Social Media has no-doubt become on of the most popular buzz words in the last 5-years. Starting with services like Friendster and MySpace, social media sites have come and gone and to some, some speculation on whether this is a fad or a powerful tool.

Internet blog Mashable posted an article on what the future holds for social media. As Wichita’s social media company, it’s our job to tell you what these world-wide phenomenons mean to you and your business right here in Wichita. To read the article, click here.

Here’s some of the most notable thoughts for you to consider. First, the concept of social media is becoming  more and more ingrained into our everyday lives. Most websites now are starting to add Facebook “Like” buttons and Twitter “Tweet-This” buttons to make information easier to share. The further this technology reaches and entrenches into our everday lives, the harder and harder it is to list it as a fad.

Second, we are constantly asked “What’s the next thing?” There was Friendster, then MySpace and now Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. We’d argue that there isn’t a “next thing” just that the largest networks are only going to get larger. Facebook, for example, has 500 Million ACTIVE users. These are people that log in and actively use the site, not just create an account and “play.” YouTube is also a monster, owned by Google and the second-larges search engine in the world.

PLUS- these larger social networks are very smart and have a lot of power. The barrier to enter the social marketplace is so large now. Facebook has a tremendous amount of power holding onto 1/12th of the world’s population personal information. Imagine the amount of money needed to get to that level starting from scratch. Facebook and similar companies won’t let that happen. They purchase these little start-ups and any network that gets attention and integrates the technology into their site. Very smart.

We will see social media become more and more mobile in the next five years. Devices like smart-phones and tablets like the iPad allow people to do business and be connected anywhere. Plus, mobile applications are a huge marketplace and business-specific applications are going to be a huge need in the coming years.

Finally, video will trump text. Sites like YouTube are making it very easy to upload videos and share information. As a society, text is becoming more and more boring. You need to keep a person’s attention and video communication tells more than just mundane text. Non-verbal communication ques will be more and more important as social technology grows. At least we hope so or we will all be impersonal robots.

So what does this mean for your business here in Wichita? Well, first you MUST be on social networks. Places like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are here and here to stay. Get on and start communicating effectively (we’ll show you how). Second, you MUST learn how to create a more open business structure. Yes, your competitors will be watching, but there are effective ways to discuss your business with audiences without giving away the secret recipe. It’s easy and we will show you how. Third, you MUST learn how to interact. Many, many, many, many businesses come to us AFTER they’ve started “communicating” on social networks because they’ve started but aren’t getting anywhere. They view it as a waste of time. Learning how to interact on these social channels is important and very vital to the long-term success one may experience in these social spaces.

At JuggleMedia, we help businesses start, understand and communicate effectively to audiences within these social channels. It’s a fun and rewarding process that takes time, knowledge and the proper start. Give us a call at 316-747-9266 and let’s see where you are and it we can help. You can visit us on our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels if you’d like.