Keeping up with technology is always a challenge for organisations. Often, your team might just be starting to consider a piece of digital equipment, an online application, or a social platform, when a new one suddenly gets introduced. So, you wonder if the technology that you’re just about to plan and prepare for will become obsolete by the time you implement it.
That’s why it’s good to watch for trends as you look at your budget and work timelines.
For 2013, there are some digital and online media trends that you might wish to consider in your organisation’s plans. Here are the top 5 trends to consider:
Many organisations who operate their digital and online presences in a vacuum will struggle to keep up with the growth that will continue to happen in this space.
How are you integrating your digital and online media?
(C) FreeDigitalPhotos.net
What does this trend mean for your organisation?
How Vervely Can Help: We offer services and programs that can help to integrate social media use in your organisation. Some relevant services include: social media audit, social media strategy, and social media management. Contact us if you think we can offer you any assistance. You can also check out our library of resources, including our 8 Steps to a Social Media Audit article.
We’ve seen mobile use grow over the years, including the use of smart phones and tablets. This 2012 study shared over at Pingdom shows a 192.5% increase and global use of mobile browsing. And, according to an infographic based on several studies released by Microsoft Tag, mobile internet would take over desktop internet usage by 2014. Some analysts are also forecasting that mobile ads, use of geolocation apps, and the like will also increase.
Mobile will rule!
(C) Microsoft Tag
What does this trend mean for your organisation?
How Vervely Can Help: We can help your organisation with mobile integration, including training on the use of mobile devices and apps. We have previously assisted nonprofits and businesses to go mobile. Tell us your current needs and we can offer you a customised solution.
Dr Leslie Gaines-Ross, a reputation specialist, shares some of the trends on reputation management in 2013 over at Huffington Post. Granted, she makes a living off helping brands manage their reputation, but with an ever increasing list of social media faux pas and disasters over the last couple of years (2012 social media disasters + 2011 social media disasters; bonus: 2010 social media disasters in Australia), more and more brands are being encouraged to learn how to deal with these situations better.
In fact, such online reputation management does not just stay within just organisations and brands. Even individuals, including teenagers and young school children, are being encouraged to learn how to handle themselves online to avoid potential issues.
Is your organisation equipped to manage your online reputation? What about your staff?
What does this trend mean for your organisation?
How Vervely Can Help: We offer services and programs that can help to integrate social media use in your organisation. Some relevant services include: social media audit, social media strategy, and social media management. Contact us if you think we can offer you any assistance.
With increasing usage of social media and other online content, data is becoming a central part of conversations on digital. Whether this is about cloud storage, big data, data measurement and analysis, or content curation, learning how to process, share, store, and manage data is important.
How does data affect your organisation?
What does this trend mean for your organisation?
How Vervely Can Help: Content planning, creation, and curation, as well as data measurement and analysis are things that we thrive on. If you have any needs in these areas, contact us so we can work out how we can help you best.
In the past, organisations looked at digital or social media training as something that is only a specialist skill, in a niche area (and perhaps, secretly thinking it was all just a “fad”). Now, as you can see with the first four trends, there is an increasing need to equip individuals and organisations in order to cope with changes and growth in the digital / online / social media space. Not just for individuals who will manage social media for the organisation, but for everyone in the team to understand and to use these digital and online tools better.
That’s why digital or social media training should no longer be an optional professional development pathway. CEOs, board members, employees, teachers, volunteers, job seekers, and even young students should be trained in the use of these tools.
And, apart from the basics, the conversations in this space will be moving more on advanced and intermediate skills – from learning to manage personal and professional branding to learning how to create and curate content, amongst many other topics that are fast becoming essential skills in this digital age.
What does this trend mean for your organisation?
How Vervely Can Help: We are available to conduct webinars, workshops, in-house and/or online training. We have also developed online learning tools and modules for organisations. If you need any kind of individual coaching or group education in digital/online/social media, do let us know.
Shai Coggins is the Manager and Chief Digital Media Specialist at Vervely, an Australia-based agency serving local and international clients. One of the company's main clients is Microsoft. Shai has been featured in a number of media due to her online work, including being named as one of Fast Company's "Most Influential Women in Technology" list (2009).