As businesses plan for the year ahead, they may want to reevaluate their corporate development strategies – especially those related to social media. This is due to the fact that some of the internet’s most popular websites are undergoing changes.

For instance, on December 27, 2011, Mashable reported that Google+ is adding around 625,000 new users each day – bringing its current total to approximately 62 million. Paul Allen, a Google+ watcher and founder of Ancestry.com, said that the platform should reach 100 million users by February 25, 2012 and close to 300 million users by this time next year.

"It may be the holidays, the TV commercials, the Android 4 signups, celebrity and brand appeal, positive word of mouth or a combination of all these factors," Allen wrote on his Google+ profile, as quoted by the news source. "There is no question that the number of new users signing up for Google+ each day has accelerated markedly in the past several weeks."

The news outlet added that Experian Hitwise found that there were 9.4 million visits to Google+ for the week ending December 17. With interest in the social media website on the rise, companies may want to establish a presence on Google+, if they have not done so already.

On December 27, 2011, Mashable also reported that people can expect more advertisements on Twitter in the new year. This, in turn, may mean more marketing opportunities for companies that use the social media website.

According to the news source, eMarketer recently estimated that Twitter will post $259.9 million in revenues in 2012, which is an 86.3 percent increase over the 2011 total.

Social Media Today recently highlighted what may be some of 2012’s biggest trends in a December 23, 2011 article. For instance, people may find that more television networks are looking for opportunities for business collaboration with platforms like Facebook and Twitter in an attempt to boost viewer engagement. According to the news outlet, the television viewing experience may soon become intertwined with people’s social activities.

As more consumers make checking Facebook or Twitter a regular part of their day, brands will soon have little choice but to create social media accounts. The news outlet expects the use of these websites to be essential, not just for marketers, but recruiters and sales professionals as well. With a greater focus on social media across businesses’ departments, it is expected that social commerce will begin to generate serious revenue for brands.

To ensure that companies are ahead of the curve in the new year, AllBusiness.com suggested that professionals perform a social media review and update in a December 28, 2011 article. They can accomplish this by taking a few simple steps.

For instance, companies should look at each of the websites where they have a social media profile, including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, the news source reported. All important information should be added or updated. At the same time, integrating relevant keywords into the text on these pages may help attract potential customers during online searches.

During a social media review, professionals should also think about their customers and competitors, the news outlet stated. This involves seeing what types of social media strategies other businesses in the field are using, as well as investigating what platforms customers tend to use most frequently.

After brands complete their social media review, they may be better equipped to gain social learning opportunities related to customers’ online behaviors and preferences.