As the social media bandwagon continues to gather momentum, Quest PR is linking up with social media experts globally to hear their forecasts on what the future holds.

In this post US social media guru Gini Dietrich – a top Vistage speaker and PR consultant –  shares her fascinating insights.

• Foursquare: Retailers are going to figure out that consumers are checking into their locations and giving them all of their information. So if I check in at, say, my local Mexican restaurant, they now know that I am there every Friday, that I like salt on my margaritas, and that I always order the chili con queso. They also know that I live around the corner, that I’m female, and that I tend to bring at least three friends with me. So let’s say they participate in Foursquare as well. Now they can send me a message inviting me to bring in friends and for every three that check in, I get $10 off my bill. Or similar promotions and contests.

• Every business will embrace social media at some level. Some may only have policies in place. Some may only lift their firewalls that now prevent their employees from using the social networks at work. And others will use the tools as part of their larger communication, marketing, customer service, HR, and sales strategies.

• Email will begin to be used less and less for business. You’ll see tools such as Google Wave used for collaboration, Yammer used for internal/employee social networks across offices, and the social tools for quick answers in real-time vs. waiting for an email to be opened, read, and response.

• Everyone (not just certain Starbucks locations, Flixster, and Amazon) will begin to accept mobile payments. Create an account to the retailer on your phone, input your credit card number, and every time you visit that location, you just enter your PIN number and pay for your purchase on the spot. No more cash. No more checks. No more credit/debit cards.

• The social media “experts” who don’t practice what they preach and pry on business leaders to get rich quick will be found out and the cream will rise to the top. Those who are at the forefront of social media will change and a new crop of thought leaders will move to the top. Expertise, thought leadership, and credibility will change constantly.

• The “return-on-investment” of social media question will continue to be defined as the tools age and agencies and companies, alike, figure out how to track efforts directly back to increased sales.

• Twitter will die because they won’t figure out how to monetize the brand.

Gini Dietrich is the founder of Arment Dietrich, Inc., a Chicago-based firm that teaches companies how to use online communication for business growth. She has a passion for Global Domination and cycling.

As CEO, Gini works with c-level executives on using online technology to develop and foster relationships for better and more efficient communication. Her team works to develop strategies that build communities, generate leads, cultivate those leads, and convert them…all while tying efforts to improved profitability.

She spreads her “communication through one-on-one relationships” message at numerous conference keynotes and panel discussions, company training, the Fight Against Destructive Spin blog, and her own intense social networking.

Gini is one of few female business owners who speak on the subject of social media and communication. She is @ginidietrich on Twitter.

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