Driving authentic engagement in large online communities

Enabling qualitative insights at scale

The author(s)
  • Christie Moorman Online Communities, US
  • Lisa Yu Online Communities, US
Get in touch

Ipsos Views - Driving Authentic Engagement In Large Online Communities

In recent years, the lines between qualitative and quantitative research have become blurred and multiple data sources are now sought after for a more holistic understanding of consumer attitudes and behaviors. Ipsos online communities offer the unique ability to move seamlessly between qual and quant research and address a range of learning objectives all in one place, with speed and simplicity.

Ipsos manages communities in a wide range of sizes, from as small as 50 members, to as many as 5,000 or more, because we know that one size does not fit all. A question we sometimes get is “how is it possible to achieve intimate consumer connections, and ensure value to our clients, even in very large communities?”

We recently evaluated a sample of existing Ipsos communities to understand the impact community size may have on engagement rates and found that all communities achieved similar rates of participation, regardless of size.

In this paper, we set out three recommendations for driving authentic engagement and demonstrate how these have allowed us at Ipsos to build intimate connections in even very large online communities:

  1. Recruit the right respondents
    Applying a quality filter during the screening process enables the selection of members who are expressive and articulate. This ensures a vibrant, dynamic and health space for rich, consumer-focused insights.
  2. Tap into intrinsic motivations
    Moving beyond transactional relationships and developing an understanding of respondents’ intrinsic motivations is key to making community experiences more satisfying and encourages members to contribute meaningfully to community activities.  
  3. Apply analytical models
    Text analysis and modelling can be used to uncover deep insights and emotions, delivering empathy at scale.

Read Driving Authentic Engagement in Large Online Communities to learn more about using larger communities to deliver authentic human context at scale.

The author(s)
  • Christie Moorman Online Communities, US
  • Lisa Yu Online Communities, US

Consumer & Shopper