12 PROVOCATIONS
A DOZEN DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS THAT
WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE OF MARKETING
SIMON KEMP • we are social • 25 APRIL 2012

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1 IN 5 PEOPLE ON EARTH ALREADY USES SOCIAL MEDIA
we are social 3

JAN
2012 SOCIAL MEDIA PENETRATION
47%
50% 36%
20%
18%
4%
25%
36%
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SOURCES: POPULATION AND URBANISATION DATA: UN (2010); INTERNET USER FIGURES: INTERNET WORLD STATS (LATEST AVAILABLE, JAN 2012);
SOCIAL NETWORKING FIGURES: SOCIALBAKERS (JAN 2012) AND LATEST SITE PRESS RELEASES; MOBILE FIGURES: EXTRAPOLATED FROM ITU DATA (2010)
4

HOWEVER, THE MOBILE INTERNET IS
HELPING TO DRIVE EVEN MORE GROWTH
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JAN
2012 MOBILE PENETRATION
100%
100% 100%
77%
100%
60%
100%
86%
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SOURCES: POPULATION AND URBANISATION DATA: UN (2010); INTERNET USER FIGURES: INTERNET WORLD STATS (LATEST AVAILABLE, JAN 2012);
SOCIAL NETWORKING FIGURES: SOCIALBAKERS (JAN 2012) AND LATEST SITE PRESS RELEASES; MOBILE FIGURES: EXTRAPOLATED FROM ITU DATA (2010)
6

BY THE END OF 2012, 1 IN EVERY 4 PEOPLE
AROUND THE WORLD WILL BE USING SOCIAL MEDIA
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SOCIAL IS ALREADY
TOO BIG TO IGNORE
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BUT WHAT DOES THE FUTURE
OF SOCIAL MEDIA LOOK LIKE?
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12 PROVOCATIONS
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01
MOBILE
SOCIAL
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TREND
The next 100 million web
users will be mobile first
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PREDICTION
Mobile devices become the main
platform for internet use, especially
for social media and brand searches
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However, the majority of these devices will
still be simpler, ‘feature phone’ handsets
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IMPLICATIONS
Content and experiences must
be tailored for slower connection
speeds and smaller device screens
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02
SO-LO-MO
TAKES OFF
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TREND
More and more of our social networking
activity originates in the physical world
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PREDICTION
‘Social, local, mobile’ (SoLoMo) services
move to the centre of social media experiences
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IMPLICATIONS
Explore ways to socialise real-life brand experiences –
both in-store and at the point of consumption
Use social listening tools to identify who shares
what, where, and when to identify top influencers
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03
SEARCH-
SOCIAL
CROSSOVER
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?!
TREND
We rely heavily on recommendations and suggestions
from friends and peers to help make decisions
We increasingly turn to our social networks to
answer the questions search engines can’t solve
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PREDICTION
Search and social become
more tightly interwoven
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( Is Google+ a social network, or
is it a ‘social answers engine’? )
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IMPLICATIONS
Conversation is the new SEO – the brands that people
talk about most will rise to the top of search engines
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04
SOCIAL
'BAKED-IN’
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TREND
Social functionality (e.g. the Like button) is
spreading from host platforms to the wider web
Brands are concerned about over-committing
to individual social networking platforms
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PREDICTION
Social functionality will become a
natural part of all internet properties,
not just social networking platforms
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IMPLICATIONS
Brands will need to socialise all of their
web presences, rather than simply creating
a presence in social media platforms
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05
SOCIAL
CRM
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TREND
People use social media to interact
with others, not just listen to them
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PREDICTION
Brands will increasingly use social
channels to deliver customer service-
driven activities rather than advertising
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IMPLICATIONS
Equip community management teams with
the skills and tools necessary to respond to
customer enquiries, compliments, and complaints
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06
INCLUSIVE
CONTENT
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TREND
People want to be part of
the action, not just watch it
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PREDICTION
The audience moves to the centre
of the marketing experience
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IMPLICATIONS
Make the audience the hero – create
content around them, not just for them
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07
INTERFACE
INNOVATION
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TREND
Advances in technology are changing
the way we interact with devices
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PREDICTION
More and more of our social media
activity will take place on ‘non-
traditional’ internet-powered devices
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IMPLICATIONS
Social experiences will need to evolve
beyond a ‘point-and-click’ approach to
deliver engagement across all 5 senses
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08
CURATION &
FUNNELLING
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TREND
People are struggling to read and
update all their various social profiles
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PREDICTION
People will consume content through socially
powered curators and aggregators, rather
than through individual platform interfaces
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IMPLICATIONS
Brands need to explore ways to communicate
with social media audiences without relying
on native apps or social display advertising
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09
SOCIAL
NICHEWORKS
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TREND
Listening to, and interacting with
audiences invariably delivers greater
value than merely talking at them
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PREDICTION
Brands start to build their own smaller, more
focused social communities where they can learn
more about people’s needs, wants, and desires
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IMPLICATIONS
Learn how to identify valuable
audience segments and engage them
Trial social research methods and focused crowd-
sourcing to harness your most engaged consumers
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10
CORPORATE
SOCIAL
PROACTIVITY
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TREND
People expect brands to play a bigger
part in making the world a better place
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PREDICTION
CSR moves out of the annual report
and into meaningful, real-world activities
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IMPLICATIONS
Find ways to add value to communities that also
build the brand and reinforce valuable relationships
Use social media to share details of CSR activities,
involve relevant communities, and build goodwill
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11
INFLUENCE
MEASUREMENT
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+1
TREND
Peer and influencer endorsement
are increasingly valuable to brands
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PREDICTION
Influence measurement becomes more
sophisticated as marketers invest
more in partnering with influencers
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IMPLICATIONS
Understand the role influencers play
in the audience’s purchase cycle
Identify the influence metrics
that matter most to the brand
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$ 12
END-TO-END
ACCOUNTABILITY
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TREND
As social media evolve into ‘social business’,
marketers need to demonstrate social activities’
contributions to the brand’s bottom line
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PREDICTION
Social measurement will evolve to
deliver full purchase-cycle tracking
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IMPLICATIONS
Brands need to ensure that all marketing activity –
both online and offline – can be tracked, and prepare
for this from the outset of social media activities
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12 PROVOCATIONS
01 MOBILE SOCIAL 07 INTERFACE INNOVATION
02 SO-LO-MO TAKES OFF 08 CURATION & FUNNELLING
03 SEARCH-SOCIAL CROSSOVER 09 SOCIAL NICHEWORKS
04 SOCIAL BAKED-IN 10 CORPORATE SOCIAL PROACTIVITY
05 SOCIAL CRM 11 INFLUENCER MEASUREMENT
06 INCLUSIVE CONTENT 12 END-TO-END ACCOUNTABILITY
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WE ARE SOCIAL IS A GLOBAL CONVERSATION AGENCY.
WE HELP BRANDS TO LISTEN TO, UNDERSTAND,
AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE’RE ALREADY HELPING MANY OF THE WORLD’S
TOP BRANDS, INCLUDING ADIDAS, UNILEVER,
DIAGEO, NESTLÉ, HEINZ, AND LVMH.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT US HELPING YOU
TOO, CALL US ON +65 9146 5356, OR EMAIL
US AT SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG.
FIND OUT MORE AT HTTP://WEARESOCIAL.SG/

SIMON KEMP
@ESKIMON
+65 9146 5356
SIMON.KEMP@WEARESOCIAL.SG
HTTP://WEARESOCIAL.SG