2010 has seen a massive expansion in the use of social media by people and brands. There’s no denying that a lot of it is celebrity led – just look at @ladygaga with her 7.3 million  Twitter followers – but major brands have been pushing it forward too, creating platforms on Facebook alongside their official websites or running location-based campaigns through Foursquare and its competitors.

The increased use of smartphones and steady stream of new applications have enabled us to access our favourite platforms wherever we are, to the point that social media has become integrated with our daily lives in a way that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.

So what next for social media in the coming year? I’ve spoken to industry insiders to get their thoughts on the big trends to watch out for in 2011.

1. Geo-location to bring major wins for brands

Shea Bennett, Twittercism: “I think the biggest trend in 2011 will be deals that are triggered and sent to folk who have opted-in via geo-location. We’ve already seen the start of this with campaigns such as the Gap jeans giveaway, but it’s all been a little messy so far. This will improve radically in 2011 and we’ll have several examples of major wins for brands using these tools. By 2012 it will be the norm to be receiving these offers on your handset.”

Spencer Stratford, Opticomm: “Location services, like Foursquare and Facebook places will all grow – what is unclear at the moment is what role they will play – coupons and offers or brand engagement and relationship? We suspect the area it will thrive will be in the former.”

2. Facebook and Foursquare battle to convert promotions

Shea Bennett: “Platform wise, most of the year will be about the battle between Facebook and Foursquare to see who can better convert these promotions, but I think Twitter will enter the game in mid-to-late 2011 and become Facebook’s direct competitor.

“Facebook’s sheer size should mean they’ll win in the numbers game, but I think Twitter will innovate the feature more successfully. Because Twitter users more regularly check their accounts than Facebook users, Twitter could win in the long run.”

Dr Jeremy Silver, Media Clarity: “2011 will be the year that commercial marketers get social and get local. We will see smarter and closer integration of Twitter and Facebook in digital marketing campaigns combined with highly-targeted local ads and promotions driven by new giants like Groupon. The value in consumer attention will continue to rise and will be measured in the uptake of these kinds of tightly-directed campaigns and promotions. Statistical analysis tools like MusicMetric will become increasingly essential to brand owners.”

3. Profound and lasting changes to brand behaviour

Nicolas Roope, Poke and Internet Week Europe: “The end of 2010 has been the age of hactivism and brands like Mastercard, Visa, Paypal and even Topshop have suddenly found themselves in the crosshairs of negative media attention and social media in one form or other has been the mobilising force.

“Extreme examples in these cases, but all clear signs that social media can’t be managed or bought in the way traditional media can and thus an organisation’s whole behavioural pattern needs to change.

“The gaps between a company’s claims and their delivery can’t be patched up any more and social media does a pretty good job at exposing and broadcasting them. There will be companies that try to fend off this pressure with media-based counter attacks and there will be those who choose to accept that manifest change is the only lasting defence.

“I imagine the latter strategy will win out pretty fast. These deeper cultural changes take longer and have more profound effect on business more generally and next year will mark a clearer departure towards this new way of thinking. A lot of brands have been catching up, a lot have been sitting on the fence figuring out whether the trend was a passing fad or the new model for mainstream opinion formation.

The penny has most certainly dropped and anyone with their heads not buried under Bournemouth beach knows the latter is the certain outcome.”

4. Social media forces change in company structure

Murray Newlands, Influence People: “Should your social media intern be recommending how to restructure your company? In order for social media marketing to be effective a brand has to respond to customers and their needs. It’s great to listen and to engage, but to deliver you need to restructure the business.

“As Brian Solis explained at Monitoring Social Media 2010 you’re now seeing social media agencies competing with Ernst and Young for corporate restructuring contracts.”

5. A foot-in-mouthpiece for celebrities and brands

Shea Bennett: “As for people, all platforms, especially Twitter, will continue to be celebrity led. And has it becomes more mainstream, it will be an essential mouthpiece for everybody. Despite its massive size, nobody on TV ‘goes to Facebook’ to gauge the reaction to a story or event. It’s always Twitter, and I don’t see that changing in 2011. Indeed, it will become the norm everywhere to use Twitter for a real-time response to any and everything.

“However, as I’ve always maintained, this narrowing gap between the very famous and their fans, as well as brands and customers, while incredibly fruitful when handled correctly, is also going to raise a lot of unique problems, as well as amplify classic ones like meltdowns, embarrassing moments, affairs, scandal and good, old-fashioned weirdness.

“Expect several major celebrity and brand news stories that either begin or develop on Twitter in 2011.”

6. Brands take a grown-up approach to social media

Nicolas Roope: “I sense a real maturing of most brands’ approaches to social media. Rather than chucking cash at random, novelty applications and engagements, there is already an acceptance by brands that the phenomena is here to stay and as such needs to be brought closer to their central brand and communications strategies.

“This demands a more grown up and integrated social media strategy, properly woven into all other channels, product and brand stories. This conceptual leap also requires operational and departmental shifts.”

7. Shopping goes full circle and becomes social (again)

Matt Rhodes, FreshNetworks: “Asking what your friends think about what you are buying, collaborating with them, and then completing the actual transaction though social media will all become more mainstream in 2011.

“We have seen elements of all of these in the last few years – people sharing photos of themselves when they are trying on outfits in store, haul videos and gifting through Facebook – but in 2011 they will begin to change the way we shop, and the way brands have to behave.

“Facebook Deals (launching in the UK in 2011) and Groupon will continue to make group buying and discounting more mainstream. Facebook Credits will allow purchases to be made through the social network. And the increasing penetration of mobile social networks will allow people to share their content for comment and discussion. As with many other consumer behaviours, shopping – be it online or offline – will go back to being the social experience it always was offline.”

8. A huge expansion of social gaming

Nicolas Roope: “Social gaming will increase in scale very quickly. I imagine brands will be very eager to meaningfully engage in this area because of the crazy engagement rates we’re seeing.

“It’s going to be a while until brands really get the hang of it though. Casual gaming in a social network context needs a deft touch to create the right experience that’s engineered into social media mechanics with the right sensitivity. Most brand initiated social games have so far been far too spammy and clumsy.”

9. Look out Twitter – there’s a new kid in town

Shea Bennett: “I also think we’re due another major player in the Twitter client arena – especially if HootSuite starts earning a decent revenue from charging for their pro version of the software. I think there’s a Flipboard-like gap for a more visual Twitter interpretation in the handheld marketplace that might be more appealing to the teenage market.

“If somebody nails this, we could see a lot of adoption in a very short space of time.”

10. The social becomes physical

Spencer Stratford: “Social media will start to move beyond the places they now inhabit and become almost physical – feeds will start to appear everywhere – from TV to alarm clocks to nightclub walls.”

11. Hey, I want my privacy back!

Dr Jeremy Silver: “Social media marketeers like teenagers will continue to test the limits of consumer tolerance. At the same time, the defectors from Facebook and the global entertainment stars who flounce out of Twitter will increase in frequency as a significant portion of the community starts to demand its privacy back.

Spencer Stratford: “Consumers increasing understanding of social media will probably see more extreme personal control mechanisms and usage – logging out and disabling accounts so that tagging in pictures is not possible, deleting out-of-control Facebook accounts and rebuilding them with a handful of ‘real’ friends.”