 2010 – click on the link. It has some good social media context to chew on.

Angela Charles (The Marketing Coach) is a certified Leadership Coach, Marketing Consultant and Social Media Enthusiast.  She is a monthly blogger here at RicksRSS. You can follow and direct message her on Twitter at  http://twitter.com/accenterprise.   Or email angela.charles@ricksrss.com.