40% Of Twitter Activity Pointless Babble: Wednesday 19th August 2009

During an economic downturn, every business is looking for faster and more cost-effective business solutions, including ways to understand its customers, and react to their needs. In this context the recent explosion in engagement with social networking sites could be seen as an untapped resource for gaining access to consumers and their opinions, but a degree of caution is necessary.

The micro-blogging site Twitter recently announced that it had reached 10m users, and was still growing (having grown at a rate of over 1000% in the year to Feb 2009). On the face of it, no other medium provides such easy access to the opinions of so many consumers at once.

Last week's 'welovetheNHS' Twitter campaign, set up as a reaction against comments made about the NHS on US television, attracted almost 1 million followers, and clearly demonstrated how social networking sites can be harnessed to fuel and lead debate on key issues. Comments on the Twitter site suggest that the motivating factor for taking part in the NHS debate was a feeling of loyalty towards the NHS, coupled with (for some) a need to defend a British institution that had been criticised overseas. However, although this debate may have generated a phenomenal amount of material in a social context, it is difficult to see how this level of motivation to respond and interact could ever be generated by content on a consumer brand or service.

Part of the answer (albeit on a smaller scale) may lie in brands generating their own online communities. A number of major FMCG players, such as GSK, Kelloggs and Unilever, have already set up their own virtual communities. Unilever's Mindbubble site is aimed at women aged 25-50, and aims to encourage active members to engage with products and new marketing campaigns.

The key to the success of these communities will be in encouraging engagement through interactive content, whether through facilities for rating or reviewing products or services, blogs, chat, news, or fun items (such as games). However, choosing to build a presence like this requires a high level of commitment, both financial and in terms of resources, ensuring that the company 'owns' the content, and setting up procedures for reporting back on both positive and negative content. Even so, such a presence is unlikely to generate the same level of debate and interaction as a subject such as the NHS or other burning political or social issues can.

Furthermore, although creating a Web 2.0 community can provide part of a solution to engaging customers in dialogue, it is unlikely ever to provide a 'representative' response. A crucial point to bear in mind is that the people generating content online are a self-selecting sample. They are most likely either to be true advocates of a product or service, or, more likely, those who are very unhappy - often a vocal minority to the silent majority, although proportions are in themselves difficult to measure. Participants may engage once (possibly to voice opinions on a key issue), and then never visit again. Crucially, under-35's still represent over half of active generators of social networking content, so plentiful feedback from the over-35s is likely to be limited.

What is clear is that although online communities and social networking sites can provide insights, they are still not capable of providing a full and reliable picture by themselves. A considered approach to customer insight would be to blend a structured programme of research with a background of Web 2.0 content. Research can provide a robust and structured framework of customer feedback, using a pre-defined sample frame to ensure that all relevant demographics are covered. Structured quantitative research is also measurable against KPIs - crucial in ensuring that a service or product is functioning as it should. Web 2.0 content can then be added to the mix as a qualitative tool, to provide contextual detail and possibly some evasive illuminating insights.

If you would like to find out more about how The Oxford Research Agency can help you to understand your customers, please speak to our retail and shopper insight team (contact Jo Stovel jo.stovel@tora.co.uk or Noreen Kinsey, noreen.kinsey@tora.co.uk, or call 01865 728272).