In our blogosphere recap we examine four blog posts from last week that discussed the future of Google, where QR will go this year, the use of social buttons to enhance SEO, and the influence of social networks in emerging markets.
- Google may be aggressively plowing ahead in the areas of social networking, mobile payments and mobile devices, but so are many other heavy hitters.
- Will the future show that QR codes were just a passing advertising fad — here today, gone tomorrow?
- If a product page contains social buttons for Twitter, Facebook or Google+, consumers are far more likely to Tweet, Like or +1 the product or information they were looking for from the page, on the spot.
- In large emerging markets, including Mexico and Indonesia, social network penetration ranged from 56% to 86% of internet users.
4 Big Moves Google Should Make in 2012
Mashable | Peter Pachal | 1-2-12
In looking ahead to predict what 2012 holds for Google, it’s informative to look back at the eventful year it had. While one can’t help but see the big product introductions — a social network, a mobile-payment system, a music store — it’s the deletions that are much more interesting. Google got rid of a host of unwieldy and barely used products and features in 2011. Just look at this partial list of the services killed or folded into larger projects: Buzz. Knol. Checkout. PowerMeter. Health. Wave. Being serious isn’t the same as success, of course, but it’s an essential first step. Google may be aggressively plowing ahead in the areas of social networking, mobile payments and mobile devices, but so are many other heavy hitters. There are sure to be some collisions in 2012.
2012 Predictions for Google:
- Google+ Comes Into Its Own. Google has to change if it wants people to use its service instead of competitors, and going mainstream has to be a primary goal in the New Year. It can do so by leveraging its differentiators, like the useful multiple-person videoconferencing Hangouts.
- Android Puts Its House in Order. Google’s acquisition of Motorola is a big step toward, if not putting this fragmentation business to rest, at least turning the tide a little. You can bet the farm that every Motorola device released under the new Google regime will have a clear upgrade path.
- Ceding Tablet Territory While Building Content. Sure, the successors to the Xoom are on their way, but Google must first focus on bumping up the quality and reputation of its content offerings before it can have a shot at gobbling up market share from Apple and Amazon.
- GDrive Cements Domination of the Cloud. Google will continue its blot-out-the-sun dominance in its primary services: search, email and cloud services in general.
- Overall: Going With What Works. We won’t know for a while whether the company’s bets on technologies such as mobile payments or solar panels will ever pay off. As soon as Page sees a winner, though, he clearly knows how to put the overwhelming force of the entire Google empire behind it. Before 2012 is out, he’ll no doubt have done it several times.
The Uncertain Future of the QR Code
iMedia Connection | Roger Marquis | 1-3-12
Over the past 18-24 months, the acceptance and use of Quick Response (QR) codes has steadily increased among marketing and creative professionals, as well as individual and business consumers, but the question remains, what’s the future of QR codes? Will the future show that QR codes were just a passing advertising fad — here today, gone tomorrow? Or, will the future show that QR codes were a viable direct response mechanism that marketers can use to engage and interact with a target audience on a permission-based, personal level?
Key Takeaways: 
- A QR code is a tactical direct response mechanism used in marketing, advertising, and promotion which, upon scanning, enables consumers to bridge the gap between the physical and print world and the digital world and back again.
- Rather than asking yourself if you want to use QR codes for your next campaign, you should ask yourself, “Do we want to advance and enhance our integrated marketing strategy, as well as the goals and objectives which go along with it, to the point that the strategy includes an investment in and commitment to a mobile channel or platform?”
- Because QR code technology is based on a mobile platform and the use of smartphones, it is essential for companies to first understand, believe in, embrace, and make use of a mobile strategy, before they try to understand, believe in, embrace, and make use of QR codes on a tactical level.
Using Social Buttons to Enhance Search Engine Optimization
Practical eCommerce | Jill Kocher | 1-4-12
Social “signals” increasingly influence search results in both Google and Bing. The search engines are coming to consider social signals as more indicative of how searchers value a page than traditional link signals. Through Facebook and Bing’s agreement to include Facebook social data into Bing’s search results and Google’s Google+, search engines are able to harvest all sorts of juicy user data about which sites and pages users like and link to. Including social buttons in the right pages and at the right stages of the conversion funnel is key to increasing consumers’ social behavior.
Key Takeaways:
- If a product page contains social buttons for Twitter, Facebook or Google+, consumers are far more likely to Tweet, Like or +1 the product or information they were looking for from the page, on the spot.
- The payoff of that social behavior is that the consumers’ friends who are also looking for that same product or information are very likely to see that same product page in their search results.
- Those same friends are also very likely to see the Tweet, Like or +1 and click straight through to the product page to shop on their own as well, increasing a page’s ranking.
Social Networks More Influential in Emerging Markets
In September 2011, eMarketer estimated worldwide social network ad revenues would surpass $8 billion by the end of 2012, with the US accounting for just under half of the total. Non-US revenues were expected to grow faster, as marketers attempt to increase brand awareness, market share, and profits in fast-growth countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and beyond. Unlike in developed markets, where growth in social network usage has plateaued, emerging markets are experiencing double-digit increases. Social network penetration was highest in Indonesia and Russia, at 86% for each in May 2011, up from 63% and 76%, respectively, in 2010. What could explain the large spread between developed and emerging markets? In developed markets, users are accustomed to third-party ecommerce sites and payment methods and mainly look to social networks for keeping up with friends. In emerging markets, ecommerce is untested and new; knowing the person or brand, even virtually, can engender more trust among users.
Key Takeaways:
- In large emerging markets, including Mexico and Indonesia, social network penetration ranged from 56% to 86% of internet users.
- In Brazil, penetration reached 93% of internet users in August 2011.
- Social media marketing is important in the US and other developed markets, but higher levels of trust in emerging markets suggest that social networks can play a bigger role in the purchase cycle there.
