• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, December 11, 2013

Have you ever had a one-on-one conversation with someone that was so important to you, you felt the need to share it with someone else? Maybe you shared it with a spouse or significant other, or even a best friend or co-worker.  What made that interaction resonate so much for you?

There are two qualities that can ensure that kind of impact: presence and relevance.  Presence is a combination of being “in the moment” and an intangible characteristic that some people have, making you feel as if you’re the most important person to them at that very moment.  Some call it aura or vibe, while others think it is simply a personality characteristic of focus.  Many presidents and celebrities are rumored to have presence, and they use it well.

Relevance refers to the content of that conversation and its emotional tie to you.  Was the conversation something that inspired you?  Was it reminiscent of something else you’d experienced?   Did you learn something from the conversation that made your life better, or helped something “make more sense” to you?

Brands can have this kind of impact on consumers through big data.

Many brands strive for a level of customer loyalty that results in brand advocacy: customers acting as ambassadors for your brand to other consumers.  Social media enables that advocacy to have a broader impact than ever before

But social media, by itself, is not the answer.  Big data plus social media is pretty close to the solution. 

Big data enables brands to know more about their consumers. The more you know about them, the more you can tailor your messages and speak to them as individuals.  This is a similar combination of presence and relevance – or making sure that every interaction you have with your consumers is focused, in the moment and delivers something of value.  Big data means you can be targeted consistently, and have fewer wasted impressions.  Each impressions becomes more valuable.

The social platforms have all launched retargeting and data partnerships in recent weeks because they know this will be a strong part of their future.  They know this is the next big wave of revenue for them: targeted social interaction on a small group, or even on a one-to-one basis, rather than simply having large brands shout at their consumers en masse. 

The more present you are in that conversation, the more focused you are, the more you deliver something of value to consumers, the more likely they are to become loyal customers who tend to act like advocates for your brand.  It’s a direct correlation that’s proven time and time again.  People are social by nature and they love to share their experiences.  You need to make sure your brand's experience ranks among the top in a customer’s everyday life.

So the question remains: Are you ready to integrate data into your social engagements, creating more brand advocacy than ever before?