A committee has been formed and brainstorming is underway!
With the realization that research using social media data is quickly gaining in popularity, the IMRO division within the MRA has put together a committee to help define and guide users and providers in this space. Over the next couple of months, a team of 17 or so researchers, including Annie Pettit (@LoveStats) of Conversition Strategies, and led by Jim Longo (@LongoMR) of iTracks, will be putting their heads together to build a short document that will be made publicly available.
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The committee will address a number of issues including what is social media research, how should users evaluate it, what are the essential components for consideration, as well as other key topics. The goal is not to provide rules that must be followed but rather to ensure users and providers are aware of all of the issues when considering and conducting social media research.
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Your opinions are important. Share your thoughts, questions and concerns with us by leaving comments here, emailing Annie (LinkIn) or by emailing Jim Longo.
If you couldn’t make it to MRA Boston, you missed out on a great conference! We received so many great reviews from the audience that we are very pleased to share our presentation with you here. Please feel free to leave comments or ask questions. We would love to hear from you!
One of the highlights of the MRA conference in Boston was the keynote by Adenia Cooper, of McDonalds, who shared her insights on understanding ethnic diversity. Her point was that you can’t just ‘apply diversity.’ You need to truly understand it. And, once you really understand it, and market to it, the marketing speaks volumes to everyone, not just the group of people you were initially targeting.
Adenia knows how to keep an audience engaged! One of her tricks was having an audience member sing the Big Mac song which was a great way to show the audience just how successful that campaign was.
Whether you missed out on the MRA conference, or couldn’t wake up in time to catch the 9am session, you can watch it now. Enjoy!
And, you can see more pictures of the conference on our facebook page.
Research In The Cloud
From Buzz to Biz – Social Media Research for Results
Wednesday, June 9
2:00 – 3:15 p.m. Educational Sessions
PRC: 1.25 Contact Hours in Research
This session will discuss a new methodology for marketing research. Though the Internet has made data collection via online surveys and focus groups a practical marketing research tool for over a decade, it is only in recent months that this data source has become viable. Using real data, the presenter will demonstrate how gathering and analyzing existing data from the Internet, such as is available through Facebook, Twitter, or Blogger, can reach beyond simple ‘buzz’ features to become actionable marketing research data. Pros and cons of the method will be demonstrated including research fundamentals and data quality.
Our CRO, Annie Pettit, will be making the rounds this summer sharing insight on social media research. Just last week, she presented a case study on how Ronald McDonald House uses social media research at the NetGain marketing research conference in Toronto. If you didn’t meet her there, you have two more chances.
MRIA 50th Annual Conference from May 30 to June 2 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Ontario (Marketing Research and Intelligence Association of Canada)
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MRA Annual Conference from June 9 to 11 in Boston, Massachusetts (Marketing Research Association of the United States)
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Let us know if you’ll be there. We’d love to meet you!
Over the last few months, social media research has turned into a top of mind topic for many people. The MRA, ARF, MRIA, and ESOMAR research organizations have all been flooded with questions and opinions about this growing methodology.
No one would suggest that telephone surveys work well for every type of research, just as they wouldn’t say that online surveys, mobile surveys, or focus groups work well in every case. Similarly, social media research isn’t the answer for every brand. There are number of things to keep in mind before taking on the social media research option.
Does your brand have a large social media presence? It is often difficult for brands to know what type of presence they have on the internet. They often focus solely on the specific websites where they know they have a presence. Even on these sites, their presence might be fairly small, perhaps hundreds or thousands of comments spread out over a couple of years. Small quantities of data like this are good for understanding overall satisfaction levels but make it difficult to dig down into specific details. Further, just because a brand is well-known doesn’t mean it will generate significant online chatter.
Does your brand have a unique name?Brands that would only be used in one way are great for social media research. No one is going to go on the internet and type “Radio Shack” unless they mean the electronics store. However, many people use the words target and gap in regular everyday conversation. “Kleenex” and “Xerox” might also have some problems with social media research. Try searching for your brand name online and see whether any unusual references come up.
Are you willing to see a different type of data? As with any change in data source, just like the transition from offline to online, trendlines will shift somewhat. Some of this is because the format of the data is different and some of this is because the research data is coming from a different type of person. A change in data isn’t a bad thing. It is to be expected. Embracing the changing methods means you will always be ahead of the game and have the most up-to-date and relevant information.
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A quality research company will help you work through all of these issues so that you can decide whether social media research is right for you. Be sure to ask the right questions.
