MMXII is “The Year of the Dragon” according to the Chinese calendar – a powerful year. The last ‘Year of the Dragon’ was Y2K. It’s also a leap year and includes three Friday the 13th’s in January, April and July.

I have a few social media predictions for 2012 but first lets take a look back at what happened in 2011.

2011 was a difficult year for many Victoria businesses as they struggled to grow in a challenging economy.

Many companies made their initial foray into social marketing. Others started to take it more seriously by creating strategies and applying the resources to ensure their success.

“The #YYJ”, as Victoria is referred to on Twitter, is already one of Canada’s “most connected cities” according to MACLEANS’ magazine and as Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin so eloquently stated in his Social Media Day proclamation – “Victoria punches above its weight”.

Here are a few *rough Victoria social media stats from 2011:

• There are more than 220,000 personal Facebook accounts
• According to Twellowhood (Twitter Directory) there are more than 4,100 Twitter accounts
• More than 300 new Facebook Business Pages were set-up
• There were more than 40 “tweetups” (a physical meeting of people who met on Twitter)
• Saanich was home to the first #YYJBleeders tweetup which met at the Blood Clinic to donate blood

*Numbers are approximate using the somewhat unreliable analytic tools currently available.

Other Victoria social media events of note:

• The 2nd annual Social Media Camp attracted 670 people from across British Columbia and from as far away as Boston, Los Angeles and Acapulco
• June 30th marked the 2nd annual “Social Media Day” in Victoria
• The 3rd annual Twestival – a global fundraising event that happens simultaneously in hundreds of cities around the globe was held at the Fairmont Empress

From an industry perspective the big news of 2011 was the much-anticipated launch of Google Plus, Google’s latest attempt at a social network. The jury is still out but there are already a few hundred users in Victoria.

Social media is one of the fastest areas of growth for businesses and companies are beginning to realize its usefulness and impact on the bottom line.

While nobody can accurately predict what will happen in the future, it’s fun to try.

Here are a few social media predictions for 2012.

• Businesses will hire people to manage social media accounts
• More businesses will use social tools to provide customer service
• Blogging will become a natural part of the marketing mix
• Social media’s affect on search results will increase (especially with the launch of Google Plus) and companies in the know will take advantage of this

What will you do to make 2012 your social year of the dragon?