Social media has fundamentally dislodged the traditional communications equilibrium. Content scarcity has given way to content overload, fixed channels of communications 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....

1. this is about
social media.
marketing.
the web.
evolution.
everything!!

2. 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.

3. The Web is more a social
creation than a technical one

4. 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.

5. Touch points on
the web today
may best be
described as
falling into one
of three social
categories.
Influence
d
Explicit

6. The web is evolving, its utility destined to be
predicated on explicit personal identity
and identityʼs corollary, social context

7. 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 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.

8. 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.

9. We Need A Different 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—itʼs about
knowing who your customer is right
now, in real-time, all the time. Itʼs
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.

10. 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.

11. 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.
Unlike the traditional digital marketing approach to content creation (generally static
web copy, a set of videos, photos, etc), real-time marketing requires “agile content
development.” This means creating rich, conversation-based 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 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.

12. 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.

13. As the web continues to evolve, we see that
what we do as marketers, communicators
and people is truly about adapting to a
networked, real-time world. As Rachel
Pasqua, Director of Mobile Strategy at
iCrossing, states:
“There is no social web or mobile web. The
way in which 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.
TheWebisSocial.com
alisamleo@gmail.com
@alisamleo
all images via buamai.com