Cerebra

Give your Facebook updates the Edge.

Most of you have heard of this new buzzword Edgerank by now. For those of you that haven’t, well, it’s about time you caught up.

At first I thought it was just another term to add to the arsenal that us folks in digital would be able to throw around in a pitch or status meeting. Like a new “viral” to get existing or potential clients a little aroused. Looking deeper at research though, there seems to be some substance and unlike the “V” word, it doesn’t happen by complete chance.

A topic that is gaining increasing popularity and causing much debate within social media marketing is ROI. There is the school of thought that believes it cannot be measured and, like everything in life, the opposing school that believes it can. One of the most frequently asked questions I receive from my clients is on the topic of ROI. Especially within the financial industry - the urge to measure ROI is engrained.

With 2011 in the rearview mirror, we expect a strong and continued growth on various social media platforms in 2012. The increased online penetration and a strong drive from mobile operators to connect more people to the internet through smartphones or dongles will undoubtedly lead to more people joining social networks.

The year in review

As more South Africans learn to enjoy the benefits of leading the connected lifestyle, the more our national online community grows. 2011 brought considerable growth to the SA social media landscape. According to the most recent World Wide Worx survey: