On his blog, Jeff Bullas has a list of six social media trends to keep an eye on in 2013 to ensure your marketing and communication is effective. So what 6 social media trends that you should not ignore in 2013?

#1. Social content is the “new” king

Content has become mainstream as the foundation and cornerstone of social media marketing effort. Google has significantly changed the game by adding the social signals of the “+1” button with its Google+ platform as an important part of determining what content to serve up and how it is indexed so it appears higher in search results.

Expect to see more content marketing tools, tactics and strategies that accept the fact that social, search and content are increasingly integrated and intertwined.

Content is still king but the shiny social media toys distracted us for a while from the importance of building content rich multi-media digital assets.

#2. Social at scale

Most people started to realize that despite the social networks being free to use, the resources required to play in the social media sandpit are substantial and can be expensive. Sourcing and creating content, publishing it and managing it are time consuming and require skills beyond finding interns who will work for free.

The big players are emerging such as Adobe Social, Exact Target and Salesforce.com (with its Radian 6 and Buddy Media acquisitions) realized doing social media at scale requires enterprise class platforms. They are providing the tools and platforms to this within the enterprise.

 

#3. 140 characters will become cooler

Twitter has captured the imagination of the younger generation and is no longer the enigma. It is indeed the new black and brands will be building focused Twitter tribes that extend and amplify their reach.

Twitter doesn’t filter its stream and as Facebook continues to censor your visible content to their “pages” fans, Twitter is starting to look more attractive.

So expect brands to add to the social media toolkit a more vibrant and focused attention on Twitter.

You cannot ignore Twitter anymore in 2013.

#4. The “social dominatrix” continues its grip

Facebook will continue to strengthen its grip as the dominating and the de facto social network of choice as it builds mobile advertising and allows integration with apps and other platforms. Instagram will evolve to provide a means to mobile advertising for Facebook.

Despite the looming Google+ juggernaut, Facebook will continue to thrive.  The platforms in one sense do not compete but complement.

You will need to get smarter at integrating Facebook commerce, build fans and grow your email list via custom tabs that offer exclusive content when liked.

So continue to keep an eye on developments with Facebook this year so that your marketing doesn’t become stale

#5. Visual as a social media weapon of mass destruction

Pinterest went from just being a fun way to share images to a serious traffic source and sales referer for online stores. Pinterest in some cases surpasses Facebook as a social media platform that creates real revenue and hard cash.

The visual social web is still rapidly evolving and is impacting web design interfaces and platforms. Sites such as Airbnb are offering Pinterest inspired platforms with compelling imagery that bypass traditional accomodation sites and also taps into the power of the social networks. Renting that spare room, bunglaow or cottage has never been easier!

#6. Social and Mobile

Designing and creating content for a social mobile web is becoming important as people find and consume information on tablets and smart phones. Responsive web technology that re-sizes text and images to fit any screen is becoming the norm with new websites.

As tablets are replacing magazines on your coffee table make sure that a TV inspired thought can ensure that if they visit your site that your design and content is able to be viewed on mobile and also easily shared and maybe even bought. (www.jeffbullas.com)