Social Media Research Methods – Comprehensive Notes

Worldviews and Research Orientation

  • Social media influence topic: teens, relationships, and personal branding; two competing worldviews shape research approach.
  • Worldview One (predictable, objective, generalizable): human behavior can be measured, quantified, and generalized across populations; aligns with quantitative methods.
  • Worldview Two (individualistic, unpredictable, subjective): human behavior is unique per person; knowledge is subjective; aligns with qualitative methods and participant-centered research.
  • After identifying a question of interest, researchers decide which worldview and which method fit best to answer it.

Quantitative vs Qualitative Research

  • Quantitative research:
    • Objective, science-oriented, used for measuring and counting.
    • Methods: surveys, experiments; data analyzed with statistics.
    • Outcomes: numbers, percentages, averages, fixed effects.
    • Memory aid: Quant = quantity; a lot of data points (large N).
    • Examples from lecture:
    • 20% of survey respondents bought ice cream today 20\%
    • The average amount spent by 500 respondents was \$5 per person \$5
    • 50% of people in New York strongly enjoy pizza 50\%
    • Average grocery store rating: \frac{3.5}{5}
  • Qualitative research:
    • Descriptive, language-based, interpretive; focuses on why/how people think and behave.
    • Methods: observations, interviews; data analyzed by identifying themes or categories.
    • Outcomes: rich, contextual insights; smaller sample sizes but deeper understanding.
    • Memory aid: Qual = quality or fewer/better data points.
    • Examples from lecture:
    • Why Lily didn’t attend the game; motivations, feelings, and perceived barriers.
    • Feedback about tacos and other experiences to tailor messaging (e.g., what people actually enjoy).

Why These Distinctions Matter

  • Sometimes you need quantitative numbers (e.g., attendance goals, conversion rates) to drive decisions like budget allocations.
  • Sometimes you need qualitative insights to understand underlying motivations, emotions, and barriers to action (e.g., why alumni attend, why a user chooses a platform).
  • In practice, campaigns often blend both: quantitative to measure impact, qualitative to explain why effects occurred.
  • The lecture emphasizes that both views and both methods can inform effective social media strategy.

The Devil’s Work and Practical Implications

  • Ethical/practical caveat: advertising/marketing aims to influence behavior; one speaker quips that advertising can feel like "the devil's work" because it often focuses on messaging rather than changing underlying conditions.
  • Practical takeaway: better campaigns combine data-driven targeting with messaging that resonates emotionally or functionally with the audience.
  • ROI and outcomes: clients expect returns on investment; tools can show how content affects metrics like subscriptions, attendance, or engagement.

Interdisciplinary Foundations of Social Media Research

  • Social media study draws from multiple disciplines:
    • Communication, sociology, anthropology, psychology, marketing, information science, cultural studies, etc.
  • These disciplines inform what data to collect, how to interpret it, and how to craft effective messaging.
  • Demographics vs. psychographics:
    • Demographics: age, location, education, etc.; relatively static factors.
    • Psychographics: attitudes, values, lifestyle; more variable and powerful for messaging targeting.
  • The field emphasizes tailoring content to audience characteristics and cultural context.

Basic vs Applied Research in Social Media

  • Basic research: aims to expand knowledge driven by curiosity.
  • Applied research: aims to solve real-world problems through practical applications.
  • In social media campaigns, both are relevant: basic knowledge about audience behavior informs applied strategies for marketing, branding, or communications.
  • The alignment between data/application matters: irrelevant data wastes resources; actionable insights lead to better campaigns.

Practical Research Tools and Sources

  • Popular data sources and tools discussed:
    • Trends.google.com: trend analysis for search topics and interest over time.
    • Pew Research: demographic and attitude data; often free.
    • Hootsuite: paid social media management and analytics platform; provides post-performance analytics, audience insights, and ROI metrics.
    • Sprout Social: social media management + analytics; features include ROI calculations and engagement metrics.
    • PR Daily: accessible content and PR insights; industry perspectives.
    • Other capabilities: tracking ROI, measuring MAUs (monthly active users), engagement rates, click-throughs, etc.
  • Real-world data concepts:
    • ROI (Return on Investment): assessment of value gained from a campaign relative to cost; helps justify spend to clients.
    • MAUs (Monthly Active Users): a common metric for platform size and engagement potential.
    • A/B testing and iterative optimization: adjusting content thumbnails, headlines, or timing to maximize engagement (example mentioned about changing thumbnails hourly for a show).
  • Example of practical data-driven decision making: using quantitative data (e.g., engagement rates) alongside qualitative insights to adjust messaging and offerings.

The Facebook Friendship Map: A Case of Big Data Visualization

  • A visual map created from 10,000,000 friendship pairs on Facebook to study how location influences friendships.
  • Key observations from the map:
    • Europe and the United States appear very bright due to dense local friendships.
    • Russia/China appear as relatively sparse (less connectivity from the sample).
    • Africa appears less connected in this visualization, suggesting different connectivity patterns or data representation.
    • The top region near Canada shows many Canadians living near the border with the U.S.
  • This example illustrates how large-scale data can reveal patterns of social connectivity and geographic diffusion of relationships.

Formulating Theory, Research Questions, and Campaign Strategies

  • Core tasks: define theory, decide what to research, and determine what you hope to accomplish (e.g., higher attendance at a sports event).
  • Examples and corresponding research questions:
    • High school football game campaign:
    • Theory: games go beyond the school—alumni nostalgia, parent support, and love of their kids drive attendance.
    • Qualitative questions: Why do alumni attend? Why do parents attend? What emotions are involved? (Psychographics)
    • Quantitative questions: How many alumni attend? How many parents attend? (Demographics/Numerical)
    • Campaign ideas: alumni reunion during halftime, an alumni game, a merch truck, retro gear, theme nights (e.g., red-out) to tap into nostalgia and school spirit.
    • Messaging approach: move from generic announcements to targeted messages that appeal to nostalgia and community.
    • Plumbing services campaign for a new plumber:
    • Theory: plumbing issues are stressful; the emotional impact drives seeking help quickly.
    • Quantitative questions: how many households experience plumbing issues yearly in the area; how often is water lost; how long outages last.
    • Qualitative questions: what is the emotional impact; what phrases or narratives resonate (e.g., frustration, urgency).
    • Advertising angles: practical vs humorous (e.g., Roto-Rooter reference, avoiding uncomfortable topics like odor with humor).
    • Accounting software campaign:
    • Theory: people worry about losing money due to poor accounting; pain points include time spent and errors.
    • Quantitative questions: how much money people lose by doing taxes/accounts themselves; time spent managing money.
    • Qualitative questions: what keeps people from outsourcing accounting; perceived reliability of automated tools.
    • Messaging: highlight savings and risk reduction; provide concrete numbers (e.g.,% of people who lose money, time saved).
  • The role of research questions in shaping messaging: precise qualitative questions uncover emotional drivers; quantitative questions quantify scope and impact.
  • The concept of "spray and pray" is used as a cautionary note: broad, non-targeted campaigns are less effective than research-informed, targeted content.

The Youth Group Scenario: Church Contexts

  • Setup: church youth group campaign; determine attendance and engagement.
  • Quantitative questions: how many attend the youth group sessions.
  • Qualitative questions: why do youth attend? what motivates attendance (friendship, sense of belonging, values alignment).
  • Messaging strategy: design posts that invite friends and emphasize community, not merely informational blurbs.
  • Avoid generic posts: instead of saying "Eastern Hills movie night, Thursday night" focus on engaging content and exclusive or timely elements (e.g., limited access on a streaming platform, special event).
  • Practical steps: conducting deeper research to tailor content (e.g., platform selection, content formats, timing) before launching campaigns.

The “Spray and Pray” Mindset vs. Targeted Campaigns

  • Spray and pray: broad messaging without audience-specific customization.
  • Targeted campaigns require understanding audience segments (demographics, psychographics) and testing which messages resonate.
  • The lecture emphasizes the value of research in informing campaigns and the potential for real monetary value when campaigns are designed with evidence-based messaging.

Real-World Internship Example: Gracie’s Experience

  • Gracie’s internship at a Starfish ad agency in Longview, TX:
    • Onboarding meetings and brand development: brand voice, logos, and visual identity.
    • Content production: scheduling and filming three months of content in one go.
    • Content distribution: posting via a CRM system; managing campaigns end-to-end.
    • Scriptwriting for TikTok content; awareness of platform-specific formats.
    • The CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management; used to manage contacts, messaging, and campaigns.
    • Practical takeaway: there are real monetary opportunities in social media work beyond producing content; agencies value data-backed campaigns and efficient production pipelines.

The “Boring” But Essential Truths of Marketing

  • The speaker notes that some products are perceived as boring (e.g., accounting software) but have high demand because they solve universal problems.
  • The key is to frame messaging around the problem and present practical benefits, not just flashy features.
  • Hidden messaging and Easter eggs in campaigns can create engagement and longer-term interest when used appropriately.

Quick Recap: Data, Theory, and Practice in Social Media Campaigns

  • Always connect theory to measurable outcomes (attendance, sign-ups, engagement).
  • Use qualitative insights to understand drivers behind numbers (emotions, motivations, barriers).
  • Leverage a mix of data sources and tools to build a comprehensive picture of audience behavior.
  • Align research questions with campaign goals; avoid vague strategies and instead pursue specific, testable hypotheses.
  • Remember ethical considerations: avoid manipulation that exploits vulnerabilities; prioritize transparent, value-driven messaging.

Key Takeaways for Exam Preparation

  • Distinguish clearly between Worldview One (quantitative) and Worldview Two (qualitative) and know when each is appropriate.
  • Be able to articulate the differences between basic and applied research and give examples of each.
  • Explain the roles of demographics vs. psychographics in targeting and messaging.
  • Describe how quantitative data (numbers, percentages, averages) complements qualitative data (themes, narratives) in crafting effective campaigns.
  • Identify at least three data sources/tools and summarize what they offer ( trends, analytics, ROI, MAUs).
  • Understand how to formulate theory, research questions, and potential campaign strategies for real-world scenarios (sports attendance, plumbing, accounting software, church youth group).
  • Recognize the ethical considerations and practical trade-offs in social media marketing (e.g., risk of manipulation, resource allocation).
  • Be able to discuss a case study-like scenario (Gracie’s internship) to illustrate the end-to-end process from brand development to campaign execution and ROI assessment.

10{,}000{,}000 friendship pairs on Facebook map example demonstrates how big data can reveal geographic and social connectivity patterns.

  • The map highlights dense regions (Europe, United States) and sparser regions (Russia/China, parts of the Middle East, Africa) under specific data constraints, illustrating how data visualization informs understanding of global social networks.