Tweet Tweet Cha-Ching: Data Collection Through Twitter

Posted by: Kirsten Taylor // March 7th, 2012

There has been an industry trend to understand the impact of social media efforts. Knowing this, Twitter has approved two companies to analyze archived tweets and information about Twitter users, and they’ll be selling that data to clients. While this news isn’t entirely shocking considering the state of the social media landscape, it does suggest some positive and negative implications for companies.

According to an article in PR News, users of Twitter and Facebook have been willingly sharing personal information, as well as details about their preferences, habits and lifestyles for years. Analyzing this data means sentiments about a brand its competitors is readily available – but your information is for sale as well. However, some suggest that the real value of Twitter is its real time opportunity, making this archived information less exhilarating.

@KirstenETaylor

Read More 0

Smart Recruiters Follow The Herd

Posted by: Ben Schmidt // August 22nd, 2011

Over half of the country is now using social media, and savvy recruiters have been quick to follow. Erik Sass gives us the skinny writing for The Social Graf.

In ‘Nine Out Of Ten Employers Recruit On Social Media’ we see that this trend isn’t just limited to business-related networks like LinkedIn. But that’s not all; Eric sites a Jobvite poll that casts light on another encouraging trend. Not only are we seeing an uptick in employers who are planning on hiring this year, the proportion who plan on using social media to do so is even higher than the general survey pool. For the breakdown be sure to click the link.

@BenWritten

Read More 1

The Five Elements of True Consumer Insight

Posted by: Mark Palony // November 30th, 2010

Accurate research data is gold to any marketer, but are your customer surveys returning something less than 24 carat?

In this recent article (membership required) from Marketing Sherpa, Philip Graves, CEO of Shift Consultancy, discusses the reasons behind less-than-accurate survey results and what marketers can do to reverse the trend.

In his book, Consumer.ology: The Market Research Myth, the Truth about Consumers, and the Psychology of Shopping, Graves points to several weaknesses of traditional customer research including group think, poorly worded questions,  and self reporting of behaviors and motivations, that likely to lead to bad data and bad decisions. He has also developed an antidote that will lead you to results in which you can have confidence.

Grave sums it up like this:

[T]he problem with most market research techniques is that they are effectively interviewing the wrong part of the respondent’s brain: with so much of human behaviour being driven by the unconscious mind, a research process that interrogates the conscious part is only going to get so far.

To help people develop more valid market research techniques, that will be more accurate reflections of actual consumer behaviour, I identified five criteria that should be assessed to gauge the psychological confidence you should have in any so-called ‘consumer insight’.

The five elements are:

A: Analysis of behaviour

F: Frame of mind

E: Environment

C: Covert

T: Time

According to Graves, there is research gold at the end of the survey rainbow, but to reach it you have to ask the right questions in the right way at the right time.

Read More 0

Join Our Webinar on Social Media Policy

Posted by: Neil James // August 13th, 2009

Russell Herder, in conjunction with Ethos Business Law, is excited to offer a webinar: “Social Media: Embracing the Opportunities, Averting the Risks” on Tuesday, August 25 from 12 to 1 p.m. CT (register here).

Social media is one of the hottest topics today, with the pros and cons of its use being debated in board rooms nationwide. In light of recent restrictions on employees’ social media use (ESPN, Marine Corps, NFL), companies are discussing whether, how and to what degree they should restrict or encourage their employees to use social networking tools. This webinar will offer insight into business leaders’ views and perceptions on this issue and will provide actionable recommendations and advice on the development of social media policies and employee training sessions.

Read More 0

Key Elements of a Social Media Policy

Posted by: Neil James // August 11th, 2009

Should employees be encouraged to use social networking to enhance marketing outreach? Or will such activity impede productivity in an already tight economy? And what about reputational risk? These and other questions are clearly on the minds of every C-suite executive.

Recent research we undertook with our friends at Ethos Business Law found eight in ten businesses have concerns about the potential liabilities of social media. Yet, only one third have a policy in place to govern social media use, and just nine percent said they have conducted relevant employee training.

Instead of ignoring the need for responsible guidelines, organizations of all sizes should begin to define their strategy regarding social media, and most importantly, the rules for employee engagement. By doing so, management can take advantage of the benefits offered by these new communication channels while mitigating undue risk. But remember, social media is a far different animal than traditional technology. A company’s current policies on IT matters are usually not sufficient.

Read More 0

Companies Remain Uncertain – And Do Little – About Potential Risks of Social Media

Posted by: Neil James // August 6th, 2009

Social media has become a fixture on communication agendas across the country, fueled by the fact that Americans’ spent 73 percent more time on such social networking sites in the past year alone. But according to a new survey, social media use is also generating its share of corporate heartburn.

Recent research we conducted along with Ethos Business Law confirms that confidence exists in social networking as viable communication outreach, but so do worries about the potential liabilities involved. Concerns regarding social media use were acknowledged by some eight in 10 businesses participating in the national study, which was conducted over the month of July. Fifty-one percent fear social media could be detrimental to employee productivity, while almost half (49%) assert that using social media could damage company reputation.

Read More 0