Well, by now we know that B2C Social Media is where it’s at. Almost every consumer oriented brand is now in the game, to change the game for their own brands, and to get closer to their communities of consumers, pundits, influencers, and business partners.

Forrester is predicting a steady increase in Social Media advertising over the next 5 years – and who are we to argue!? Numerous case studies are showing that consumer brands are eager to listen, engage and convert all the ‘twitting and socializing’ into tangible business, while getting closer to the consumer in the process.

Brands are engaging all forms of communications, sharing content and driving conversation. Technology and tool vendors are noticing and are quickly responding with a variety of solutions – from ‘listening’ to ‘integrating with back-end systems’.

And consumers are finding themselves in the middle of the ‘brand conversation’, feeling empowered, in control, and excited about new possibilities. New advances in technology are allowing brands to be more analytical, arming marketers and executives with more data, and most importantly, more insight.

Brands are becoming more and more generous in a quest to attract and to convert. Bloggers are getting more iPhones, laptops, deodorant sticks, and cosmetic kits – only to turn around and to promote more products which they like. The buzz is on!

Product marketers are creating new communities, in hopes to streamline product marketing cycles and to compete faster and better. ‘Competitive Advantage’ takes on a new form, as millions of user votes are being cast for functions and features not yet available to general public.

All of this can only lead to one thing – a more social, more transparent, interactive, and more vibrant consumer oriented environment, with control clearly shifting to influencers, communities of users, and consumers at large.

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