As you may have heard by now, Facebook is planning on opening up its platform and massive user base to marketers and market researchers for quick polls and surveys some time this year.  Check out this article from the Guardian for more info on the initiative.  The news brings about a few questions, including...

How will this impact the Facebook community?

While most users will likely not notice the change (after all, polls have been on Facebook for a long time now), a vocal minority is likely to not feel comfortable with the move.  Some will note that users voluntarily agree to give up this information when they register.  While this is true, it's not likely to quell the concerns of privacy advocates.  If the reaction to this news in the comments on Digg.com this morning are any indication, Facebook will have a bit of an uphill battle with privacy advocates...  

Will this impact Facebook sample providers?

I also wonder the impact this will have on companies like Peanut Labs who have built up a business on cultivating targeted sample from sites like Facebook.  Will these companies hold an edge over a Facebook poll by virtue of having a larger, opt-in database of profiled Facebook users?  I would think that would be the case, but it will be interesting to see how it pans out... 

It could also be interesting to see if Facebook somehow cuts these players out of the market to capitalize on the value of their user base to marketers and market researchers.  That move alone could cause a ruckus within the community of companies built around the Facebook platform, far beyond research companies and into the realm of Facebook application developers.

Will this decrease the reliance on focus groups?

The article states that this move could reduce the reliance on "expensive and time consuming focus groups" for some companies.  I find this to be a bit of an apples and oranges comparison.  I highly doubt that a quick poll question to the Facebook community will be replacing focus groups any time soon, but it remains to be seen how comprehensive they make the features that are available to researchers.

Is this further rationale for setting up a private research community initiative?

This move speaks to the advantage of setting up a separate community specifically for market research.  Members of a research community are told throughout the recruiting and sign-up process that the site is specifically constructed for market research purposes.  That means fewer surprises and less of a backlash among members, unlike what Facebook is likely to experience with this move...

Related Posts

We've touched on Facebook and its impact on market research in posts before, including our popular post on "Why not use Facebook for an online research community?"  Check that post out if you get a chance, or leave us a comment below.  We're interested in hearing your thoughts on the news!

Facebook - ideal for research?

I was giving a demo of our research community capabilities the other day when out of the blue someone asked me - “Why can’t we just set up an online research community in Facebook?” Wow. This is a complicated question to answer, especially when I haven’t finished my x-large Dunkin Donuts coffee for the day!

I’ll be honest - the question took me back a bit because they actually had a very valid point. Facebook is a great way to connect for ongoing customer insights, and to even create something of an ongoing research community. The people are there, the “essential” technology is there and (chances are) your company already has a presence there - so why not just use Facebook for your online research community?

As with most things in life, it’s not that simple. And I’m not just saying this because I build online research communities for a living :) Read on for reasons why Facebook might not make the most sense as a venue for your online research community.

Reason #1 - Privacy matters

One of the biggest reasons people build a private online community separate from other initiatives is that they want some degree of privacy. For example, they may want to test concepts that have yet to come to market, or brainstorm new products. These companies generally do not want competitors to be privy to these conversations. Facebook is great for conversations that build on the social/viral aspect of the site, but less useful for carefully targeted and private conversations.

Reason #2 - Recruitment & knowledge of participants

If you set up a group or page in Facebook, you know whatever members choose to reveal on their public profiles. You may be able to do a little additional profiling through surveys, but it is then difficult to associate that data back to participants for future activities (at least within the site). When you create your own private online community, that problem largely goes away (depending on the software you’re using and how you have designed your screener). Rather than relying on what people reveal, you can ask much more as part of the screening process and automatically relate that data back to participants for targeted research activities in the community. Just be sure not to violate any research codes or privacy policies in the process!

Reason #3 - You run the show

When you create an online research community, you control everything about the community, from the way it looks to how members interact. You control the frequency in which members are contacted, how they are contacted and what is said in each communication. You also control the frequency, type and depth of research activities. In a public setting like Facebook, you can control some elements, but are ultimately at the whim of the way Facebook is designed and used. Having that degree of control in your own private online community can be very helpful when you’re looking to get targeted answers quickly.

Reason #4 - You “own” the show

Content ownership and control of data can be major issues when it comes to an online research community (as well as with online communities in general). A carefully crafted set of terms and conditions that set your own terms for members can avoid many legal hassles. Run your online research community on Facebook, however, and you’re subject to their terms and conditions. Try running that by your legal team to see which option they prefer

Are there any reasons to choose Facebook for an online research community?

In the interest of being fair, there are a few reasons why Facebook can be great for research, including:

• The built-in pool of participants.
• The ability to know about participants and even “sniff out” the pros before they arrive.
• It’s cheap!

There are a few other reasons I didn’t mention in this post, since I’m planning on writing more about it in a separate post. For now, I hope this helped give you a sense of why not (or why) to pursue Facebook as an option for your online research community.

So what have I missed?

Is there something here I’m not considering? Please don’t hesitate to comment below and let me know what I’m missing!

I am part of a planning committee for a Scholarship Fund and part of my role is to create an online community for the Fund to serve as a place for people to connect and learn about our fundraising efforts. Starting any community follows a similar set of steps, so I thought I would be the best candidate for the job. The deadline quickly snuck up on me, so while I had intended to use a fairly comprehensive open social platform, I instead decided to simply create a group on Facebook.

Friendly Revelation

As I got into it, I quickly realized the power of using open social tools to create a sense of community and awareness. While Facebook leaves a lot to be desired in terms of customization and control, it has some really great advantages, specifically access and familiarity. As I was putting together group descriptions and starting to seed the initial discussion content, I was already seeing member requests before I had even launched any notices. It just shows the degree to which people are using social networks and particularly how the instant notifications and activity feeds alert people and compel them to act. This instantly made me think critically about how we as a market research community provider should view other social networks and platforms. They are not enemies - they are friends.

Opportunity Knocks

Too many times, people think it is one the other… either integrate into an existing social network (i.e., Facebook, MySpace) or use a stand alone solution. However, as social networks become more ingrained in our lives, the more opportunity we have to link various communities together to help us get our job done. There will always be distinct advantages to having a presence in multiple community initiatives (e.g. corporate Facebook profiles, marketing driven promotional groups, private research communities) and as more and more companies start to dabble in these various types of communities, the larger our opportunities will become.

Play Nicely

The key to working in the community space in the future will be to understand the unique advantages of all these communities and recognizing when they can play together and when they should play apart. I know there are some environmental issues in play here, specifically the turbulent economic environment, that might urge consolidation of community efforts, but there is so much opportunity in playing nicely together. Community is not a single option. Can’t we all just get along?