The use of social media has changed our lives. User-created content, citizen journalism and online social interactions (conversation, collaboration, participation, sharing, connecting) are embedded into the daily activities of consumers. With the different semantic waves of the Web, the entire market research process and industry has undergone clear changes. For instance, we now speak of having conversations with consumers rather than asking them questions. Against this backdrop, online research communities have proven to be a viable way to engage consumers while also getting marketing executives closer to their customers in a connected and participatory way. But… still there is a friction between the ability and desire to utilize research communities in our industry. The status of online research communities today is comparable to teenagers and their first sexual experience. Everyone says they are doing it, everyone wants to do it … but in the end no one really knows how to do it well….
Hence, there is a need for an overview and some concrete tips on how to run online research communities. Tom De Ruyck and I’ve published them in Quirk’s; a digital edition of the April issue can be found here, a pdf of this month’s edition can be downloaded here.