Experiential Social Media and Social BusinessChristopher S. Rollyson and AssociatesPlan | Learn | Scale | Integrate | Manage

Ethnographic Research of Social Media

How to boost the results of:

• Product management• Business innovation• Social media• Service design/UX strategy/UxD

Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream

Ethnographic Research: What Is It, Why Care?

• Definition: Ethnographic research is a structured process that immerses researchers within communities to observe individual and group behavior– Traditionally conducted by anthropologists– “Community” has many definitions in the analog and digital age– CSRA measures community by “relatedness” metrics in social media– Understand individual + social context when your brand/product/firm has biggest impact

• Value: Deep, broad understanding of behavior and motivation reveals how to connect in rare, distinctive interactions in digital public where they affect 1000s of other people– People have interactions with people, objects, and systems– Their experience while interacting affects everyone’s trust, preference, and behavior

• Subjects: Who, why, what, how– Stakeholders (SH) are people who have big impact on your business– Experience is powered by SHs’ emotion and activity– Outcome is what SHs want when they use your firm, product, service, brand – Workstream (WS) is a sequential process SHs follow to attain outcomes

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• Successful product management depends on deep and broad insight into people in each part of the life cycle• Ethnographic research

changes the game because it’s a fast, efficient way to reveal real, not self-reported, behavior• CSRA researches people

where they live, in social media

Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream 3

Use Case #1: Product and Service Management

Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream 4

Use Case #1: Product and Service Management

• Rationale: Deepen and broaden product research by creating constant access to in-depth SH outcomes, behavior and hot points; evaluate SHs in multiple parts of the life cycle: market strategy, product (re)design, distribution, marketing, service...

• Approach:– Diligence: research & rank highest impact

SHs; which people affect product success in each phase of the life cycle?

– Stakeholder profiles: Convene a group of colleagues who know SHs best; list traits that distinguish each

– Workstream profiles: with colleagues, list SH outcomes & touchpoints before, during & after they use your product or service, as best you can

– Test/iterate profiles: engage keyword/SEO talent to translate profiles into complex searches that identify each SH and WS

– Find/rank communities: Use searches to find SHs talking about WSs; rank sites by quality/density of interactions; set up social bookmarking to tag interactions

– Analyze findings: Evaluate 100s of interactions and synthesize into trends that reveal SHs’ deepest aspirations and frustrations; since these are WS-focused, they’re holistic; also note SHs’ attitudes toward vendors and products

• Result: Fast, comprehensive, continuous insight into product users’ outcomes, loves, and hates. Add more data points and insight to traditional product research

• Successful business innovation depends on deep and comprehensive insight into the people you want to adopt your innovation• Ethnographic research is

a fast, detailed way to learn users’ real, not self-reported, desires & behavior• CSRA researches people

where they collaborate, learn & share experience, in social media

Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream 5

Use Case #2: Business Innovation

Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream

Use Case #2: Business Innovation

• Rationale: Remove business innovation risks by studying stakeholders’ behavior within the context of the proposed innovation

• Approach:– Diligence: research & rank highest impact

SHs; which people are vital to success?– Stakeholder profiles: Convene a group of

colleagues who know SHs best; list traits that distinguish each

– Workstream profiles: with colleagues, list SH outcomes & touchpoints before, during & after they use your innovation

– Test/iterate profiles: engage keyword/SEO talent to translate profiles into complex searches that uniquely identify each SH and WS

– Find/rank communities: Use iterated searches to find SHs talking about WSs; rank sites by quality & density of interactions; set up social bookmarking to tag interactions

– Analyze findings: Evaluate 100s of interactions and synthesize into trends that reveal SHs’ deepest aspirations and frustrations; since these are WS-focused, they’re holistic; also note SHs’ attitudes toward vendors and products

• Result: Deep, broad insight into users’ outcomes, behavior and motivations; add more data points and insight to traditional innovation research

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• Social media is popular, but it fails to make money for most firms• Experiential social media

changes the game by interacting with your high value stakeholders to build trust and business• Ethnographic research is

the efficient, continuous and comprehensive fast lane to developing and tracking trust

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Use Case #3: Experiential Social Media

Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream

Use Case #3: Experiential Social Media

• Rationale: Use detailed, data-rich understanding to have distinctive helpful, empathic interactions in social media venues, leveraging network and annuity effects

• Approach:– Diligence: research and rank your

highest impact SHs– Stakeholder profiles: Convene a

group of colleagues who know SHs best; list traits that distinguish each

– Workstream profiles: with colleagues, list SH touchpoints before, during & after they pursue outcomes

– Test/iterate profiles: engage skilled SEO/keyword talent to translate profiles into complex searches to uniquely identify each SH and WS

– Find/rank communities: Use iterated searches to find where SHs are talking about WSs, and rank sites based on quality/density of relevant interactions; set up social bookmarking to tag interactions

– Analyze findings: Evaluate 100s of interactions and synthesize into trends that reveal SHs’ deepest aspirations and frustrations; create a blueprint for supporting SH outcomes in the most distinctive way

• Result: Unprecedented insight into SH behavior, goals, and how you can empower them in digital public, where everyone observes you

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Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream

Additional Information

• Ethnographic research of social media thought leadership– Introduction to ethnographic research of social media – Business use cases for ethnographic research: product

management, business innovation, and social media– Ethnographic research link library– Introduction to experiential social media

• CSRA contact details:– http://linkedin.com/in/csrollyson– http://about.me/csrollyson– iphone - chris@rollyson.net– iphone +1.312.925.1549

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CSRA Managing Director Christopher S. Rollyson