Facebook has recently added "Questions" to its list of features.
Facebook Questions has the potential to be a valuable market research and engagement tool because:
- The interface is nicer than the Facebook Polls application.
- You can pay for Facebook advertising for your Questions (via the URL), which could provide a significant, targeted response for market research efforts.
- It's easy to share the question with your friends and follow the question to keep a track of written responses. (Some respondents may find it helpful to look for people with similar mindsets, which you can do by clicking the button. Others might find it invasive and shy away from engaging over privacy concerns).
The Tesco GB Facebook Page, which has just over 9,300 followers, received over 200 votes and 9 followers within the first hour of publishing its poll. Looking back through its wall feed, this is a much higher level of engagement than its other wall posts (except for the one which offered a £50 prize).
The question that Tesco asked through Facebook Questions was a simple poll with probably little inherent value:
'Has everyone adjusted with the clocks yet?'
However the response rate indicates the potential value Questions can have for brands.
So is Facebook Questions a survey-smasher? Not in its current form - its options are too simple. It is however a great polling system and may, with improvement, be among the best online-market research tools.
If Facebook can find the balance between the depth needed for market research, the targeting options it has for brand page posts, privacy, and the sharing options it currently features, it will be a winner.