Thanks a lot for shedding light on the topic. I guess then the onus is on businesses to determine which instances will require the super focused input and when to look for general insight from social channels. But as you rightly put, this will be on some scenarios and I believe that social media will be useful most of the time.

And thank you again for pointing out that listening should not be on brand names alone but rather on the “topics and conversations of interest. ) For instance, this post is a conversation of interest to Radian 6 and here you are giving your input. And honestly, Radian 6 will from now henceforth become the company of choice that I recommend to clients because your commenting here is a testament to the services you offer.

Kind Regards and thanks for stopping by.

The landscape and application of focus groups is changing, that's for sure. I can still see their utility in some scenarios when you want super focused input. But it's important to realize the situational bias of a formal survey; when people know they're being asked, they respond differently. The social web has lots of possibilities for “unfiltered” focus groups, but that very unfiltered nature makes it a hard waterfall to conquer and find the relevant bits.

Listening and monitoring not just for your brand, but for topics and conversations of interest can really help home in the conversations and dialogues that can give you those actionable insights from the people actively weighing in on your business or industry.

Thanks for the mention, and the post.

Cheers,
Amber Naslund, Radian6
@ambercadabra