Social networking websites are not only meant for fun but they have become a serious marketing tool.

There are many advantages, which make it a potent marketing tool. As like every year, social media trends 2011 have many new things in store for the users as well as developers. Some of these trends will become sensations while others will help in increasing the popularity of these platforms.

Most of the businesses are focusing on creating applications for social networking websites. There are many offshore development companies where people can easily outsource their custom development projects. This has created a more innovative and creative market for different networking platforms. In this article, we shall discuss some social media tips, which will help developers developing apps to meet the trends in 2011.

Popular Social Media Trends 2011

Social Commerce – This year social commerce will grow by many folds. The marketers finally see social media as a great platform not only to promote the products but also to market them. In 2010, there were a couple of bold startups that wanted consumers to share their every purchase with their friends but that didn’t work out. This year however, promises to be a lot different and for developers this is one territory to look for.

Going Mobile – As like the last two years more people are expected to go mobile with social media. One of the great advantages being the focus of developers on hand held devices. With more people expected to switch to PDAs and browse Internet on cell phones, this trend is expected to heat up. This is one of the social media tips, which all should keep in mind this year.

Integrating Platforms- With so many platforms around, this year’s focus might be on integrating these platforms. Some of the biggest platforms are thinking about sharing their feed between themselves, which will help them grow. So for social media developers cross platform integration is a thing to focus while developing applications. This will go a long way in creating buzz for your products and services.

Location Marketing- Niche and local marketing are some of the hottest trends in the social networking sites for this year. Applications such as Foursquare, Facebook Places and Gowalla are expected to be popular with enhanced security features. These sites will help users share likes and interests in a local setup, which will help in promoting these businesses.