In years past, surveys and focus groups used to be the primary means of gathering customer feedback.
With the onset of social networking, they are not the only way to gather customer feedback anymore.
Just like the rest of the marketing discipline, research has also expanded to social media as well.
Not only are you able to find a plethora of information, consumers are excited to share their thoughts and experiences about products, needs, brands, and industries.
Let's review a few of the options you can use to gain this valuable information: Facebook: With over 800 million active users on this platform, and 50 percent of them logging on during any given day, there is huge potential on this platform to gather information (Facebook Statistics).
There are three channels within Facebook that are great to use: groups, pages and ads.
By creating a Facebook group or a fan page you have an opportunity to interact with your company's fans.
You can promote new products, ask for feedback, share promotional offers and gain insight on what your competitors are doing.
Facebook is constantly segmenting their users to make advertising easier and more effective.
By utilizing ads you can see how many users within your target market are currently active on Facebook.
LinkedIn: The channels on LinkedIn are similar to that of Facebook; the platform simply attracts different demographics.
Join relevant LinkedIn groups (or make one if there is not one specific to your expertise), contribute to the conversations and gain insight.
By searching for industry related topics, you can discover what the market is happy with and where they are looking for improvement.
LinkedIn Ads function a lot like Facebook ads and can give you quantitative information of the platform's users.
Twitter: The search tools on Twitter provide an easy way to research your brand, your competitors, and industry related topics.
Consumers are eager to share the things they love, the things they hate, and the things they wished they had - simply follow your target market, join the conversation and take notes! There are hundreds of platforms and millions of blogs that can also be a resource for your company.
In addition to the major platforms, interact on the niche networks that are created for your industry.
Keep in mind that you will find the most success in your research by following your target audience to their network of choice.
With the onset of social networking, they are not the only way to gather customer feedback anymore.
Just like the rest of the marketing discipline, research has also expanded to social media as well.
Not only are you able to find a plethora of information, consumers are excited to share their thoughts and experiences about products, needs, brands, and industries.
Let's review a few of the options you can use to gain this valuable information: Facebook: With over 800 million active users on this platform, and 50 percent of them logging on during any given day, there is huge potential on this platform to gather information (Facebook Statistics).
There are three channels within Facebook that are great to use: groups, pages and ads.
By creating a Facebook group or a fan page you have an opportunity to interact with your company's fans.
You can promote new products, ask for feedback, share promotional offers and gain insight on what your competitors are doing.
Facebook is constantly segmenting their users to make advertising easier and more effective.
By utilizing ads you can see how many users within your target market are currently active on Facebook.
LinkedIn: The channels on LinkedIn are similar to that of Facebook; the platform simply attracts different demographics.
Join relevant LinkedIn groups (or make one if there is not one specific to your expertise), contribute to the conversations and gain insight.
By searching for industry related topics, you can discover what the market is happy with and where they are looking for improvement.
LinkedIn Ads function a lot like Facebook ads and can give you quantitative information of the platform's users.
Twitter: The search tools on Twitter provide an easy way to research your brand, your competitors, and industry related topics.
Consumers are eager to share the things they love, the things they hate, and the things they wished they had - simply follow your target market, join the conversation and take notes! There are hundreds of platforms and millions of blogs that can also be a resource for your company.
In addition to the major platforms, interact on the niche networks that are created for your industry.
Keep in mind that you will find the most success in your research by following your target audience to their network of choice.
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