Crowd Control: Utilities and Social Media
No matter what your industry, social media is the Great Unknown. Even innovative businesses, with full teams devoted to managing content for platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, struggle to mine and assess the content that emerges from said platforms. Still, social media is a proven barometer of consumer sentiment. Any company concerned about its reputation should be concerned about what users say online.

To illustrate, imagine the following scenario: a rate increase at a utilities company ignites angry reactions, which get posted online in a matter of hours. The response catches the attention of traditional media, whose coverage foments additional vitriol. The ultimate result is a plunge in satisfaction ratings. Whereas disappointed customers might, in the past, have written letters or grumbled privately about an increase in costs, their reactions are now a part of the public discourse –and a damaging one, at that.

This story reflects the experiences of many companies, but it can be avoided through the use of social media monitoring. With an eye on social networks, a provider can quickly latch onto and address any indication that users are displeased with its policies. Some negative sentiment may be altogether neutralized, and any unavoidable backlash can be effectively managed. The bottom line is that listening to customers on social networks is nearly as important as using social networks to talk to them. By establishing dialogue through social media, companies effectively create a feedback loop that supports reputation-management and customer satisfaction as well as marketing objectives.

Connecting to Customers
Two-way communication is valuable to utilities companies in more ways than one. A feedback loop between providers and customers is the principle behind Smart Grid, which uses a network of sensing, measurement and control devices to enable both providers and users to monitor energy consumption. Customers linked to a Smart Grid can use their Smart Meter to track how they personally use energy, when and at what rate, and they can then self-regulate their energy use to maximize budget efficiency. In theory, satisfaction levels rise as personal energy costs drop, and providers see less strain on the grid as demand evens out.

To introduce customers to the concept of Smart Grid, to track its efficacy post-implementation, or to better understand energy consumption habits writ large, utilities providers can use an online research community. Online communities are a cost-effective way to combine quantitative and qualitative insight and engage users in dialogue. Since providers can reach out and receive instant feedback on any number or variety of topics, they have a constant source of insight to support their strategic approaches to customer service and operations. This insight is crucial as utilities navigate the introduction of a new technology or any other concept (including changes in rates or service availability). They can suss out how their users will respond and adjust their tactics accordingly.

Conclusions
No matter how tremendous a technological development or how vital a change in the business model, the best companies will attend to customer response before and after they initiate a change. Before they leap to introduce a concept, providers will conduct qualitative and quantitative research to gauge how it will be received and refine their strategy. After they implement a well-researched plan, those same providers will keep an eye out for any signs of discontent.

Social media monitoring is the latest innovation in market research designed to help companies monitor and address responses to their actions. Online communities offer a way to “look before leaping,” refine ideas prior to their introduction, and minimize the risk of negative reactions. Ways of reaching out and conveying information to customers have been in place for a long time. These research tools offer an opportunity to receive feedback from customers and thereby create services and make changes more attuned to their desires. By staying connected to their customers, businesses can improve satisfaction and performance –and thereby stay ahead of the game, whether that means coping with change or increasing competition. In line with our corporate mission, FGI Research is on the forefront of developing research methods to help companies do both.

Most media leaders concur that print media is floundering. Trends in technology, communication and markets reflect that fact (Steve Jobs just ushered in the next wave of online content readers with Apple’s iPad). An entire genre of journalism seems to have emerged just to cover the decline, not only in print but online. According to the New York Times, sixty-two percent of journalists think the Internet has forever altered their profession’s principles, eroding the standards of good journalism and the relevance of print publications alike. Still, new data from FGI Research indicates that print may yet have an audience. While 67% of consumers surveyed say they see a decline in the use of print versus other types of media to stay informed, 74% say they “would not prefer that online publications eventually replace print publications completely.”

Subscriptions to and circulation of print media first began to drop in the 1920’s, when print started competing with radio for audience. The rise of television put a bigger dent in newspaper market share and ad revenue. But high-speed Internet has by far been the biggest threat to traditional print media, since online publishers offer content in a variety of formats that are not only easy to access but, for the most part, free. FGI Research asked consumers to tell us where they get their information, what they think about the decline of print media and whether they would be willing to pay for online subscriptions.

Rupert Murdoch comments on the rapid change in communication technologies.

Where News Comes From
Notwithstanding the rash of stories about how online sources threaten print, FGI’s data show that 1 in 3 (33%) consumers still use print publications “most often” to stay in-the-know, compared to 28% who use online content most often. 39% use both equally often.

“Which of the following sources do you rely on for information?”

Meanwhile, two thirds (69%) of respondents say they “use online publications to supplement print publications,” while 20% say they rely solely on online sources for information. 11% say they never use online sources. These results indicate that, while consumers may turn to online content for some information, they have not abandoned print altogether. Indeed, some do not even use online sources. It follows that traditional media still has a market. In fact, a little over half of consumers (52%) said they purchased print sources from newsstands and stores, compared to 48% who did not.

Consumers Still Read Some Print
This begs the question: what kinds of print media do readers use? In terms of subscribers, local newspapers and national magazines are the most popular, with 52% of consumers saying they subscribe to local newspapers and 46% saying they subscribe to at least one national magazine. Some print sources clearly are not experiencing the same losses as others. However, other print sources are in big trouble.

“What kinds of print media do you subscribe to and pay for?”

National Newspapers, Local Magazines Lag
According to the graph above, only 10% of consumers surveyed subscribe to a national newspaper. 11% say they subscribe to at least one local magazine. Meanwhile, 29% say they neither subscribe to nor pay for any kind of print media, though that does not guarantee that those consumers use online sources instead (they may simply not look at the news at all). Even so, the data suggests that some print sources have been hit harder than others.

Online Subscription Fees Not the Solution
Most readers use both online and print sources for information. Two thirds use online content to supplement print. This is partly the reason why print newspapers are worried about declining readership. Consumer opinion suggests they are becoming less relevant –and that they do not provide everything consumers want to read. Declining ad revenues and profits exacerbate newspapers’ anxiety.

At the same time, subscription fees are not attractive to media consumers. National newspapers like the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, whose print readership has declined, but whose online content is king, have considered charging an online subscriber fee to stay afloat. But FGI Research’s data show they would have some convincing to do: 70% of consumers say they are unwilling to pay a fee for online content. Indeed, part of the attraction of online content –at least until now –has been the fact that it costs nothing.

The Search for the Perfect Subscriber Fee
Even if they had to pay to read, the vast majority of consumers (87%) say they “should be charged less than what [they] pay for print publications,” because of perceived lower production costs. Since “publishers aren’t spending money on paper/printing,” readers believe they should not have to pay a price reflective of those costs. Only 10% think they should pay “as much as” they pay for print subscriptions because they consider the services “comparable.” The remaining 3% think they should pay “more than what [they] pay for print publications” because of the wider array of information available. For the most part, consumers are opposed to the idea of paying for online content. This puts today’s print media in a bind. How can they satisfy all of their readers while generating enough revenue to turn a profit and satisfy shareholders?

Actionable Insights
Declines in subscription, circulation and other performance measures have given today’s print media plenty of reasons to worry. However, FGI Research’s study indicates that they may still have an audience. As for how to respond to readers who have migrated online, while consumers may balk at the idea of a subscriber fee, some may sign on at the right price (less than what they pay for print). Overall, this data gives the print media industry some hope for the future –if they act now. How should publishers respond?

• Conduct research to find out what demographics use which sources, and organize content accordingly. Target your content and publications for the right audiences.
• Using qualitative as well as quantitative data, find out the ideal price of an online subscriber fee. Begin testing now.
• Use qualitative data to find out what draws readers to one publication over another, and respond to those data to maximize readership no matter where you publish. Use qualitative data to fuel future quantitative studies.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Learn more about the results of this study: complimentary access to the data in this report, including cross-tabulated results, is available upon request from FGI Research.
• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Respondents: 300
Date of Survey: April 7th-14th, 2010
Sample Source: FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

• “If MySpace was a country, it would be the 5^th largest in the world.”
• “In 2006 there were 2.7 billion Google searches per month; today, there are 31 billion.”
• “The first commercial text message was sent in December of 1992, now the number of text messages sent every day exceeds the population of the planet.”

And the list goes on. To be sure, there is a tremendous amount of online activity, but does it reach your target market, and more importantly, does it influence them? In our latest TrendTruth, FGI Research set out to determine the current reach and influence of social media’s newest star, Twitter.

Twitter: an Introduction
Twitter is a simple social networking channel whereby members can “Tweet” about themselves, and tune in to other Tweets using any device that can access the Internet. Twitter is making its mark on the Internet this year, boasting just over 5 million members. However, recent media studies indicate that Twitter’s audience retention rate currently lags behind Facebook and MySpace. So, while Twitter’s long term audience size is unclear, FGI Research sought out to understand a few critical things about today’s Twitter audience. Among other things, we asked of Twitter users the following: 1) who do you follow, and 2) do they influence you? Our research yielded several compelling findings.

How Consumers Use Twitter
Among Twitter users, over 80% actively follow other people. The majority of people they follow are friends, family members and celebrities. However, a significant number of Twitter users also follow businesses (38%), other organizations (23%) and political figures (29%). If these trends hold during Twitter’s audience growth phase, Twitter may become a table-stakes communications channel for businesses and other organizations to reach their target markets. But will this channel influence their target markets?

How Does Twitter Influence Purchases
Among Twitter users who follow other people and organizations, the channel does appear to have an emerging, albeit not overwhelming influence on their opinions and purchase decisions. Below are the top two box (high influence and very high influence) percentages for several important categories:

• 26% are influenced in their selection of restaurants
• 23% are influenced in their purchase of electronics
• 20% are influenced in their political opinions
• 17% are influenced in their purchase of household goods
• 16% are influenced in their purchase of groceries
• 16% are influenced in their purchase of clothing
• 14% are influenced in their purchase of automobiles

Who Uses Twitter?
Of course, every business and organization is different with respect to their products, services and target audiences. Some industries must implement Twitter initiatives more quickly than others. When determining if your audience is right for Twitter, a simple first step should be a demographic analysis of Twitter users. The chart below provides a breakout of Twitter users by age, income, and gender.

Actionable Insights
As with any area of research, the “Twitter question” has the potential to spark a lot more debate and will no doubt inspire further inquiries. As for what you can do with this data right now, try to keep in mind the audience that is already on Twitter. Shape your marketing efforts to reflect that knowledge. And when you want to learn more about who your followers are, what they want to know, and how you can target their needs, turn to robust and innovative research techniques: online survey data, social media monitoring, and human research experts who will uncover the real meaning of all that data.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Learn more about the results of this study: complimentary access to the data in this report, including cross-tabulated results, is available upon request from FGI Research.
• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Date of Study: 12/21/2009
Total Responders: 276
Sample Source: FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Advanced Methods Lend Insight into Demographics

We polled a significant number of respondents who were nationally representative in terms of their demographics using our tested method, known as iGAGE.  Our study showed that 10.3% of married couples, with at least one working partner, were in long distance relationships.  Of these, 70.83% said that the separation was due to the U.S. economy.

Interestingly, respondents over the age of 30 were much more open to the idea of a long distance relationship than those ages 21-29.  Of those who said that they’d be willing to live apart, 86.4% were over age 30.  Exploring this further, we discovered that the majority (62.2%) of respondents would only be willing to maintain this type of relationship for less than 3 years.  Finally, although 50% women said that they would live in a long distance relationship for ‘as long as necessary’ only 19.6% of men agreed.

How Couples Communicate
Finally, FGI Research discovered some interesting ways in which couples keep their lines of communication open during separation.  Social media has emerged as a viable way for married couples to keep up with each other.  Our survey showed that 52.2% of these married couples use social media to keep in touch with their spouse.

The most popular site for communication for this purpose is Facebook (40.4%), followed by MySpace (23.4%) and Twitter (8.5%).  Surprisingly 72.3% of these social media users are between ages 30-54.  This is an unexpected shift in usage by age for media outlets that were once almost exclusively dominated by the 18-24 year old group one year ago.

Actionable Insights
How will demographic changes like this affect the market? If consumers experience instability in their interpersonal relationships, it could influence their purchasing habits in any number of ways: increased travel, increased use of social media (as our research found), changes in how they prepare or buy meals, living situations, lifestyles, and so on.

To stay abreast of trends like these, companies should research not just what consumers buy but why they buy –the lifestyles behind the purchasing habits, the everyday realities that impact how, where, and what people buy. Advanced research methods like custom online panels can help businesses understand these things, as can, more importantly, online communities where customers can share spontaneous insights about their daily lives. Combined with surveys on standard topics like packaging, brand, and advertising, research into customers’ daily habits and life situations can make for a more effective business model.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Learn more about the results of this study: complimentary access to the data in this report, including cross-tabulated results, is available upon request from FGI Research.
• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Date of Study: 10/07/2010
Total Responders: 233
Sample Source:FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

This social media site also creates an excellent new source of customer feedback that can be combined with traditional methods such as focus groups or surveys.  New tools such as Tweetdeck now allow companies to follow competitors, track key words, or determine consumer opinion concerning their brand or product.  Our clients who have begun monitoring social media sites prior to product launches have gained great insight into consumer reaction, competitor response and the marketing tactics that should be used.   With Twitter expected to have close to 50 million users by the end of the year, it’s important to employ expert advice in social media mining and web monitoring.

Ashton Smith
Social Media Intern
FGI Research