Social Networks for Market Research
I just met with Brian Clark, the Program Manager for an organization called STRONG Fathers. STRONG Fathers' tagline aptly explains the organization, "Supporting men in Maine in their efforts to become skilled, active, and strong parents." I asked Brian to chat with me because I knew he had been using MySpace to reach his audience, and I was curious as to how that was going. During several online seminars I've conducted, there are always participants who quickly dismissed MySpace, as more and more people are moving towards more popular sites like Facebook. This dismal of using MySpace seemed to increase after the Causes application left nonprofit MySpace users high and dry, and only gave them notice a couple of days before (See Beth Kanter's post and Amy Sample Ward's post for more information on that).
With Causes ditching MySpace, and growth in the social network slowing down, many nonprofits seem hesitant to consider using it. Preliminary results of Idealware's Social Media Benefits Survey show that MySpace was the tool least likely to be used by respondents compared to the other tools we asked about (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, photo-sharing sites, video-sharing sites, and blogs). (Please note, analysis is not yet complete and the full report on findings will be released in early 2010). It is in this context that I asked Brian to discuss his MySpace experience.
Brian decided to have a MySpace page with the goal of increasing attendance at his live events. Based on demographic data available, MySpace seemed to be the appropriate place to go for his target audience. Although the organization reaches out broadly to all fathers, the emphasis is placed on younger dads (teens and early 20s) who may be struggling with the challenges of fatherhood. (A recent report from The Pew Research Center says that the median age of MySpace users is 26, while the median age of Facebook users has increased to 33).
While MySpace hasn't yet proven to work for Brian's intended goal, it has worked surprisingly well for understanding his audience better.
"I intellectually understood the importance of listening and understanding our audience, but I completely underestimated the value that MySpace could bring in this regard," Brian explained.
This is not the listening that we often hear in the nonprofit world (as in, listen to what people are already saying about your organization and your issue before jumping into the conversation), this is listening in the market research sense. Through his audience's MySpace profiles, updates, and conversations, Brian has been able to much better understand the needs of his group, and can therefore offer up more relevant and effective services and create relationships different to those on Facebook and Twitter.
For example, Brian connected with a soon-to-be father who is in highschool, started a conversation, and recruited that student to reach out to other student Dads to figure out how STRONG Fathers could best meet their needs - all through MySpace.
I asked Brian why he thought MySpace was a better venue for these types of conversations and introductions than Facebook and he had two pretty compelling reasons.
1. It is easier to search for a narrow audience on MySpace than Facebook. Brian showed me how he can search within a certain radius of a zipcode, for men ages 18-24, who list "Proud Parent" under their family status. This means he can better-target the group he is listening to, which is important when you have limited time and resources.
2. The people he connects with on MySpace have less of a filter than the people he has been able to connect with on Facebook. Brian relayed stories of how the men he is reaching out to speak openly (often via status updates) about things such as court appearances, fights with the mother, and the like. He explains that there is a struggle for practically all fathers between how they view, and portray, themselves as "guys" and how they want to be good fathers. MySpace has proven to be a window into that disconnect.
All in all I left our morning coffee meeting with the idea that we are (read: "I am") missing a great opportunity: using social networks for market research. Brian has redefined the way he interacts with this portion his audience because he was able to learn more about them. We should all learn from his experience. I know some larger organizations have created networks specifically for market research (Groundswell gives some good examples), but a lot of nonprofits probably don't have the resources for that. So instead, why don't we take 15 minutes each day to really listen. Not about what our audience is saying about us or our issue, but what they are letting us know about themselves, their lives, and what is most important to them. I think I just found my News Years resolution!
With Causes ditching MySpace, and growth in the social network slowing down, many nonprofits seem hesitant to consider using it. Preliminary results of Idealware's Social Media Benefits Survey show that MySpace was the tool least likely to be used by respondents compared to the other tools we asked about (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, photo-sharing sites, video-sharing sites, and blogs). (Please note, analysis is not yet complete and the full report on findings will be released in early 2010). It is in this context that I asked Brian to discuss his MySpace experience.
Brian decided to have a MySpace page with the goal of increasing attendance at his live events. Based on demographic data available, MySpace seemed to be the appropriate place to go for his target audience. Although the organization reaches out broadly to all fathers, the emphasis is placed on younger dads (teens and early 20s) who may be struggling with the challenges of fatherhood. (A recent report from The Pew Research Center says that the median age of MySpace users is 26, while the median age of Facebook users has increased to 33).
While MySpace hasn't yet proven to work for Brian's intended goal, it has worked surprisingly well for understanding his audience better.
"I intellectually understood the importance of listening and understanding our audience, but I completely underestimated the value that MySpace could bring in this regard," Brian explained.
This is not the listening that we often hear in the nonprofit world (as in, listen to what people are already saying about your organization and your issue before jumping into the conversation), this is listening in the market research sense. Through his audience's MySpace profiles, updates, and conversations, Brian has been able to much better understand the needs of his group, and can therefore offer up more relevant and effective services and create relationships different to those on Facebook and Twitter.
For example, Brian connected with a soon-to-be father who is in highschool, started a conversation, and recruited that student to reach out to other student Dads to figure out how STRONG Fathers could best meet their needs - all through MySpace.
I asked Brian why he thought MySpace was a better venue for these types of conversations and introductions than Facebook and he had two pretty compelling reasons.
1. It is easier to search for a narrow audience on MySpace than Facebook. Brian showed me how he can search within a certain radius of a zipcode, for men ages 18-24, who list "Proud Parent" under their family status. This means he can better-target the group he is listening to, which is important when you have limited time and resources.
2. The people he connects with on MySpace have less of a filter than the people he has been able to connect with on Facebook. Brian relayed stories of how the men he is reaching out to speak openly (often via status updates) about things such as court appearances, fights with the mother, and the like. He explains that there is a struggle for practically all fathers between how they view, and portray, themselves as "guys" and how they want to be good fathers. MySpace has proven to be a window into that disconnect.
All in all I left our morning coffee meeting with the idea that we are (read: "I am") missing a great opportunity: using social networks for market research. Brian has redefined the way he interacts with this portion his audience because he was able to learn more about them. We should all learn from his experience. I know some larger organizations have created networks specifically for market research (Groundswell gives some good examples), but a lot of nonprofits probably don't have the resources for that. So instead, why don't we take 15 minutes each day to really listen. Not about what our audience is saying about us or our issue, but what they are letting us know about themselves, their lives, and what is most important to them. I think I just found my News Years resolution!
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1 Comments:
It isn't listening alone. Its the dynamic duo of listening and engagement.
I wrote a post about this over hubspot
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5381/Creating-Your-Nonprofit-Organization-s-Listening-and-Engagement-System.aspx
Also, on my Facebook Fan Page - I use it as a listening post - but it isn't like a focus group where you watch behind a two-way mirror - it's through interacting with people.
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