Facebook Insights Upgrade — SPYCH Internal Thoughts & Notes

Happy Monday!

As most digital marketers now know, Facebook Insights has been upgraded.  If your content strategies are driven by what consumers are saying &/or engaging with (we hope this is everyone…), this is great news & can be a useful tool for your team!

There are many websites & blogs talking about this, mostly regurgitating what Facebook sent out in their original announcement, which you can check out here.  While working on the June social media report for Aidmatrix Digital Ball (check out this awesome, philanthropic event in November!) our team dove into the new insights, & we wanted to share our internal notes highlighting some of the updates we see valuable.  So, here they are in pretty much the same way we emailed them internally — enjoy!

• The “Overview” nav is straightforward and nothing too useful at this level (other than general updates we’re use to). That said, the sub-nav once you click into something (“Page Likes”, for example) is pretty sweet.
• From the “Overview” nav, when you click down into “Page Likes”, “Post Reach” or “Engagement” that’s when it starts to get cool. The first thing you’ll notice is how to change the dates — it’s just a slick sliding scale you simply drag with the mouse which is really convenient for assessing spikes, drops, etc. 
• Within the “Page Likes” tab at the bottom is the “Where Your Likes Came From” section. This will provide some valuable info for any brands (definitely some of our retail/resto brands) putting a lot of emphasis on mobile engagement.
• From here, you can click over into the “Page Visits” tab which is even cooler — telling you what tabs on the page people hit, breaking out check-ins really nicely & graphically representing “External Referrals”.
• Now, let’s look under the “Posts” nav. Within this, under the “All Posts” sub-nav, you can toggle the “Reach” section to a couple different options. The one I find interesting is the “Fans/Non fans” options as this shows the breakdown of your reach in great detail. You can see what was engaging within your fan base but, more importantly, what was popular outside of the current fans to then reach new consumers & grow the network.
• While we’re talking about toggling here, the “Engagement” tab has an option to show us the number of “Post Clicks”. From what I recall, we have always just been able to see likes, comments or shares, but this now allows us to show how many people clicked into the post, regardless of whether they took any action. It’s great to know how many people are technically making a click commitment to posts (where we couldn’t have known this before), but we can also dive in to see the % of how many click vs. like/comment/share, etc. All good things to dive deeper into.
• Also under “Engagement”, you can toggle this to provide an “Engagement Rate” to save time on calculating it. This also takes into account the clicks mentioned above.
• The “When your Fans are Online” tab is a cool visualization showing optimal times to post based on the page fans habits, instead of industry norms & guesstimates. 
• The “Best Post Types” is really just a clean summary of the “All Posts” section, but will definitely save some time.
• The last nav button, “People” (so there is Overview, Page, Posts, People), has all the demo information, but also has cool “People Reached” & “People Engaged” tabs which show those things as subsets of your total demo — pretty cool stuff.

If you think we missed something that could be valuable for others — or you have some tips outside of these — please let us know in the comments!

Have a great week,

The SPYCH Team

“Cyber Monday” or “Mobile Monday”?

We made it through Thanksgiving without eating too much (although my suit was tight this morning) and survived “Black Friday” with a little technological assistance. On that note, we should point out that Black Friday online sales TOPPED $1 BILLION for the first time in history. To help you prep for next year (and for Christmas), there are a couple apps and sites someone on our team used or we know others enjoyed – and here is our quick explanation/use case:

ShopSavvy is great for comparison shopping while SnipSnap helps you to “cut coupons” and be pinged by your phone when close to stores you have coupons for. Wallaby keeps track of your rewards cards and suggests what card might be the best to make a purchase based on what rewards you will earn. Obviously, there are MANY more, but those are the ones that we directly saw/utilized and that came to mind. If you want more reviews, you know the drill – “google it”. Some big brands that did it right were Best Buy, Target, Walmart and Apple as they offered mobile couponing and other in-the-moment rewards (even some rewards for hidden items). For the record, TaskRabbit is more my (Landon’s) speed… Long story short, it lets people do your shopping for you which I will never complain about! 🙂

Okay, now it’s “Cyber Monday” which – based on what we’re projecting – will be dubbed “Mobile Monday” moving forward. We’re a research firm at our core, so we have plenty of facts, figures and detailed explanations as to why this will happen. However, for brevity purposes, we will only share 2 simple reasons:

1) It sounds better

2) Internet access is WAY too accessible (from numerous types of “mobile” devices) for everyone to just wait around until Monday

This is where we need our fellow tech geeks’ help… Below are a few options for “Mobile Monday” shopping (some mentioned above) and we need to know what we’re missing. Check out the list below and let us know if we’re missing some apps that really enhance the mobile shopping experience!

Android:

• TGI Cyber Monday
• Shop Savvy
• Deal Drop
• Amazon Mobile and Amazon Price Check

iPhone:

• TGI Cyber Monday
• Amazon Mobile and Amazon Price Check
• Shop Savvy
• Shopkick

Windows Phone:

• Shop Savvy
• Amazon Mobile

What else?

Happy shopping, and we look forward to your help in updating this list! If you need us, we’ll actually be working! 🙂

– Landon

So, you have social media pages (we hope), but do you know what to do with them?!

You know what it’s like: sitting at the computer and staring at the “Social Media Slot Machine” with continuous updates from Facebook friends and the stream of tweets trickling down your screen… Not knowing what to post or even just lurking on different sites trying to learn how to get your customers involved with what your company is doing online… There’s a better way to interact online than silently stalking competitors to understand their strategy!

Here’s where we suggest you start.

First, think about your company (you may need to get out a sheet of paper to track this conversation in your head), and REALLY think about it. Lay out all your marketing messages, brand promises and mission statements and get down to the core of what your brand represents. Conjure up what it means to be a part of the company – to be involved in the everyday excitement of working with colleagues and having the opportunity to build relationships with new clients. It may help to think about the concept behind:

• Brand Vision- What do you want to accomplish through social media? Do you want to teach your customers about your company? Or, do you want to educate other professionals about your industry? Picking the core vision will help when discerning what content to post online.
• Brand Audience- What audience do you want to listen to you? Identify the key customers your company should broadcast its messages to.
• Brand Personality- It’s more than just your company’s voice, it’s what that voice represents. Think of that ultimate employee who exemplifies the company’s values in everything he or she does on a daily basis. Whether it is in their communication mannerisms or the activities they participate in after work… Speak from this voice!

The next important step is to become an active and consistent presence online. By making daily updates on social media channels, customers following your company will begin to develop an understanding of your brand. You may be asking yourself, “I don’t even know what to post! How can I find something that will engage my followers?” Well, the good news is you don’t necessarily need to be the opinion leader yet, but you do need to have an opinion with what you choose to post. Find articles and online sites that correlate with the vision of your company and make sure they are fitted to enlighten your specific audience. As mentioned earlier – “customers following your company will begin to develop an understanding of you brand”… Therefore, make sure posts are ON BRAND!

Consistence and stability are both key to maintaining an authoritative position online. When sharing information, keep an even flow of communication from your company to your users. Sporadic postings may conflict with your company vision and users may lose interest in keeping up with your news feed.

Social media sites have provided companies of every size the ability to target and communicate with their customers much easier than ever before… Remaining consistent across all channels is a fundamental principle to actively connect and provide value to others. While these are only the first steps on the path to utilizing social media to its fullest potential, they are core concepts to understand and implement into your online branding strategy!

So, what do you think? What are issues you’re facing? What are some tips YOU can share with others?

– Grace

Social Media For Market Research – A Qualitative Facelift

BACKGROUND
The evolution of Social Media is perhaps the most perplexing and comprehensive enhancement of the Internet we have seen this past decade. By reshaping the way people communicate on both a personal and professional level, the social web has taken Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Customer Service, Communications and Marketing Research to the next level, through a variety of new channels and tools.

As with any dramatic change within the marketing research landscape, it comes with expected hesitance and thorough inspection. However, as a crucial piece of the evolving business environment, the social web and social media tools have quickly become a key focus in the marketing research community. While various levels of surrounding scrutiny remain present, to this date, emphasis and direction has been placed greatly on the appeal of utilizing tools and social networks, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Blogs, for quantitative research and syndicated data analysis. However, taking a holistic look at social media and its core, shows a tremendous amount of value in leveraging its conversations for engaging consumers and cultivating rich insights in the qualitative setting.

As businesses continue to more effectively harness the power of social media and online communities for branding, marketing and various other communications and customer-relations functions, the importance for marketing research professionals to utilize the same social tools for research grows concurrently. The trending growth and transfer of advertising and marketing dollars from “traditional” media channels such as TV, radio, outdoor and print to newer more engaging channels such as user-generated video, online communities and social tools, shows a paradigm shift in today’s business culture.

IMRO, the Interactive Marketing Research Organization, is a division of the Marketing Research Association (MRA) and is dedicated to providing an open forum for the discussion of best practices and ethical approaches to research being conducted via the Internet.  IMRO’s Technology Sub-committee team of Tamara Kenworthy, Jim Longo, Susan Saurage-Altenloh and Jewel Seperson set out to explore the utilization of these new social media tools for qualitative research. Rather than focusing another study on the theory of using these new tools, they sought out Benjamin Smithee, Co-Founder of Spych Market Analytics, LLC, who has been recognized as one of the leaders in the integration of social media and other online and traditional methods into holistic solutions for qualitative research. Together, under Ben’s leadership, the project team developed and effectively executed a three-phase comprehensive examination of how social media can effectively be used for qualitative research and how the blend of social, online and traditional qualitative methods can provide truly holistic insights for researchers and their clients.

PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose of the study described in this document was to explore the optimal utilization of social media in qualitative research and serve as a case study for all researchers looking to incorporate it into their methodologies and research toolbox. It provides actionable recommendations and exemplifies the nuances of how the social web can best apply to market research in the qualitative setting.  Additionally, it showcases the value of utilizing a holistic approach for obtaining consumer insights via blended methodologies.

Marketing research professionals are increasingly tasked to stay on the leading edge of technology and marketing channels in order to provide innovative and effective solutions for their clients. This case study provides a valuable set of findings to professionals across the gamut of research. It is meant to serve as a landmark while helping to educate research professionals.

STUDY DESIGN
For our case study, the following topics were selected due to their general interest and popularity with a wide range of the B2C market.

As a caveat, please understand that the main focus of this study was not the particular insights derived from the research, but the comparison and utilization of methodologies.  Though the insights were used as measurement tools to compare and contrast methods and channels, the content was not of particular interest to the team.  For example, the fact that coffee grounds were difficult to remove from the packaging was not of interest.  However, the fact that it was derived unprompted via social media monitoring and then was a discussion point later in the online and in-person work was of interest.

• Saturday Night Live premiere, September 24, 2009
  – Hosted by Megan Fox
  – Musical Guest U2

• Starbucks’ Via, new product advertising, shown on SNL premiere as part of ad launch
  – Buzz about product and commercials pre and post-commercial launch

Goal:

• To examine the impact and value of utilizing social media and mixed methods for qualitative research

Objectives for Topic:

• To understand the impact of SNL season opener on the SNL brand
• To understand how the SNL premiere’s host is received, based on recent controversy surrounding the director of her recent film
• To identify awareness of and interest in Starbucks’ new product, Via

A three-phase comprehensive mixed-methodological approach was designed and implemented over the course of two months, with 2 weeks of fielding, exploring the use of social media tools in various methods of qualitative research both online and in-person.

RESEARCH PHASE I
Digital Ethnography via Social Media Aggregation and Analytics

Rich and candid insights provided in real-time via digital ethnography and social media engagement; Recruitment of respondents for Phase II and Phase III

• Real-time monitoring before, during and after premiere via Twitter, Facebook, blogs and existing online communities
• Monitored sentiment trends
• Obtained viewer reactions and insights to a variety of different “peaks” and “valleys” throughout the course of the research
• Monitored trending topics before, during and after the premiere
• Identified key discussion leaders and influencers via reach, engagement and impact

Tools:

• Facebook:  Search, Community Pages, Fan Pages, Facebook-based apps
• Twitter:  Location-based application, Real-time search, TweetDeck, HootSuite, Advanced Search (search.twitter.com)
• Google Reader – RSS Feeds
• LinkedIn
• TV Network Communities
• SNL Blogs

RESEARCH PHASE II
Online Bulletin Board/Fire-walled Social Communities and Video Journaling

Compare and contrast insights derived from Phase I with data and insights derived from Phase I1; Further focus placed specifically on Starbucks Via (commercial campaign launched during premiere), which evoked high levels of online interaction; Video journaling via Flip video cameras; Respondents added Ben as friends and followers on various social media tools, allowing the team to observe various interactions and conversations on Facebook, blogs and Twitter

• Online Bulletin Board (software provided by Itracks) with viewers of the premiere: half of the participants comprised of those recruited via traditional recruitment means and half of the participants recruited solely via social media engagement
• Discussion revolving around feedback on the premiere, its content and Via advertising
• Video Self-Ethnos utilizing Flip video cameras
• Monitored daily objectives surrounding Starbucks Via
• Monitored respondents’ spontaneous utilization of SM
• Compare and contrast sentiment and viewpoints from both respondent groups with data captured in Phase 1

Tools:

• Itracks:  Online Bulletin Board Focus Group platform
• Recruitment from Itracks panels
• Spych recruited individuals via social media from Phase 1 social media monitoring and engagement

RESEARCH PHASE III
In-person Focus Groups

Comparison of opinions and insights obtained via Phases I and II with traditional in-person methods.

• In-person Focus Groups following the Video Self-Ethnos obtaining feedback on Starbucks Via and

Tools:

• Facility donated by Fieldwork Dallas

SUMMARY AND FINDINGS
Commentary and Thoughts by Ben Smithee

Having had experience utilizing the power of social media for qualitative research, I was not surprised to see compelling results when used in combination with other well-trusted methodologies and tools. Its ability to often assist the researcher in every phase of the research process, from study design, recruiting and discussion guide development, to communication with respondents and reporting is a tremendous asset to any qualitative project.

Though the use of social media may not officially make it into every project’s methodology, I rarely start a project without doing background research and monitoring via social media about the subject, brand or other related online communication. Once you become familiar with the tools and technology, you often find tremendous value in the nuggets of insights that are cast out into the social media realm.

For this case, in particular, information about the difficulty of removing all of the grounds from the package was derived from observing social media streams and then later were brought up again in both the bulletin boards and focus groups and observed in the video journals. Additionally, insights on the frequent use of Via for cooking and baking provided additional information that was later utilized in discussion guide development. The use of social media to enhance pre-research knowledge may be the most valuable addition to the researcher’s toolbox. As a caveat, these findings are extremely qualitative in nature and should be utilized as idea generators and possible discussion topics to further more in-depth research, rather than stand-alone “truths” and assumptions.

Another very valuable and growing capability for social media is identification of digital influence and recruiting potential. By thorough observation of conversations, commenting, responses, retweets, “likes” and other engagement metrics, researchers can begin to identify individuals or groups, portraying influence in the social media channels. Though there is not always a direct correlation between messages and communications from influencers and purchase behavior, there is definite usefulness in having brands appear in these conversations and engagements. There is, however, a key to successful recruiting and engaging influencers via social media and that lies in the researcher/company possessing and maintaining an active presence in the social space. Within the social media realm, trust is a valuable currency and without it, the ability to effectively recruit and engage is severely limited. Researchers and research companies must begin to build an active presence to fully-utilize the value of social media tools.

The nimble aspect of social media lends itself to the ability to monitor marketing and advertising campaigns in real-time and react to and monitor both positive and negative effects and responses within the natural digital environments. Think of this as being able to engage viewers of a television advertisement directly through the television, as they view and react to the ad in real-time. This real-time reaction and engagement allows researchers to obtain candid insights and probe further among “in the moment” thoughts and reactions to various stimuli. Additionally, you are able to view and engage in the setting in which the initial observation was made. This is something that is unique to the social media realm.

Overall, perhaps the most compelling outcome of this study came from looking at the utilization of social media within the holistic mix of online and traditional in-person research. The findings in each phase were very cumulative in nature. Rather than one particular method serving as most/least useful, it was very apparent that there is a particular role for each method within the qualitative spectrum. Social media monitoring and engagement offered new ways to mine insights that have never been available and provided valuable material to help build and design additional methods to obtain more in-depth insights. The rapport built and managed from utilizing online research before in-person provided the respondents with a familiarity and comfort, allowing us to dig into rich and comfortable conversation very quickly in the in-person setting, even with multiple “typically-shy” respondents in the groups. The respondents were even vocal about their comfort level in the in-person setting due to the previous video, online and social phases.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
Thoughts for the Future by Ben Smithee

So what does this mean for the future of qualitative research? How do all of these tools and methods work together to provide solutions for companies and brands? What should the interested researcher focus on in regard to the future of the industry? Though there is no crystal ball for this rapidly changing industry, I am willing to put it out there and offer what I make of all of this.

The future of qualitative research is bright and the myriad of available tools and methodologies will continue to grow and multiply. Savvy researchers will embrace these changes and utilize them to their full advantage. Start on the very high-level and look at industry and overall trends. Then begin to look at the leading tools/platforms within those trends, as that is the only way to keep up. For example, do not go straight to Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging communities. Instead look at the bigger picture of online communities and what they mean to the qualitative space. Then identify the major or most important players within that space. After all, it is not really about Twitter, it is truly about the fact it has brought about the face of real-time communication and two-way brand engagement. If you always try to keep up with the next available platform or technology, rather than the trend of technologies, you will always be behind.

The science and art of location-based applications and marketing will continue to change the face of marketing and advertising as we know it. The ability to reach consumers in a relevant and timely manner, with offers and content that is desirable to the individual, offers a new and potentially highly-effective way of impacting behavior. After all, we are not averse to marketing and advertising. We just expect it to be relevant and have perceived value to us personally.

The sense of online communities is here to stay and will continue to evolve over the next couple of years. Brands will further engage in branded communities and begin to further focus on the influencers and brand champions. As researchers, we must approach online communities as a completely different entity from a longitudinal bulletin board or consumer panel. While traditional research methods, both online and in-person, have specific objectives and goals, the online community environment may have several different goals and objectives throughout. The linchpin is engagement. The most desirable aspect of a truly engaged online community is the ability to obtain new insights that you were unaware to even ask about previously. It is through these communities that marketing research and marketing will further begin to blend, and marketing research will begin to produce tangible ROI via community member loyalty and varied shopping habits. These online communities will often become the hub for a brand’s marketing research mix and enhanced micro-communities will begin to evolve, furthering the closing gap between brands and their customers.

Though processes and tools are becoming more and more automated, there will be an increased need for research experts to interpret the data and provide true insights and recommendations. The market researcher of tomorrow will not only need to be aware of the myriad of tools and methods but understand and direct proper use of each.

This is truly an exciting time to be involved in marketing research and it will be an exciting journey observing the changes that take place over the next few years.

PROJECT TEAM
Benjamin Smithee
Managing Partner
Spych Market Analytics, Texas

Tamara Kenworthy, PRC, PCM
President
On Point Strategies, Iowa

Jim Longo
VP/Client Development
Itracks, New York

Susan Saurage-Altenloh, PRC
President
Saurage Research, Inc., Texas

Jewel Seperson
Research Manager
Ipsos ASI, California

Has Social Media Research Shown Market Researchers a Different Recession in Our Industry?

It’s not a secret that in the craziness of the current economy many companies are going “broke”.  But, there is a currency in which our beloved industry operates upon that truly comes before money.  That currency is called trust, and recent articles and statistics that have surfaced make me worry about the overall health and liquidity of our nation of researchers.

Jeffrey Henning recently wrote a great and enlightening post titled “Consumers Don’t Want to Hear from Social Media Researchers, Unless…”, where he shared some interesting findings from a recent surveying of people about their desire/lack of desire for researchers to utilize their social media-based opinions for market research.  The results were basically on the side of …no…but the more interesting and disturbing part was the “why” (I know, my quali is showing ..via Jim Longo) behind those findings.  In all seriousness, the most interesting part, or shall I say most disturbing part, was why they were against market researchers utilizing those opinions and comments.

The majority of responses fell into two categories of “Market Researchers will willfully misinterpret their responses” and “Fear of researchers getting it wrong through incompetence”.  Take a deep breath, pull your tongue from the bottom of your throat and bite it for just a minute while you ask yourself….do they have a point?

Say it ain’t so, or question the credibility of the findings, but the fact is that those feelings are present in the population, and there is something that makes people feel that way.  Is it really the representative majority of folks, who knows, but there is a population that exists.  The more important question is are they validated in their concern?  Are they over-reacting?  Why do they feel that way?

If people cannot trust us then what do we have to offer, other than an incentive, to trade them for their time and opinions?  There are implied “conditions of satisfaction” that exist between us, and the folks we speak to in front of the one-way mirror.  Somewhere along the way, our beloved industry has lost some credibility, at least in a small population of people.  Hard to swallow that medicine?  Yeah, it was for me too!  Instead of questioning the credibility of the statements and the size of that population, let’s do the more important thing…figure out how to gain that trust back from everyone!  Because, from other recent things I have seen, it is not just respondents that have voiced these concerns.  I also saw an interesting video of the head of insights for VW, Steve Gatt, speaking on video about our industry not being “up to scratch”.  Do you believe this is true?  If you know me personally, you know that I am a huge advocate for the future of our industry and want nothing but the best for all of our fellow colleagues and clients.  So, I ask you, what do we do to grow and encourage trust with everyone regarding the quality of work our industry represents?  What do we do to position ourselves as the keystone to successful marketing and advertising, the building blocks for new product development and the key player in providing value to our clients?

I’ll start:

1)   Think of the customer/consumer/respondent as your client – go where they are, listen and respond to their needs and then communicate those needs and wants to the companies and brands that are interested in them.

2)   Add your value on top – less journalistic and more strategic consultation is the way of the future.  Do not lose the neutral unbiased edge, but don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and showcase your expertise.

3)   Embrace change – Be smart and approach the future with open arms and open minds.  Remember every angry person is a frightened person who is afraid of some loss.

4)   Embrace technology – Whether you are a research noobie or a veteran of our industry, good research is good research, and technology does not change that.  You are relevant and provide value, just learn the new buttons to push in the new environment and execute the same core principles that market research is founded upon.  (this statement does not suggest online will fully-replace in-person, Twitter is the new focus group,  Facebook is the new market research, or any other outlandish statement of the kind)

5)   Embrace collaboration and possess humility – Collaboration is the key to the future, both for us and the companies and brands that we assist.  Know your strengths, focus on them, and partner up to shore up your weaknesses.  Not EVERYTHING we do is extremely proprietary and secretive.  Remember, as the tide rises, so do all of the boats.

I love the market research industry, and I know many of you who do as well.  It’s a compelling time for change and growth, so who will lead the way?  What would you add to the list?  What would you remove?  How do we fill the reserves of trust equity and build an industry that is greater than ever?  Do I sound like a cheerleader?  That’s ok, because I know I stand in a crowd of others equally as loud.  Insert thoughts below.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Ben

Conference Season

Conference season is in full swing, and I am happy to have had the opportunity to speak at this year’s AQR/QRCA joint conference in Prague, as well as the MRA Annual Conference in Boston this week! Both conferences were phenomenal, and the atmosphere and energy at both were uplifting and inspiring.

There is definitely a theme of evolution, growth and new outlook in the industry. For some, maybe it is getting involved in more online research. For others, social media is entering their toolbox. Some look toward experiential and scientific methods. Whatever the vehicle ends up being, the fact is simple. The industry is quickly growing and evolving, and the professionals I have spoken with over the past month are eager to learn and grow.

The buzz of expanded online, social media and MROCs is here to stay, and the reception to learning about these new platforms is increasing steadily. I want to thank everyone who has attended the presentations I have given over the past several weeks, as I truly value your support and guidance! We are all in a learning mode and I am happy to help our industry grow and thrive.

I am definitely looking forward to QRCA in October, and seeing many friends in Philadelphia! I am excited to have the opportunity to present and look forward to hearing and learning from the plethora of experts!

Thanks again for all of your continued support!

-Ben

A Clear Misunderstanding

Almost everyday you can find some sort of example that portrays a company’s complete misunderstanding or lack of savvy when it comes to Gen Y or social media.  Yesterday…Amazon.

Personally, I am a fan of Amazon and have always looked to their site for books before going to any bookstore.  I read a great article from AdAge today that summarized the downturn in yesterday’s twittersphere.  For the article click here.   It is clear that Amazon was not coherently monitoring their social media presence and unfortunately missed an opportunity to really respond to a potential catastophy.  As the popularity for Amazon-bashing hastags began to rise, little response was seen until a few attempts to justify the situation were made by Amazon later on.  Again these attempts missed the mark and were received unfavorably and as insincere.

The lesson learned:

1) Monitor your presence

2) Social Media buzz matters!….especially if you are an online company 🙂

3) A sincere apology is always better than a twisted story to try and cover up a mistake

Another example is a bulk mail I received in my inbox today.  It was a research firm that is looking for companies like Spych and DGA to outsource work to them and bring them projects related to Gen Y.  They clearly missed the mark in few ways and any company that is savvy in the Gen Y/youth arena would have to sit back a get a good laugh at the ill-fated attempt.

1) Their means of a bulk e-mail – shows their lack of understanding of what should be done in regard to the youth and young adult markets and the companies that work in those markets.

2) The imagery on the e-mail was pretty funny, and did not match the Gen Y age group

3) The copy did nothing to entice me to want to find out more

4) This was one of several e-mails I get a month from this company touting some new service offering…not a company I would want to outsource a very niche project scope to.

So, whether you bake bread, sell mkting services, race cars or play music, it is important to be aware of the online world and know what is going on in the social media space.  A simple concept that many forget and choose to ignore.  It takes little effort and can provide dramatic insights and valuable information about your brand!

Thanks for reading,

Ben

Happy 200 million

Today Facebook reaches 200 million members…impressive!

Think about the value of 200 million to your brand…even more impressive.  Though you may be initially enamored with the pure number, each of these members represents more than just a marketing target and a set of eyes.  As marketers, researchers, communicators it’s important we get past the sure ambiance of the social media craze.  When you start looking at social media and its massiveness in terms of quantitative analysis, you loose the very essence of what social media is all about and where the TRUE value comes from.

Many times as I am talking to companies and c-level execs about social media I am first tasked with changing a mindset.  A mindset that for years has been focused on the value of numbers and “exposure.”

Step 1 – Change the “exposure” thought process of sending 1,000 messages that are then noticed by 100 and cause action in 10.

Step 2 – Ingrain the “relationship” model of creating 10 strong relationships and connections which then translate into 100 and on to 1,000.

Step 3 – Get past “twitter is cool, and make a FB page” – companies want and deserve more than that and need to be taught application and utilization based tools

Step 4 – Overcome the shock factor and urge to control – many teams once started become overwhelmed with the mass of information available at their fingertips and have the urge to control any perceived “fallacies or falsehoods” – Are they accurate and true? If so, change your practices.

Step 5 – Incorporate all of your channels and messages into the culture of the company and “live” your words like Zappos and SWA. Enhance  your relationships as they are the TRUE value from the millions of potential.

Step 6 – Fight the “dead zone” – DO NOT stop!  Push forward and maintain your early momentum

Of course along the way are different subtle points of emphasis and different things each company needs to incorporate differently, but time after time I work on implementing the same beginning process for those just starting.  For those who I work with that understand the basics, it becomes a question of “how do we enhance your current relationships” and how can I continue to stand out, make a difference as well as monitor the effects of our actions.  It’s hard to explain APIs to those who are still learning to RT.  But, once past the adolescent stages – your own creativity is the only limit!  This is when it becomes really FUN!  Having the opportunity to help companies stand out from their competitors and really harness the power.

200 million is astonishing and even more so is the quickness of their most recent growth.  As I have been preparing my keynote for Beyond Borders, I had a stat touting its 180 million, which I have since been required to update in the matter of a couple weeks!  So, take a step back and admire the sure volume and numbers, but then think smaller, way smaller, and start building a strong platform of relationships and connections.

The Evolving World of Market Research

There is no denying the fact that the market research industry is evolving and changing.

For the most part, we are finally past the days of leaving a facility with a stack of audio cassettes and VHS!  I could not help but get a kick out of the amount of e-mails I received touting the new capabilities of digital audio and video recordings.  Maybe it is the Gen Y part of our company culture, but I feel as market researcher in such an innovative environment, our industry should be at the cutting edge of advancement.  On the flip side, I believe if our clients were demanding that innovation and “push of the envelope” we would have been forced to change as an industry,many moons ago.

That being said, it is such a positive sign to see our clients and companies embracing innovative technology and methodologies! Seeing companies like Skittles and Tide take the leap into SM through Twitter s a sign researchers must be able to use and harness the power of SM.  Just this past week at #sxsw we were able to implement social media such as Twitter and Facebook into the complete market research process.  Starting with recruiting respondents, progressing through an interactive digital deliverable, we were able to incorporate different elements of social media and “web 2.0” applications to fully give our client an in-depth view of their target market.

As more and more companies begin to reach out to us and others about social media and other ways of advancing their voice, it will be interesting to see the way the MR industry responds.  Afterall, when you can incorporate blended techniques and methods to provide a plethora of rich insights to your clients, doing less would be a dis-service.  We are constantly evolving and findin new ways of gaining insights, so if you see something new and creative please share it with us!  We love hearing from companies and people who can help us offer enhanced solutions to our clients and on the other side, we welcome any questions that you may have!  That is truly the essence of what the SM “revolution” is about – a platform for universal info-sharing and collaboration!

If you are interested in finding out more regarding SM tools and how they can effectively be applied, try and join us at the AMA Beyond Borders Summit on April 15th of the DFW UPA Big (D)esign Conference on May 30th.  Ben Smithee will be speaking about SM 101 and ways that you can apply different tools in your own company culture and daily life, as well as tools that you can use to add value for your clients.  He will also tackle the ever-present challenge of showing the conversion and monetization aspects of SM.

SXSW Updates

First, a look at the new Spych logo:

I have been in contact with some prominent social media figures and we are excited to interview them down in Austin.  Throughout the festival you can keep up with where we are and what we are doing by following us ok twitter: @spychresearch

Got to touch base with Elysa last night for our presentation coming up in May for the DFW UPA Conference, and we have some great ideas in motion.  We will be posting more information as we begin to formalize our presentation.

@Elysa also gave me a great recommendation – Chris Brogan’s( @chrisbrogan )  “If I started Today” – which inspired me to reach out to Chris about SXSW.  After a few tweets back and forth it looks like we will be meeting up down in Austin.  If you have not looked him up, definitely do so!

If you plan on being down in Austin for the festival let us know – @spychresearch – and we would definitely like to meet you!

More to come….