The web is evolving. Marketing has to operate at the speed of the web....

1. The Web is Social, The Web is Real-Time
Marketing, adaptation and the techno-cognitive madness
Our World Has Changed
Social media has fundamentally dislodged the traditional communications equilibrium. Content
scarcity has given way to content overload, fixed channels of communication have dissolved into
fluid and complex networks of information exchange, and once-captive audiences have now
become active participants in a largely consumer-driven conversation. This shift requires a new
course of action for brands; it demands new marketing imperatives. The answer does not lie in
social media marketing alone, or in what social media marketing is purported to be. The solution
lies in understanding changing behaviors, patterns of communication and modes of living that the
social web merely illuminates. We must adapt and apply new thinking, skills and methodologies
based on these insights.
“The Web is more a social creation than a technical one.”
The Web is Social
For years my personal blog has bannered the title “The Web is Social,” a phrase that has seemed
to garner more smiles and winks than serious consideration. However, when we examine the
nature of the web as it is now, we quickly see just what this phrase actually means. The webʼs
architect himself, Tim Berners-Lee, stated, “The Web is more a social creation than a technical
one.” The web is literally a network of experiential touch points, creating through its iterations
increasing degrees of social context and personalization in end user experiences.
Touch points on the web today may best be described as falling into one of three social
categories:
• Explicitly social, as in the case of Facebook or Twitter where the primary function of
these touch points is to enable explicit social interaction and communication
• Contextually social, as when reading the New York Times online or shopping on
Amazon—the primary functions here are to consume media or to shop, but the
experience is contextualized by social connectivity (comments, Likes, Shares, and now
Facebook Connect and the Open Graph API)
• Influenced by “social signals,” as is the case with the engines, Google in particular,
who increasingly leverage social data to determine relevancy and rank within search
Social Media Marketing Redux
Social media marketing has matured over the years as the web itself has evolved to become what
might aptly be described as an entirely social environment.
For marketers, however, “social media” still largely exists within a channel-based marketing
paradigm; and, for many social media is simply a new channel.
However, the rise of social media is more than simply the rise of a new “channel” opportunity. It
has signaled the rise of a new, complex consumer modality, generating altogether new behaviors
and communicative norms in general. We, as consumers, seem to be on the brink of a kind

2. of techno-cognitive nomadism, a world in which communication output is evermore ubiquitous,
ambient and continuous —where conversation and activity, from tweets to Likes and Shares, are
not only visible pieces of meta-data, but forms of content in their own right. The link between
content, identity and activity is tightening, fast. We continue to witness the evolution of
content and its consumption as a direct corollary to the evolution of the social web itself.
As the web, and the new patterns of behavior it begets evolve, so must we see a change in how
we approach our marketing philosophies and practices (I would add that it mandates an evolution
in business practices, but that is a topic to be expounded upon in another context). “Social
media,” as a marketing practice, should truly be embedded everywhere and “live”
nowhere. Itʼs not about social media marketing—it's about live, “real-time,” adaptive marketing.
Itʼs about being Aware, Agile and Active in a networked world of continuous, channel-agnostic
content and conversation.
Itʼs Time to Evolve
While marketing philosophies are great, itʼs the practical business application of these ideas that
drives change. The opportunity is to meet the challenge before us through new methodologies
and innovative creativity to architect and execute solutions that operate at the speed of the
web. It means executing, testing and iterating on data-driven strategies brought to life through
nodal experience design, agile content creation, community architecture, active management,
and actionable analytics.
We Need a New Kind of “Brand Awareness”
Brands must develop a new kind of “brand awareness.” They themselves must become
Aware—aware of their own identity as it is molded and formed in the web through consumer-
driven content and conversation.
Being Aware means pulling real-time insights from multiple data inputs—from conversation data
and search intelligence to a variety of market research tactics, to deliver actionable insights into
customer needs, preferences, behaviors and technographics.
Our understanding of “insights” must evolve too—it’s about knowing who your customer is right
now, in real-time, all the time. It’s about real-time awareness rather than historical trends.
Synthesis of insights and opportunities drives the crafting of real-time marketing strategies
designed to support iterative engagement-- engagement that is relevant, timely and focused on
driving results that impact not only your brand buzz factor, but actualize real business goals.
Agility Rules
A brand must be agile, adept at acting upon data and iterating its digital experience based on
real-time insights. Brand experiences on the web are no longer isolated to a controllable brand
website or campaign-based paid media touch points. It includes every touch point – from “earned”
search and social visibility to “owned” and “borrowed” branded social capital. Designing the brand
experience doesnʼt just mean designing a great site as a center hub surrounded by spokes. It
requires architecting a live ecosystem, functioning together in real-time through content and
community.
Adaptive Content is King
“Real-time” centers on the ability to generate content, lots of it. Brands must now act as mini
media entities—with real-time relevancy predicated on active participation in conversation
through dialogue and content. But not just content, content that moves, adapts and functions
like conversational currency.

3. Unlike the traditional marketing approach to content creation (generally static web copy, a set of
videos and photo assets), real-time marketing requires “agile content development.” This means
creating rich, engaging content on an ongoing basis. It requires new creative skill sets, a hybrid
ability to create and curate media, develop derivative conversation-as-content and understand
how to market content-as-product. There is no longer the luxury of staggered campaigns, heavy
asset development and controlled channels of distribution. The web, and conversation therein,
doesnʼt sleep, and now neither can brands.
Community Architecture, #FTW
Content alone does not create successful real-time marketing. Success requires live, active and
adaptive dialogue, participation and management. Working hand-in-hand with the ongoing
content development, proper community design and management is crucial to digital
relevancy. It goes beyond what might be considered “community management,” it requires a new
breed of communications strategy and digital marketing expertise.
Managing the brand ecosystem is a full-time job. It must leverage the expertise and skills of
talented individuals who understand the engagement landscape, who think and function more like
a new breed of user experience expert, communications designer and real-time strategist than
“social media guru.” Community architecture and management activities embedded therein, are
key to success in the real-time web.
Itʼs All Connected
As the web continues to evolve, we see that what we do as marketers, communicators and
people is truly about adapting to a real-time, networked world. As Rachel Pasqua, Director of
Mobile Strategy at iCrossing, states:
“There is no social web or mobile web. The ways consumers are using the web is
increasingly social, and the way in which they are accessing the web is increasingly
mobile.”
It is this point that precisely illustrates the need to evolve, to find solutions for marketing in an
always on, incredibly social, highly mobile, connected world.
Connect with me:
@alisamleo
www.TheWebiSocial.com
LinkedIn/in/alisamleo
alisamleo@gmail.co