Aaron+Templeman+Focus+Group+Report

aaron templeman Here is my report on a focus group I ran with five college age students on their use and future use of social networks. I was able to cover three of the five questions developed by our team. Most participants reported they use Facebook as a means of communication and they are mainly opposed to businesses using social networks to advertise.


 * 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.

The 45 minute session was held at my apartment on Saturday, March 20, 2010. All of the participants were Towson University students. Three participants were females and two were males.
 * Setting and Participants**

Trevor,20, a sophomore political science major Mat, 26, a junior archeology major Kristin, 20, a sophomore deaf studies major Kaitlyn, 20, a sophomore chemistry major Samantha, 20, a sophomore nursing major

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

__Major social networks and how they are being used__ The social networks that were mentioned were Facebook and Twitter; Facebook was used by all five and Twitter by only Samantha. The males expressed that they use Facebook to look at pictures of themselves and others as a way to spend downtime. Trevor also said that he liked Facebook as a means of getting invitations to parties. The females used Facebook less to spend free time and more as a way to communicate with friends. They said they communicated equally between the chat function and commenting on statuses and pictures. All expressed that they actually spent time on Facebook and did not just use it as a middle man. However, Samantha said that she rarely actually visited Twitter.

__What will attract and turn away users__ All of the people seemed to be concerned about privacy in social networks, mainly for potential employers. None of the participants showed they worried about security on Facebook because they can change the privacy settings. There was a general consensus that if a social network did not offer levels of privacy they would not consider using it. Kristin, Kaitlyn, and Mat did not like that people can send group invites etc to "all friends." As Kristin put it, "its Facebook junk mail and just a waste of my time." While none showed that they would switch from Facebook as their primary social network, they all did seem like they were growing more dismayed when comparing it to when they first joined. The reasons provided were the always changing format and the growing amount of Facebook junk mail they get in their inboxes. What the group seemed to like is how easy they can find friends. When Kristin added how she heavily enjoyed how Facebook recommends friends, the rest of the group quickly chimed in in agreement. When directly asked what would make them change social networks, they all responded that they used what everyone else uses.

__Potential for Business to Market__ Trevor and Kristin do not mind businesses being on social networks as long as they did not get "spammed." The others strongly opposed businesses on social networks because they only wanted to interact with friends. When asked if they would consider friending businesses because they could get good deals, all but Kaitlyn were opposed because they were skeptical that it would be worth it. Trevor used the popular Baltimore bar Bourbon Street as an example. While the bar was good to find out what days they had celebrates, specials, etc, he said they sent him messages every other day making it not worth it.

The session revealed that
 * Gen Y Implications**
 * Users are attracted to social networks in order to communicate with or view friends
 * Users actually spend time on Facebook, not just use it as a third party
 * It would be hard for business to directly communicate with users
 * There is a follow the crowd mentality

These findings sho uld be compared with the results from our other sessions. Although users of Facebook may be becoming less and less satisfied with Facebook, there does not seem to be a switch on the verge. If another social network does become popular, the Gen Y follow the crowd mentality could lead to a sudden and large spike in users.

We should conduct more sessions to see if the gender differences are consistent. We should also look to see if there is a follow the crowd mentality.