Consumer relevance cannot be episodic. Maintaining relevance continuously as consumers move seamlessly from one interaction point to the next is a new demand of the digital age. The imperative for consumer relevance requires a brand to harness deep contextual knowledge about each consumer and apply it intelligently to create persuasive experiences at every touchpoint. This ability to be “relevant at scale” will determine which brands win and which brands get lost in the war for consumer attention.

To deliver relevant experiences at scale, companies need to be able tap into the wealth of data sources that provide valuable signals on what can attract and hold consumer attention at any moment in time–not just data about geolocation, gender and age, product preference or purchase, but also, more importantly, likes, interests, and who they talk and listen to. With the explosive growth in the use of social media, social networks provide a richness of data that can help build more precise insights into consumer context and will allow companies to tailor brand experiences making them more compelling, more persuasive, and more relevant.

That social media allows us to connect with others...