Solving Real Client Problems – Five Lessons Learned Using Social Media in Market Research

There has been an abundance of discussion in the market research industry over the past couple of years regarding the growing significance of social media in understanding of consumer perceptions and behaviours. But for all the attention the subject gets, our industry has done an incredibly poor job of sharing their experiences working with social media and has left both our clients and our colleagues with much uncertainty about the potential applications for this powerful medium. Over the next couple of days we’ll be sharing some lessons we’ve learned over the past year about using social media to solve real client problems. This information is intended to help marketers and market researchers better understand how social media can help you close gaps in your research objectives and gain deeper insight into the perceptions and behaviours of your customers and stakeholders.

Lesson #1 – Deciding whether social media fits your research objectives largely depends on whether or not social media is an appropriate medium to access your target population.

Lesson #2 – Understanding the nature and context of social media conversations is just as important as their prevailing sentiment.

Lesson #3 — The more sophisticated the topic, the greater the role social media can play in bridging the gap between target populations.