After the big companies discover the power of social networking as a way to strengthen the relationship with consumers, it is the turn of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) exploit these channels to enhance their image and gain space in their segments. We have tried to list the top nine trends for 2013 universe 2.0.

SMEs will invest more in social networks

A survey released by Deloitte in 2012, and aired in the journal Review, pointed out that 51% of SMEs investing in CRM solutions and social media to increase sales volume. Small and medium enterprises should be a great force for online business in coming years.

Metrics and KPIs give way to social networking rise in the scale of priorities of companies

Monitoring

As social networking evolves and directors of large companies realize that this tool is not only to monitor the performance of campaigns, new demands are of strategic planning to use the information collected. The idea is to find data that reflect the spending habits of consumers and to understand how they can be strategic for business. In 2012, several brands relaunched products, packaging or changed invested in services from insights gained in social networks. With the accession of the presidents agenda, the issue should be further explored in 2013 and impacts further elaborated on the strategic planning and marketing organizations.

Big Data

Every software engineer knows well about the disciplines of “mining” of data and creation of datawarehouses, held since the 90 degree courses in computing. Thanks to the explosion of information on the Internet, particularly social media, the term Big Data will also be required at meetings of digital marketing. The challenge of how to deal with an exponential volume of internal and external data will be real in 2013. Platforms like Twitter can easily exceed one million monthly postings mentioning only a great brand in India. According to The Economist, the world will produce 34.6 zettabytes (1 trillion gigabytes) in 2020, jumping from negligible 0:13 that produced in 2005. Another dedicated web server infrastructure, bandwidth, databases and algorithms are required. This is the “big problem” created by large data.

Second Screen and Social Curation

Two recent studies show that the habit of using social networks and TV simultaneously is common practice in the daily lives of viewers around the world. The survey shows that at least 46% of the terms in the period analyzed had something to do with television content (sports are included in this percentage, which are televised for the most part). In quantitative annual research “usage habits and behavior of Indian Internet users on social media in 2012”, the netizen was asked about the simultaneous use of Internet and other means. As a result, 50.6% of respondents said they use the Internet and TV simultaneously, confirming the data observed in TTs. Some brands have started to invest in the use of hashtags in their advertisements on TV as a way to increase consumer engagement in social networks on the televised campaign. In a study, engagement increases from 12% to 15% over campaigns that do not use hashtag. In 2013, more social campaigns are expected using hashtag or other forms of integration to social networks in the first half. One of these ways is the use of social networks or Social TV platforms to the TV content curation as televised events (eg cricket matches).

Rise of mobile

We are 1.22 billion Indians, and we already have more than 893.84 million phones. According to survey, an average of 14% of the population have a smartphone. The participation of this unit tends to grow in coming years. At least 12% of them have access to the 3G network. Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets respond by increasing access to networks such as Facebook and Twitter in India. These data leave no doubt that mobility (mainly represented by these two devices) has a great future as one of the screens of the “life” of consumers. However, one must understand that new interfaces and mechanical communication must be defined for mobile devices. Even the use of smartphone differs greatly from the use of the tablet. A recent survey found that while smartphones are constant companions, the tablets come with more consumer on the couch or in bed. Despite the differences, content and apps to these devices as trends continue in 2013.

Social CRM: greater participation in customer service and new formats

According to surveys, between 1% and 3% of the complaints are received by large companies on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and channels like Complain Here. This number may reach upto 5% in 2013. The service, however, on social networks must become more sophisticated with the use of service applications such as ATM (where the consumer accesses a database of frequently asked questions and answers) and Unsourcing (where consumers respond to most common questions and companies may need to access a database).

SaaS everywhere

“Everyone in the cloud computing right now!” is the battle cry heard around the world in 2013. If in 2012 the hosting service providers were improving and promoting its services to cloud-based computing, in 2013 they will be prepared to reap tens of thousands of customers worldwide. CEO, CFO and CTO conclude, while the sofware to migrate to cloud is much cheaper. According to Gartner, 77% of Indian companies will increase investment in this area. But get ready to take a step back (or more) before jumping forward: in India, there are still many software solutions calling, are robust and are prepared for the Big Data.

Retail and connected socially

Retailers will be gradually integrating social networks. In 2013, retailers will find that check-ins at the point of sale and loyalty programs based on social networks, that will contribute greatly not only to attract consumers to the point of sale, but also – and mainly – to promote the networks shares more “tanned” or stores visited. The use of smartphones equipped with GPS, and “mining” of the likes of Facebook will allow development of applications for shopping at physical point of sale, as already exists in e-commerce.

Augmented Reality

Google Glasses was just the tip of the iceberg to a new reality. While augmented reality goggles of Google does not “take” in fact, the consumer should expect mapped projections and augmented reality increasingly present at the point of sale and in places of high traffic. The trade marketing will start in 2013 to incorporate these new technologies to attract consumers to establish and maintain it for a longer time in this space. Smartphones will help to give more power to the consumer, and shopping malls will be the main stage of this transformation. Packaging applications that recognize and bring more information about a product can differentiate it at point of sale or even increase their perceived value.