We live in the age of big data - just about everything is evolving and the pace of technological change is accelerating;

More and more parts of our lives are being carried out online, and with the explosion of web-enabled devices, there is some truth to the idea that we're literally being surrounded by cyberspace.

Our customers are changing, too - how they act, what they have at their disposal, as well as what they expect and need.

So what does that mean for marketers? Well it means a lot of things, but boil it down to its essence and I think we can agree that "business as usual" won't cut it anymore.

Much has been written on this blog and elsewhere about the changes that are needed, and you may have even heard the call to be "more digital" or think "digital first." One problem may be that everyone may have their own idea of what that means to be more "digital."

For me, being digital is inherently connected to content - creating it, making it easy to find, sharing it and making it easy to share. In my opinion, something qualifies as "digital" if it exists electronically and has its own web address. That can be pictures, papers, videos, articles, blog posts, infographics, webcasts, internet memes and so on.

And while it's a good start to pay attention to content, I think that's just the beginning. It goes beyond that because even with all the new digital ways to reach our customers, the traditional forms of marketing are still important.

I recently viewed a brief video featuring Brian Solis - the speaker, author and digital anthropologist - that has me thinking more about the idea of digital. He got me thinking that it's as if all those forms of content are really just the means to get at what we really should be focused on - people. It's the people who want to read our papers and watch our webinars that matter, and they have values, experiences and emotions that influence their state of mind when they come across our content. And Brian believes that's why we should focus on people for mapping our way to success in the digital economy.

Gaining insights into those values, experiences and emotions with marketing analytics are what enable us to know when and how to engage them, as well as what they really care about. From how I see it, that's precisely at the core of using keywords and optimizing our pages and doing other things that come with being more digital.

I've embedded that 3-minute video below, and in it, Brian explains his view on two important "gaps" that marketers should focus on bridging to be successful in our digital economy. And yes, both of those gaps are about people and the customer experience.

Let me know what you think:

John Balla, Principal Marketing Strategist, SAS Institute

I am Principal Marketing Strategist for customer intelligence solutions at SAS, as well as Editor of the SAS Customer Analytics blog.

My background in marketing spans from my own start-ups to Fortune 100 global operators. I’ve lived and worked on 3 continents and have a fluent command of Portuguese, Spanish, Hungarian and (sometimes) English.

I appreciate logical thinking and try to remember “Occam’s Razor,” that the simplest answer is the correct one. Outside of work, I’m a husband, dad to 2 great kids; I love the beach and snow skiing. It’s been said that I am a decent cook and posess a green thumb. I try to handle stress with humor, and I put the “X” in extrovert.

Follow me on Twitter: @JohnBalla
Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/johnballa