One of the more popular phrases used by marketers today is “moments that matter” – those brief opportunities to display the right content, at the right time. In fact, when Deloitte and WARC released their predictions for the top marketing trends of 2016, “moment-based” marketing topped the list.

But how can marketers take advantage of these “moments”?

One approach that has recently gained popularity is location-based marketing – using the insight of location to target consumers in “moments” when they are more likely to transact. In fact, the Location Based Services market is expected to grow 22% annually in the next four years, to reach $40B by 2020.

That said, marketers are now beginning to look beyond location in their search for finding relevant “moments,” by leveraging data from social media. In addition to location, dynamic variables such as emotion, intent, weather, and even image analytics can be taken into account. By blending these dynamic variables with “static” ones such as hometown, gender, and even personality type, marketers can gain access to a world of insight that makes location data that much more valuable.

At Earshot, we are helping brands leverage the power of “real-time” to capitalize on these moments of impact. Our Decibel Level^TM algorithm analyzes hundreds of variables on social media that are unique to each brand or campaign, to surface only the most relevant consumers in real-time. Every post captured through our platform is then scored on a 10-point scale, so that marketers can easily prioritize the most relevant “moments” depending on brands’ business objectives.

We’ve proven with several clients that the higher the Decibel Level^TM score, the higher the engagement rate. For example, in a recent campaign, one of our clients saw engagement rates of 85%+ with Decibel Level^TM scores of 8.0 and higher (Figure 1).

By harnessing the power of Decibel Level, a brand like Gatorade could more easily discover and engage specific audiences in real-time such as athletes training for a marathon, or yoga enthusiasts recharging after a hard workout.  Similarly, a brand like Audi could find more valuable “auto intenders” using a combination of post content, location, and followed brands on social.

Benefits of Real-Time Marketing

Companies who have already invested in real-time marketing are reaping the rewards. In a 2015 poll, when asked to identify the top benefits of real-time marketing, 73% of marketers said increased engagement, and more than 50% said both improved customer experience and higher conversion rates.

Furthermore, in a separate study of 200+ leading brands, 36% of respondents reported revenue ROI of 50% or higher from real-time marketing, and 43% reported ROI of 21-50%. It’s no surprise, then, that nearly 60% of these same companies also plan to increase their real-time spending next year.

It’s clear that real-time or “moment-based” marketing yields real business results.  Marketers who capitalize on this opportunity will see that real-time relevance is defined by more than just location – and will soon begin to leverage the power of social media to unlock new opportunities.

Joanna Lichter (@joannalichter) is Director of Marketing at Earshot, a social marketing platform that enables brands to discover and engage customers in real-time. Learn more about Earshot at earshotinc.com and follow us on Twitter @earshotinc.