Does Social Media Research have a role in conventional Market Research
Social media is one of the biggest sources of data about brands and products today.
This “always on” source of big data is a treasure trove of information about consumer
likes, preferences and attitudes toward brands. Which begs the question – what role
can social analytics play when it comes to market research?
From online surveys to focus groups to in-depth-interviews, market research has
long been an important tool that aids decision making at private and public sector
organizations alike.
Moreover, market research has a wide set of applications that can be fine-tuned to
almost any issue or topic an entity may be concerned about, including brand
awareness, campaign effectiveness, customer satisfaction, price research, product
testing, stakeholder segmentation or reputation tracking among others.
Insights gained from such research can be invaluable. Nevertheless, market
research has a downside – it can be time consuming to carry out.
Social Media and Market Research
What if there was an alternative which compliment traditional market research? What
if organizations could tap into an always on focus group providing instant, round the
clock feedback?
This is where social media analytics for market research comes into play.
Social media is one of the biggest sources of data today and is widely used to track
engagement (shares, likes, followers, etc) with a brand and, to a certain extent,
reputation. However, when employed in the right way it can also have a big impact
when it comes to market research.
Advantages of Using Social Media for Market Research
As with any business tool or solution, social media analytics has its limitations as
well as its strengths. The key is to be aware of the pros and cons and to use social
media analytics wisely in a way that compliments traditional market research
methods.
Social media analytics offers a number of advantages that include:
Real-time: social media provides a constant stream of feedback as opposed
to traditional market research tools which give an audience snapshot at a
particular point in time
Flexible: the constant data stream from social media makes it easy to spot
trends over time, allowing organizations to adapt their strategies and respond
quickly to potential issues
Unprompted: unlike surveys or focus groups, social media users are not
responding to specific prompts or questions; what they post therefore more
likely reflects their true feelings
Year-round: being cost effective and always on means social media listening
can provide continuous insights
Disadvantages of Using Social Media for Market Research
There’s no doubt these are powerful benefits that speak in favour of adopting social
media analytics for market research.
However, as with so many things in life, where there’s an upside there’s also a
downside. To make use of it in the most effective way one must therefore also be
aware of its disadvantages.
Some of social media’s disadvantages when used for market research are:
How representative is the data? Unlike standard market research, data from
social media does not come from a specific, predefined demographic group.
The data may therefore not be representative – for instance the volume of
posts could be high but they might all be from a small, vocal group – or there
may not be enough posts in the first place
The unstructured, unprompted nature of social media conversations means
the data might not include the information and insights organizations are
looking for
The quality and amount of data may not be consistent. The volume that users
post on social media can fluctuate over time as can the nature and subject of
what they post
Social media is generally not useful for in-depth feedback
How to Effectively Use Social Media for Market Research
So what do these pros and cons mean? Does social media have a role to play in
market research? The answer is absolutely!
When used wisely, social media analytics can offer strong benefits for conducting
market research. However, it will be more suited for some types of research – such
as reputation tracking, customer satisfaction or campaign tracking – than others.
Moreover, social media research can play a key role in filling in gaps in-between
conventional market research efforts, allowing organizations to keep their finger on
the pulse of public opinion on an ongoing basis rather than a quarterly or annual
research cycle.
Some things to bear in mind when considering social media analytics for market
research:
1. Always remember the pros and cons listed above
2. Consider the objective – what do you want to get out of the research? – and
evaluate whether social media can achieve it
3. Social media analytics compliments the more traditional types of market
research, it does not replace it
When used in the right way, social media analytics can greatly enhance the tools
organizations have in their arsenal to track or understand the issues and audiences
that are important to them.
Here at SIMPA Marketing Research we know that our clients will benefit at some
stage in using social media research and we encourage them to do so
complimenting any traditional market research that they normally do. So we have
recently partnered with AnaVisio (www.anavizio.com) a specialist in social media insights, analysis and
research which means our clients can benefit from both companies’ service.
If you would like to know more please contact SIMPA marketing research at: info@simpa-mr.com
