Social+Media+Focus+Group+Maciejak+V

Maciejak V TO: Social Networking Team FROM: Victoria Maciejak SUBJECT: Social Networking Focus Group Report DATE: March 23, 2010

Here is my report on a focus group I ran with five college students on their social networking preferences. I was able to cover all five questions developed by our team. All participants said that their social network of choice was Facebook.


 * Focus Group Rationale**

Facebook is currently the dominant social networking site and therefore the most attractive place for businesses to connect with Gen-Y users. The social networking landscape, however, is volatile because users can easily switch from one site to another. Our focus groups seek to determine if Gen-Y still favors Facebook, how they primarily use the site, and what developments would cause this demographic to switch to another site. This information will allows to advise Proximity clients about how to create an effective presence on Facebook.


 * Setting and Participants**

The 45 minute session was held in Newell Dining Hall on Monday March 8, 2010. The participants were:


 * George, 21, a Towson Univ. junior computer science major;
 * Kylie, 19, a Towson Univ. freshman art major;
 * Brittany, 19, a Towson Univ. sophomore art major;
 * Matt, 18, a Towson Univ. freshman music major;
 * Jillian, 20, a Towson Univ. junior economics major.

We covered the following three topics during the session:
 * Session Topics**

__Preferred networking sites__ All five participants clearly favored Facebook, citing its simplicity and privacy settings. Everyone agreed that Facebook's major competitor, Myspace, was "too cluttered." None of the participants felt a need to overly decorate their page, and said that the over-cluttered Myspace pages take too long to load.

__How Gen Y users are using social networking sites__ The participants all mainly used a laptop to log in to social networking sites, although when they were at home, they used their desktop computers. Only George used an iPhone, which he used to update his status when he wasn't near a computer. The main reasons that the group members used Facebook differ. Jillian and George used it mainly to upload pictures. Brittany and Matthew used it to contact friends back home. Kylie was usually too busy to use it.

__Preferences about simplicity versus customize-ability of a layout__ All participants agreed that they preferred a simple layout rather than the ability to customize. Brittany, however, said that "if Facebook made a layout system that coded it for you, I might use that." Jillian noted that the set layout on Facebook made it easy to search for things. George added, "A lot of people want to have a lot of creative authority, but I don't. I don't need video, backgrounds, or fancy typefaces. That's not why I use it." Matthew and Kylie both said that they didn't care enough to put the effort in to customize it.

__Following stores__ None of the participants wanted to follow their favorite stores on Facebook. Jillian said that she would follow the Baltimore Ravens, and Brittany said that she would possibly add a store's event, but neither wanted to be friends with stores. None of the group members wanted e-mails or texts from their favorite stores either. Matthew said that if he wanted to go to a store, he would go to it. He didn't want stores "stalking" him. George said that a searchable section for coupons might be nice, but he wanted to seek the store out, not the other way around. None of the participants ever clicked through the ads.

__Concerns about privacy__ All participants agreed that they liked Facebook's privacy settings. Brittany liked that she could customize which friends saw what content. George liked that he could block certain people from seeing his page altogether, however, he wished that the user names on Facebook did not include first and last names. Matthew stated that "it is up to the individual to use common sense and not post incriminating things on his (or her page)." George then added "If you don't want people to see the pictures, then don't post them. Don't be stupid."


 * Findings**

The session revealed that the participants
 * use social networking sites to post pictures, keep in touch with high school friends, and update statuses
 * are not concerned with privacy issues
 * would not switch from Facebook
 * do not pay attention to the advertisements, nor do they want to be solicited by stores.

These findings should be compared with the results from our other sessions. The session showed that Gen Y users will not be switching from Facebook any time soon, but they are strongly against friending companies on social networking sites.

I would recommend that Proximity clients do not waste time and resources investing in creating pages or ads for Facebook, We should consider conducting follow-up interviews to determine how our clients could reach the Gen Y population in social networking without creating pages or buying click through advertisements.