What do YOU think?
As researchers we need to get real to what’s happening in the world.
For one thing, the Internet is having a massive impact on what we do and how we undertake research. Increasingly, the developed world at least, is getting more connected. Social networks are becoming one of the primary means of communication for 10-25 year olds.
Terrestrial advertising revenues are tanking while Internet advertising is on the up (although admittedly all advertising revenue will come under strain in the midst of a global recession).
Web 2.0 allows researchers to tap into social networking communities and making use of these communities to undertake targeted qualitative and quantitative research online. What are you doing? Take our mini poll.
This entry was posted on October 21, 2008 at 9:07 am and is filed under opinion with tags blog, Market Research 2.0, Market Research Blog, Social Networking, Web Surveying. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 5, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Web 2.0 and Market Research. Check out this free webinar hosted by Simon Chadwick: Attention Deficit and Survey Taking: Why we need to really engage Web 2.0 respondents
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 2:00 PM
This Webinar will demonstrate the importance as well as the challenge of engaging today’s respondents. Web 2.0 exposes survey takers to a constant interactive and highly engaged experience. We will show market research professionals how to get better responses through improving engagement.
The Host of this Webinar, Simon Chadwick, CEO, Peanut Labs will review the current state of online surveys. He will also demonstrate why respondent engagement is so critical now. Market Research industry expert Dr. William “Bill” MacElroy, President of Socratic Technologies, Inc., will be featured in this presentation in order to share different perspectives.
Simon will cover industry trends and discuss how all this applies to respondents accessed through communities and social networks.
REGISTER NOW: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/575308587
December 13, 2008 at 10:54 am
I engage with them every day. Although it would appear that the research industry is lagging somewhat.
June 19, 2009 at 2:21 am
I have started using social networking websites two years ago and i have to say that i was not a big fan however i have to realize that it allows to find friends all over the world. I think of social networking as people having conversation at a tea table only in this case no one is able to see each other and everyone coudl be anywhere around the world. Since social networking is becoming popular, it is a great opportunity for market researchers indeed. Almost of my friends are connected via a social networking so being able to web 2.0 to tap into that market to get results on consumers’ needs is great. I am sure this will be successful and numerous studies will be able to use those results as secondary data for specific studies. Using web 2.0 will allow researchers to target more consumers than mail surveys and i am pretty sure it will save time for both parties.
June 20, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Initially, I refused to use these sites because the of the demographic that you mentioned. However, since my wife and I travel all over the world it has been a great way to stay in touch with family and friends. While this may have been a factor for me to originally become a member the constant security threats have forced me to come full circle on my opinions. MySpace and Face book have had several security violations that make data gathered from there questionable sometimes and almost useless the rest of the time. I think they provide a great resource but the security should be an issue when evaluating the data.
Ben
June 20, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I can understand the development of these sites and the opportunity they afford to us but I tend to fear them as well. Information can useful and dangerous at the same time. I believe we have to be very careful when using sites like Facebook and Linkedin. I am a registered user on both but I am extremely cautious with the information I share.
Terri
June 20, 2009 at 11:33 pm
I think Web 2.0 and other online market research companies and tools will be successful in collecting data and opinions from individuals while on social networking websites such as Facebook and My Space. As the entry states, social networks are becoming one of the primary means of communication between those ages 10-25. This is an important market for a company to be able to collect data and opinions from; traditional market research methods might be becoming less effective to reach this population. In addition, people all around the world use these sites allowing a broader population to gain insight from.
June 21, 2009 at 11:06 pm
A good book to read is “The Numerati” by Stephen Baker where he talks about how elements within the social space can be measured and used to an even greater extent for those who want to learn more about how their product is doing or a multitude of other things.
June 21, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I am not a frequent user of social networks, however most of my friends are. From a marketing standpoint I can understand the wealth of consumer information that is floating around these networks. It is more difficult for marketers to reach consumers via phone today than it use to be, but a large segment of the population is utilizing one or more social networks. It seems to me that it was just a matter of time before researcher caught on and changed their methods.
June 22, 2009 at 4:08 am
While I have never understood the appeal of these sites however we began experimenting with utilization of these systems to connect with fans of our product. In the business of sport marketing we have found that fans are continually looking for ways to better connect to the teams they support. These sites have proven incredibly valuable in driving loyalty among our existing customers and as a result increased our rate of repeat buyers.
June 22, 2009 at 5:01 am
I have been a social network junkie for about a year now and have used them for both personal and business use. Actually, I should re-phrase this, I am currently on facebook but am ready to expand onto many others for business purposes because of the great response from Facebook. On the personal side of things, I actually hate when I see constant advertisements pop up and when people are always posting walls on using their products or services. On the business side, I have to admit that it does work. With the success I’ve had in Real Estate from some of my own posts (yes, very hypocritical of me), as well as posts I have made on behalf of the roofing company I work for, I am a firm believer in signing up on other sites. It is a good way to get noticed, offer coupons and incentives, and even get feedback.