Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

As the year comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on the year of 2010 – the year of the Tiger.  2010, you have been a good year, but at the same time, I know many of us are ready to see what 2011 has in store.

In my 2oo9 marketing year in review, I predicted, among other things, that 2010 would see a growth applying social media and mobile communications in the enterprise marketplace.  I was surprised at how quickly some companies adopted new marketing mediums.  Even more surprising to me was how many were still dragging their feet.

For 2011 my prediction is simple.  I expect a return to sanity.  What I mean by this is that I saw a lot of claims of social media and mobile marketing being a silver bullet for marketers.  I also continue to see some misinformed souls claim these mediums are just fads.  The reality is that new marketing mediums lie somewhere in between.

At the end of 2010, I’ve seen companies beginning to understand that these new marketing mechanisms aren’t just fads.  These platforms can be important components of marketing strategies.  And with the economic turmoil and uncertainty in the economic direction behind us, I expect companies to inject new digital/social/mobile technologies into an overarching marketing strategies.

To implement programs on these new mediums, marketers can learn from hundreds of case studies but I still go back to my mantra of “go where your customers are.” Equipped with this knowledge, it’s just a matter of using the appropriate tactics in your overall marketing strategy.  Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Groupon, Apps or whatever platform that could be used to reach your customers, marketers need to keep thinking how marketing efforts can be integrated and leveraged on these platforms.

Good luck in 2011!