Facebook reaches more than half of the world’s global audience, more than any other social network in history.[/caption]
It will take a while for Google to catch up with Google+, but Facebook will not go down without a fight. 2012 will be a year of war for global supremacy, and no other player can interfere between Facebook and Google with enough strength to make a difference.
Instead, the number of niche social networks will grow, particularly in travel, where people will count more and more on local and expert tips to plan their holidays. Even Google is ready to join the trend, with Schemer, a social recommendations travel engine, which is most likely to open its doors to the public at the beginning of 2012.
2012 cannot be something other than social, where interaction is concerned. There is no other logical step - the evolution is clear, and was clear at the dawn of the first online forum. Although not described as forums, modern social networks are just the natural evolution of the latest, and Twitter - an online bulk SMS service with opt-in features - to simplify the definition for laity. Twitter is defined as a microblogging service, although it's more about broadcasting, community and communication. But beyond definition, Twitter's role in shaping the way people consume information is clear. comScore graph below shows the 10 most tweeted moments of 2011.
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Growth of Twitter and 10 most tweeted moments of 2011[/caption]
Why is the trend important for PR and marketing? There are many reasons, most important being that social networking leads in online display advertising in the U.S.. This, however is still virgin territory for advertisers, and social networking display ad market is not yet attracting its fair share of online ad dollars, according to comScore.
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Social networking share of key metrics[/caption]
Even here, Facebook is the undisputed leader, delivering in 2011 28% of all display ad impressions – more than the other four major portals combined (Yahoo sites, Microsoft sites, Google sites and AOL).
Last but not least, remember that, by all statistics, 2012 will also be the year of the smartphone. comScore and other analysts consider mobile devices the future of social networking, as they provide the means for users to connect on-the-go, facilitating real-time interaction.
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In both the U.S. and EU5, mobile social networking use mirrored smartphone adoption, showing similar growth rates over the previous year. Source: comScore MobiLens, U.S. and EU5, 3 Month Average Ending October 2011[/caption]
