Trends, Best Practices, &
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Technology + Social Media = Dreams Unlimited

Technology + Social Media = Dreams UnlimitedLong gone are the days when the world was dependent on non-portable devices for social media. No more attending meetings in the town square, following the latest gossip spread from person to person, or sitting down to our massive CPUs and first-generation computers. Now, we are continuously online thanks to our laptops and smart phones. In fact, so much so that some of us even wake up in the middle of the night to check or update our dream status.

Also gone are the days when we used to search for data ourselves. Now, it searches for us through recommendations or contextually and behaviorally targeted advertising.

Recently, there have been massive developments that merge augmented realty with Symantec Internet which not only provides surfers with the variety we all crave but also enables business houses to offer services and products at a very granular level to highly interested customers. This trend has bought about a change in how the industry looks at data and its possible implications. Corporate marketing and communications teams are being formed left and right to target social media channels and engage potential clients, existing clients who seek a higher level of customer satisfaction and also employees to source ideas for development and knowledge sharing.

When Microsoft launched Kinect there was a lot of focus placed on engagement with a multitude of road shows spread out across the world showcasing and the videos promoted on their website and Facebook page. What happened next was almost predictable and deemed the fastest-selling consumer device after just 3 months post launch. It didn’t take more than a simple scan through the media to show that the go-to-market plan was very well designed to engage with the customer and use influencers to make it go viral on social media.

Kinect changed the way video games are played and also how social media can be used to share pictures and videos by introducing Kinectshare.com. The same success pattern applies to all other disruptive technology that has been introduced in recent years, including tablets, smart phones and, of course, iPod and iPads.

So what’s next in line? With Google Glasses coming there will surely be another disruption in the social media. I’m not sure how Google will cater to individual privacy though, which has seen a lot of negative coverage lately. However, one thing is for sure and that is it will definitely provide a new dimension on how we see and use social media.

Throughout this innovation phase, social media data monitoring has paced and has played a key role in both the pre- and post-introductory phase to enable an overall holistic solution. It not only enables communication and public relations teams to stay up-to-date on conversations across the product life cycle, new product development requirements to R&D team, consumer background to sales and marketing teams and brand reputation to the corporate team; but it also keeps key employees updated of what and how their company is doing and provides even non-strategic team members the opportunity and platform to become a true company ambassador.

Increasingly social media is also used as a channel to scout for new clients and an opportunity which often enables a higher positive reach. It hasn’t stopped just at engagement either as it also involves go-to-market plans for both B2B and B2C brands. Name any brand and you will see it being omnipresent across social media channels, either providing assistance or trying to market (through engaging) with consumers.

I guess our waking up mid-sleep will continue and probably only get worse. However, thanks to client engagement initiatives we’ll all become more decisive consumers with consumer empowerment offered up by social media on a silver platter.