Woodall and Colby to speak at MRA webcast

June 8, 2010 – Gina Woodall and Charles Colby of Rockbridge will speak on June 16 at a Market Research Association (MRA) webcast entitled:

The Results Are In: Social Media Techniques vs. Focus Groups for Qualitative Research

Social media research techniques offer an innovative way to conduct market research that follows communications trends in society. More and more consumers and professionals are using sites like FaceBook, LinkedIn and Twitter to interact with each other, share ideas, and vent their complaints. Market researchers can take advantage of these trends by using research tools that incorporate the elements of social media to gain insights.

Research tools can be designed to mirror the functionality of social media sites, offering a graphic intensive environment that allows participants to become part of a community and interact with researchers and other community members. This is in contrast to the focus group methodology which consists of a facilitated discussion between a professional moderator and a panel of respondents (typically, 8 to 10).

Our presentation will answer the following:

• Do social media research techniques produce better results than traditional focus groups?
• What are the benefits of social media research formats?
• When should you use social media research techniques? When are focus groups a better alternative?

The issues above will be answered based on research we have conducted for our clients using OpinionPond™, an online research application that incorporates the elements of social media. We will also show examples from a case study conducted with faculty at Brigham Young University.

For more information on registration, click here.

Contact Gina Woodall (gwoodall@rockresearch.com or 703.757.5213 ext 11) with questions or to get more information.