Initial Research Conclusions

The main conclusions I can draw from my initial research into social media as a research topic are as follows -

A lot of the buzz surrounding social media concerns its use in marketing strategies, albeit whether for business, governmental or non-profit purposes. While there’s to talk about, it’s still an extremely new and developing area that holds a lot of unanswered questions. Companies are trying to feel their way through these unchartered waters without any real established strategies or proven methods to measure their success by. A number of questions were raised through the initial research I conducted into this field, including:

(I’ve broken these up into vague categories)

Social Media Marketing is...

- What is social media marketing? (including history, development and terminology)

- What technologies are involved in social media marketing?

- What different social media channels can be used for marketing purposes, and what are each of their respective merits?

Professional Use...

- What types of organizations employ social media marketing tools?

- How much money is being allocated by companies toward their social media marketing strategies?

- How are small businesses utilizing social media strategies in comparison to large companies and corporations?

- What new professional positions in the workplace does this branch of marketing create?

- What is the skill set and experience a media practitioner is expected to possess to be able to work in this sector?

Success...

- What makes a social media strategy successful?

- What are the greatest challenges involved in social media marketing?

- How do generational differences affect the way people receive social media marketing campaigns?

- What is the most effective method for companies to employ in measuring the value of social media in driving website traffic, engagement and revenue?

What the future holds...

- How does social media marketing affect traditional broadcast methods of advertising?

- What does the future hold for social media marketing?

These are just a few of the many questions surrounding this topic. Perhaps with a bit more research, now with a more specified topic, we can unearth all other relevant questions and decide on relevant case studies to delve into. We still need to frame our project so that we can address the different categories in our Project Brief due Thursday, particularly:

· Background

· Aims

· Scope

· Research Questions

· Research Design

· Outcomes

· Timeline

I think the most pressing of these is probably the Research Design, because once we’ve worked out what our scope and questions are we need to figure out how we’re actually going to ANSWER those questions – who to interview, what sources to analyse etc etc.

I think that Lou Pardi at Social Media Knowledge would be a great source to interview for her in depth knowledge of social media strategies, coupled with her experience in analyzing real life cases in terms of success.

More ideas to be brainstormed in our meeting today....