Looking ahead in 2013, social media will no doubt play a pivotal role in successful marketing campaigns. Take a look at 5 social media business strategies that you’ll likely see this year and see if one might be a good fit for your business.

1. Goodbye, Surveys: “Many of the more progressive brands have already decided to eliminate surveys and instead focus on social feedback as their primary source for customer experience information,” said Kristin Muhlner, CEO of newBrandAnalytics.

2. Industrial Espionage Is now Legal and Free: “In 2012, we saw the hot brands using competitive data in new, previously unimagined ways,” Muhlner said. “We predict that more than one-third of businesses adding products or menu items will be inspired by their competition’s online customer feedback.”

3. So Long, Traditional Performance Evaluations: “Sharing online feedback places psychological control on employees,” said Randy Stanley, vice president of Parasole Restaurant Group. “They recognize and accept that everyone is a critic and that they can read about their performance online daily, good or bad. They see now that they have to be ‘on’ all of the time. Every experience counts. That’s powerful.”

Read the full article here: http://mashable.com/2013/01/03/social-media-business-strategies/