UPA Boston: Studying Companies’ Use of Social Networks

Posted by: Alla on: June 13, 2010

• In: conferences
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At the UPA Boston conference, Janelle Estes discussed how she used a variety of user research methods to assess how people use postings from companies and organizations on social networks.

• Estes conducted a usability study and a diary study
• She recruited people  who used 2+ social networks for 3+ months, as well as folks that were willing to access their social network accounts during test sessions
• The usability study revealed that users often have a difficult time finding where to sign-up to receive postings. They will search on keywords such as “friends, connect, social”, and many sites don’t have results on those common terms.
• The diary study was a 4 week study. Estes sent out assignments 3x per week, and asked for responses using a Google spreadsheet. She sent the assignment on a consistent schedule. Estes suggest that its important to make a connection with participants over the phone prior to the study, and it might be a good idea to vary assignments or shorten the study with more participants.

Estes was able to glean some design guidelines from her study as follows:

• Users had varying expectations on message types, it all depended on the org. News: top stories, Consumer: new products, sales; Non-Profit: Initiatives: upcoming events
• Place important information at the beginning of the message, as people only scan the first few words
• Clearly describe where a link take users
• Users expected companies to be personable, informal, have more personality
• Engage in two way conversation
• Initiate conversation about relevant topics
• Send messages regularly, but not too regularly
• Choose a meaningful and eye-catching profile picture
• Place calls to action on the homepage, footer navigation, and pair them with appropriate logos
• Provide social network information in email and newsletters

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