In this week’s guest post from SOBOX – the social media solution created by propertyadguru.com publisher Classified Ad Ventures – we hear some tech predictions for the coming year.
I have to say that I am not a big fan of predictions, but there is something about them that makes compelling reading. For the past few hours, I have been trawling through blog after blog of online trends for 2011.
So what I have learnt? Not much – they are all fairly predictable.
My best pick for real estate professionals is one from Mashable on five predictions how small businesses will continue to adapt to changing technologies this year.
Here is a summary:
1) Increased Spending on Websites
No surprise here really as small businesses are predicted to increase spending on their websites – “lifting small business sites from their current iterations as online brochures to more prominent positions as useful resources for customers”.
It is also predicted that they will increase functionality of blogs and social media integration, as well as invest in better web design.
2) Smartphone Revolution
These devices will continue to change the way companies do business and “small business owners will experience more flexibility than ever before”.
3) Social Shopping and E-commerce Advancements
This one may not be as relevant for real estate professionals but here are the facts anyway:
“While only 30 percent of small business websites currently incorporate e-commerce abilities, the increased buzz around online and social shopping will probably push more small business owners to experiment with the medium in 2011.”
4) More Focused Social Media Efforts
Social media experimentation will move to a more focused strategy with small businesses refining what platforms work best for them.
“Next year is really going to be about paring down to the essentials based on proven successes and strong metrics.”
5) Increased Adoption of Cloud Computing
For those of you who don’t know what this is, Cloud computing involves delivering hosted service over the Internet, which makes hosting and collaborating on documents easier. For example, Google Docs and Dropbox.
Mashable predicts: “In 2011, businesses will be increasingly exposed to cloud services as tech companies introduce more and more products geared toward moving our digital lives into the cloud.”
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