Social Media Predictions for 2009

Alright, now we're in 2009 so this may come a little late. But anyway, the year is still young, so here are the social media predictions for 2009 from the collective expertise of the Junta42 bloggers.

Excerpts: Marketers will get cheap - Twitter will be officially mainstream - Twitter will suffer a backlash - marketers will lack control over content - combining traditional media with electronic media will increase - distributed eventing - news articles with images and video syndicated in RSS feeds - content will be more focused around conversation than messaging - innovative brands will start to provide engaging content that allows them to intertwine the brand rather than push it as the primary selling point - employees across the company will be content creators - more brands will develop a personality or a persona to represent the core values of the company - laid-off journalists will find a home as "content producers" and "content managers" on the corporate side - small business comes out to play - execution is the new strategy! - more "ombudsmen," fewer PR flacks - webinars & live or pre-recorded video events - the big challenge for brands is going to be reaching consumers without appearing to be selling anything - marketing messages will follow a less-advertising, more journalistic approach that offers relevant stories that show impact, offer counsel and demonstrate fairness.

The full list: http://blog.junta42.com/content_marketing_blog/2008/12/42-social-media-and-content-marketing-predictions-for-2009.html

In a nutshell: All are valid, none are too surprising. Brands will increasingly act like media companies. Content is king (again) - if it's social, relevant, micro, meaningful, and fast.

Amen.

Tim Leberecht is the CMO of frog and the publisher of design mind.