Marketing Experts Speak Up Against Google’s Consumer Survey Tool
As always, Google has been busy creating cloud-based tools in search of fresh revenue streams and adding market share. Some tools like Google Docs, Gmail, and Google Alerts are amazing, and some are not so amazing.
The newest tool is the Google Consumer Survey Tool, which extends the spirit of AdWords into paid polling.
Instead of being presented with an ad, gated content pushes consumers to answer one or two questions before accessing the article. Publishers are paid when users participate, and the businesses who created the survey originally pay for its aggregated results.
Though claiming to be “custom market research made easy,” is Google’s consumer survey tool all it’s cracked up to be?
Because it operates more like a yes/no poll than surveying and because the audience demographics and segmentation are very limited, many marketers say no. They say that while the new tool may be a simple way to collect subjective consumer feedback on anything from packaging design to product features, the tool does not produce legitimate market research.
Here are a few limitations mentioned by marketers.
Weak Data Presented as Fact
When an agency or company presents subjective data pulled through polling as solid market research, expensive decisions can ride on very weak data.
“Not only do you get a skewed subset of the target audience—those willing to be forced to fill out surveys—but you’re going to get a lot of people filling out random information to get to the article behind it,” commented James Archer, CEO of Forty, an agency based out of Chandler, Ariz.
After all, who hasn’t selected a poll response without reading it, just to get to what’s behind that locked door?
Not only are the results not necessarily authentic, but they are interpreted with far more seriousness than they deserve. Says Archer, “The message gets changed from ‘This is pretty sketchy data, so take it with a grain of salt’ to ‘Here’s proof that this million-dollar spend is justified.’”
Archer feels the method of obtaining the data is bound to skew the results, and produce fake data—furthering the trend of companies making bad decisions based on junk data. “Not only is this a poor way to do any kind of market research, it’s a fairly user-unfriendly practice that many would argue goes against Google’s once-sacred ‘don’t be evil’ mantra. ”
DIY Method Leads to Misunderstood Results
Similar to AdWords, the survey tool is intended for small-business owners and agencies alike. The danger is when its results are presented as gospel by those inexperienced in market research or by those who don’t understand how the method impacts the results.
According to Susan Baier, a respected audience segmentation expert and Founder of Audience Audit, “While this is being presented as a great tool for researchers, it’s really just another way for publishers to monetize their content.
“It’s extremely limited—one or two-question surveys only, with bias, weighting and demographic ‘inference’ issues that most ‘researchers’ using this product won’t understand or even bother to learn. If you wanted to ask one question to a lot of people, this is no worse than other similar tools like mobile apps that allow you to answer questions to earn money—but it shouldn’t be used (and really wouldn’t be usable) for most serious research efforts.”
Other marketers agree. In a simple question poll presented on a closed Facebook group for marketing professionals, most respondents did not feel the tool provided legitimate market research.
Lack of Segmentation Hampers Usability
The type of market research a company needs can determine how useful the tool is. One marketer said, “If you’re asking general yes/no questions, and you ask enough people, it may not cause problems. But if you’re trying to track a series of responses by individuals to generate something like segmentation, you can’t do that. You’re left with the bias introduced by where the questions are posed, and the “survey wall” concept.
“Many research initiatives aren’t trying to get sample matching U.S. national demographics, they’re looking at targeting a particular group. The harm in research comes from people thinking they’re getting one thing, while they’re actually getting something else.”
To Use It or Not
In my opinion, the dividing line for how useful the feature is for marketing professionals comes down to a simple question: are you looking for generalized consumer input to guide your decision, or substantive market segmentation research?
If a business or agency is seeking data from a highly segmented audience—such as female attorneys making at least $200,000 in annual income who live in New York City and Chicago—the Google Consumer Survey Tool can’t deliver the right audience and a market research firm is more likely to fit your need.
But if you simply want to ask which brownie packaging is more inviting or to find out what percentage of dog owners buy treats for their dog? Give it a shot.
(This post by Carrie Morgan originally appeared on MarketingProfs. Reprinted with permission.)
Nip Social Media Blunders in the Bud: The Social Media Audit
As a marketing professional, it’s easy to be too close to what you are doing. To lose sight of the forest for the trees….
Social media is no different – especially for an agency.
Whether you handle a clients’ social media or not, it is your responsibility to occasionally audit your clients’ social presence to ensure they are following best practices.
If the client is NOT a retainer client, it is a fantastic opportunity to provide value, remind clients that you offer services OTHER than what they currently use, and even upsell a new service or project. If you already maintain their social media presence, then an audit just makes you look that much more ON TOP OF YOUR GAME. It helps you view the client with fresh eyes, re-evaluate your social and content strategy, and rejuvenate activity.
A social media audit can be done one of two ways:
- ”Behind closed doors” with an outsourced professional, if you don’t have the expertise within the agency. Have the professional conduct and present the audit, or simply white-label their finished audit with your agency logo, make it look fabulous and present the results. Either way, your client gets an end deliverable that makes YOUR agency looks like a rock star for bringing fresh new ideas to the table.
- Or it can be done as an internal agency process, often including the client, using a formalized process. The agency should be sure to bring in fresh talent (outsourced or in-house from another team that doesn’t handle the account being audited) to give it some outside perspective. NEVER use the same team that works on the account every day. Bring in fresh blood.
As far as timing goes, it can be attached to major company milestones, such as before a product or advertising campaign launch, after an acquisition, or when someone new joins the marketing team – to see if tactics need to change – or it can be done on a calendar basis. Please don’t make it an annual process, though; do it more often.
What is a social media audit?
An audit reviews all social media assets, compares them to company goals and metrics, then determines if changes need to be made. On a simpler level, it can simply be a review to ensure the client is following best practices. If you Google the term, you’ll find all kinds of great resources.
A few things to consider include:
- Who do you want to reach? Why?
- Are you using the right social platform to reach them?
- What motivates them?
- Are you publishing content that speaks to those motivators?
- What is your end goal – sales? reach? leads?
- Are you accomplishing that goal?
- Who or why not?
- What can you change or enhance to be more successful?
Sometimes a frog is just a frog – and sometimes social media needs a big smack on the lips to transform it into something truly social. Think of a social media audit as a kiss… either a kiss of death bringing issues to light, so you can transform it into something princely… or a kiss of affirmation that you are doing everything right. Either way, it only helps.
Top blunders your clients are probably making
Most companies (and even agencies) are consistently making blunders in these specific areas. So if you aren’t sure where to start with your audit, start here.
- TOO PROMOTIONAL. Remember it’s about them – not you.
- LACK OF CONVERSATION. Are you posting too much? Are you being social?
- LACK OF MONITORING. Are you watching what is being said about your brand? Responding quickly enough? Don’t let dialog about your company or product happen without you.
- THINKING EVERYONE CARES. Do you understand your audience, and are you giving them what they want? Or are you feeding them what you want them to see… Nobody cares about your company, brand or product unless you give them A REASON to care.
- NO INCENTIVE TO LIKE. On Facebook, for example, most people only like a handful of Pages. Are you giving them a reason to follow you, or are you just regurgitating boring content that can be found all over the internet. How are you different? Fresh? Engaging? How is your company page different than most company pages?
- LACK OF CREATIVITY. Just because it is a business page, doesn’t mean it has to be boring. People crave content that is fun, that sparks controversy or opens the door to conversation. They don’t want a news feed, an advertisement, or being told what to think. Ask what they think! No engagement is a red flag that screams, “BORING!”
Success with social media comes down to understanding your strategy, understanding your audience, and creating something that fits both while accomplishing your end goal. Regular audits should measure against all of these things, and help you drive change.
Don’t be afraid to make major changes, if what you are doing doesn’t work for you. CHANGE IS GOOD.
How to Amplify PR with 5 Minutes of Keyword Research
If you are a public relations professional, don’t underestimate the power of learning SEO. Not only can you optimize every press release you put out the door and amplify the SEO impact of you (or your client’s) social media efforts, but you’ll be surprised at the value of keyword research.
Consider this: you secured a byline opportunity for your client in one of their leading industry publications. HOW MUCH MORE POWERFUL would that placement be if you were able to write it about a trending topic that was highly searched for online last month, then optimize that byline to show up in search results?
Instead of writing about a topic you assume readers will find interesting, you know before putting pen to paper – or mouse to Word – that it’s already something of interest AND demand! It’s a double whammy – and provides FAR more value to your client or your company.
How Can I Use It?
Keyword research isn’t only helpful for identifying the best keywords and phrases to integrate into your SEO efforts. It shows you what the most popular searches were for the month prior.
You can identify new trends – bolster them with client expertise and publish a press release, come up with great byline topics, optimize your placements for the optimal keywords, PLUS collect free market research to support business/product development.
It’s like a doorway into the mind of consumers… for free.
Give it a try! I use Google’s Keyword Research Tool, which does need an AdWords account to see full results. No purchase necessary.
As Seen on ConvinceandConvert.com – Expand Reach of Your Press Release Using Pinterest
We are thrilled to share that our first article hit Convince & Convert this morning – one of the world’s largest marketing blogs – and they want another one next month. Hooray!
Check it out:
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/pinterest/5-ways-to-use-pinterest-to-boost-press-release-results/
Don’t forget to tell me what you think – or share other great examples!
