Ethnographic research of social media transforms product management, business innovation, social media, service design, UX strategy, digital transformation, and many more

1. Experiential Social Media and Social Business
Christopher S. Rollyson and Associates
Plan | Learn | Scale | Integrate | Manage
Ethnographic Research
of Social Media
How to boost the results of:
• Product management
• Business innovation
• Social media
• Service design/UX strategy/UxD

2. Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream
Ethnographic Research: What Is It, Why Care?
• Definition: Ethnographic research is a structured process that immerses researchers
within communities to observe individual and group behavior
– Traditionally conducted by anthropologists
– “Community” has many definitions in the analog and digital age
– CSRA measures community by “relatedness” metrics in social media
– Understand individual + social context when your brand/product/firm has biggest impact
• Value: Deep, broad understanding of behavior and motivation reveals how to connect
in rare, distinctive interactions in digital public where they affect 1000s of other people
– People have interactions with people, objects, and systems
– Their experience while interacting affects everyone’s trust, preference, and behavior
• Subjects: Who, why, what, how
– Stakeholders (SH) are people who have big impact on your business
– Experience is powered by SHs’ emotion and activity
– Outcome is what SHs want when they use your firm, product, service, brand
– Workstream (WS) is a sequential process SHs follow to attain outcomes
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3. • Successful product
management depends on
deep and broad insight
into people in each part
of the life cycle
• Ethnographic research
changes the game
because it’s a fast,
efficient way to reveal
real, not self-reported,
behavior
• CSRA researches people
where they live, in social
media
Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream 3
Use Case #1: Product and Service Management

4. Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream 4
Use Case #1: Product and Service Management
• Rationale: Deepen and broaden
product research by creating constant
access to in-depth SH outcomes,
behavior and hot points; evaluate SHs in
multiple parts of the life cycle: market
strategy, product (re)design, distribution,
marketing, service...
• Approach:
– Diligence: research & rank highest impact
SHs; which people affect product success
in each phase of the life cycle?
– Stakeholder profiles: Convene a group of
colleagues who know SHs best; list traits
that distinguish each
– Workstream profiles: with colleagues, list
SH outcomes & touchpoints before, during
& after they use your product or service,
as best you can
– Test/iterate profiles: engage keyword/SEO
talent to translate profiles into complex
searches that identify each SH and WS
– Find/rank communities: Use searches to
find SHs talking about WSs; rank sites by
quality/density of interactions; set up
social bookmarking to tag interactions
– Analyze findings: Evaluate 100s of
interactions and synthesize into trends
that reveal SHs’ deepest aspirations and
frustrations; since these are WS-focused,
they’re holistic; also note SHs’ attitudes
toward vendors and products
• Result: Fast, comprehensive,
continuous insight into product users’
outcomes, loves, and hates. Add more
data points and insight to traditional
product research

5. • Successful business
innovation depends on
deep and comprehensive
insight into the people
you want to adopt your
innovation
• Ethnographic research is
a fast, detailed way to
learn users’ real, not self-
reported, desires & behavior
• CSRA researches people
where they collaborate,
learn & share experience,
in social media
Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream 5
Use Case #2: Business Innovation

6. Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream
Use Case #2: Business Innovation
• Rationale: Remove business innovation
risks by studying stakeholders’ behavior
within the context of the proposed
innovation
• Approach:
– Diligence: research & rank highest impact
SHs; which people are vital to success?
– Stakeholder profiles: Convene a group of
colleagues who know SHs best; list traits
that distinguish each
– Workstream profiles: with colleagues, list
SH outcomes & touchpoints before, during
& after they use your innovation
– Test/iterate profiles: engage keyword/SEO
talent to translate profiles into complex
searches that uniquely identify each SH
and WS
– Find/rank communities: Use iterated
searches to find SHs talking about WSs;
rank sites by quality & density of
interactions; set up social bookmarking to
tag interactions
– Analyze findings: Evaluate 100s of
interactions and synthesize into trends
that reveal SHs’ deepest aspirations and
frustrations; since these are WS-focused,
they’re holistic; also note SHs’ attitudes
toward vendors and products
• Result: Deep, broad insight into users’
outcomes, behavior and motivations;
add more data points and insight to
traditional innovation research
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7. • Social media is popular,
but it fails to make money
for most firms
• Experiential social media
changes the game by
interacting with your high
value stakeholders to
build trust and business
• Ethnographic research is
the efficient, continuous
and comprehensive fast
lane to developing and
tracking trust
Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream 7
Use Case #3: Experiential Social Media

8. Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream
Use Case #3: Experiential Social Media
• Rationale: Use detailed, data-rich
understanding to have distinctive
helpful, empathic interactions in
social media venues, leveraging
network and annuity effects
• Approach:
– Diligence: research and rank your
highest impact SHs
– Stakeholder profiles: Convene a
group of colleagues who know SHs
best; list traits that distinguish each
– Workstream profiles: with colleagues,
list SH touchpoints before, during &
after they pursue outcomes
– Test/iterate profiles: engage skilled
SEO/keyword talent to translate
profiles into complex searches to
uniquely identify each SH and WS
– Find/rank communities: Use iterated
searches to find where SHs are
talking about WSs, and rank sites
based on quality/density of relevant
interactions; set up social
bookmarking to tag interactions
– Analyze findings: Evaluate 100s of
interactions and synthesize into
trends that reveal SHs’ deepest
aspirations and frustrations; create a
blueprint for supporting SH outcomes
in the most distinctive way
• Result: Unprecedented insight into
SH behavior, goals, and how you
can empower them in digital public,
where everyone observes you
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9. Ethnographic Research of Social Media2016Q1 | SH=stakeholder, WS=workstream
Additional Information
• Ethnographic research of social media thought leadership
– Introduction to ethnographic research of social media
– Business use cases for ethnographic research: product
management, business innovation, and social media
– Ethnographic research link library
– Introduction to experiential social media
• CSRA contact details:
– http://linkedin.com/in/csrollyson
– http://about.me/csrollyson
– iphone - chris@rollyson.net
– iphone +1.312.925.1549
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CSRA Managing Director
Christopher S. Rollyson