In fact, several studies now indicate that marketers are becoming increasingly aware that data (in real time) is increasingly important for their marketing campaigns. Consumers are moving so fast and conversing with brands in real-time on the web (and being driven to the web from offline campaign solicitations) that data and dashboarding is becoming the "go-to" resource for driving real-time marketing optimization decisions. Its increasingly becoming common knowledge then, that while you can plan digital up-front, it's increasingly the back-end which will inform the front-end optimization in real-time or year-over-year.
In fact, a study in January 2012 by Empirix indicates that only 46% of C-suite executives in the US and Western Europe say their company communicates with customers and prospects in real-time. This trend poses a huge opportunity for Twitter and social community managers in the corporate communications departments across America to analyze and strategically react to online social data in reaching the needs of consumers.
Make sure to read Marshall Sponder's new book "Social Media Analytics" or visit the next Brandhacker Meetup on Monday, March 5th at Dewey's Flatiron, where he will cover key points.
