Social Media Trends 2009: Optimize

Client-side marketers are optimizing social-media efforts this year, says Karen O'Brien, Partner, Interactive Services, Crimson Consulting. I asked Karen to describe the social-media trends among her big-brand clients.

Optimization is a big trend, she says.

Companies are optimizing social media by:

• setting standards and goals about how many members, RSS subscribers, friends, etc. they'd like to have on social-media channels

• setting standards and goals about conversations they want to target on social networks

• consolidating multiple presences on social networks, such as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace (often, big companies have several profiles on various social networks, each profile representing a different product line, brand, or service)

"From a customer standpoint, it's confusing to see a bunch of different [presences] unless they're clearly labeled," Karen says.

About 70% of consumers consider social-media sites to be sources of information that will influence purchasing decisions, according to research data in MarketingSherpa's 2009 Social Media Marketing & PR Benchmark Guide.

Now is more important than ever to optimize. Make sure your brand is not only meeting its goals, but also consolidating its social-media presence and clearly labeling each one.

FREE EXCERPT - MARKETING SHERPA - SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS 2009 - CLICK HERE!

By Natalie Myers, Reporter - MarketingSherpa.com