Tamir Berkman takes you through a few reasons why 2009 is going to be a big year for social media:

The medium is coming of age

It’s been a few years since baby social media was born and now it’s a teenager. Still a bit confused but ready to go to work and prove itself.

All it’s asking is a chance and some direction.

 Australia had its share of social media campaigns lately

Two campaigns managed to grab a lot of attention to the medium (yes I’m talking about the Witchery man in jacket and the best job in the world).

The attention was not only on the medium but also on its practices and problems, getting much debate in the media and industry.

Blogs and Twitter are becoming more than a buzz word

Slowly getting traction and acknowledged by traditional media (still not so much in Australia), blogs and tweets are proving to be a major force behind the social media adoption. Some bloggers/tweeters have a following of a small newspaper and a targeted, passionate audience. A few months ago a debate called is Twitter mainstream? popped up all over the net. Even if it’s not – it is now officially debatable.

Clients are starting to ask about it

It’s only a matter of time until all clients will have a social media strategist in-house. At the moment we see a high growth in clients asking to know more about social media, blogs, Web 2.0, Twitter etc. We also see growth in digital strategy take-up.

Budgets are getting tighter

No matter big or small, everyone is worried about their budget at the moment. It’s also clear that you can’t sit still. In times like these, knowing more about the latest technologies and practices seem like a good idea.

The smell of change is in the air

When things are changing dramatically, people and businesses have their survival mechanism kicking in. We are built to adapt, adopt and evolve.

But… with this upcoming evolution, a few questions come to mind: what is social media? What is a social media campaign? Is it a social media campaign if you use YouTube as your player? What about seeding the campaign through YouTube or if you have a user-generated section? I’m finding these questions more and more irrelevant. The important thing is to realise it’s time to talk with your audience and be honest. Use the social/online tools and be approachable. Learn how to listen and find out what will make your clients happy.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments. After all, it is social media, no?

More about this topic on the FRANk blog:

http://frankmedia.com.au/blog/