If you are a news or media organization, the community is likely visiting your site more than ever since COVID-19 or the Coronavirus hit your region. The community is regularly checking the news more than ever.
As a news organization, you’ve likely seen the overwhelming amount of news and content around COVID-19 data. Tons of national studies completed on consumers and their concerns about the virus.
But have you seen any specialized data for your community or region? How does your community or region differ from the country as a whole?
This is how our marketing research firm can help with a COVID-19 community survey. Our firm works with your news and media organization to create a survey to benefit both the news and advertising sides of your organization. There is value for both.
We recommend specific questions to ask about COVID-19 and changes in consumer behavior as well as listen to your unique objectives to convert those into survey questions. We administer the survey to consumers in your area through email and paid social media advertisements.
The results can be turned around with results ready in as little as a few days.
As media agencies are ramping up coverage around COVID-19, a community survey can help build content, measure local concerns, and help the sales team better focus efforts on verticals that provide the best advertising return.
Benefit 1: Gauge the pulse of your community around COVID-19.
During this uneasy and strange time, news and media companies are ramping up coverage and stories around COVID-19 or the Coronavirus. Journalists are working overtime to write stories, inform, and educate the region.
With many news sites reeling back comments and opinion sections for readers, newspaper and newspaper websites may lack the ability to understand community feedback.
- How is the community feeling about COVID-19?
- What is the community’s level of concern?
- What is their largest concern (economy, health, job, etc?)
- When does the community expect to return back to normal?
These are all critical questions that can be answered through a community survey. Reaching out to the community as a local news and media resource helps you get closer to the population.
The survey gives them a voice and allows you to understand top concerns and issues which can further prioritize coverage for your journalism team.
Benefit 2: Understand changes in consumer behavior.
The crisis has completely changed the typical path to purchase for most Americans. Days of going in-person to shop and browse for products has been completely upended. More than ever, U.S. consumers are turning online through laptops, tablets, and smartphones to make purchases.
- What percent of consumers in your community are doing this?
- Do you plan to continue online purchasing behavior post-crisis?
- What new apps have you downloaded since the crisis began?
- How do you plan on using the stimulus check from the U.S. government?
All of these consumer behavior questions and more can be answered through a community survey. The process is outlined below.
Respondents are accessed through a panel of respondents as well as paid social media.
Benefit 3: Identify verticals in your market offering a ton of potential.
Without a doubt, some sectors of the economy are doing well while others are struggling. As news and media organizations work to learn more about consumer behavior, a consumer survey can provide these insights.
This information can be used to help the sales team best focus efforts on verticals that provide the best return. The feedback can also be used for content to share with current high-spend clients as a nice value-add to your relationship.
- What products or services are you spending more frequently?
- How much more or less have you spent in each of the following categories?
- Do you expect this to continue after the crisis is over?
Benefit 4: Continually monitor changes through tracking.
Although a single community survey could provide a lot of insight for your news and media organization, ongoing research is something to consider. With COVID-19 things change day-to-day and week-to-week.
Monitoring this on a regular basis can help your organization trend the community pulse and top concerns. Your audience in your newspaper and on your website will grow each week as they continually come back to check on the updates and results and how their opinions compare to others.
What is the process for a community survey?
- Proposal: Our marketing research firm will draft a statement of work (SOW) with a fixed cost.
- Kickoff: Once the proposal is approved, our marketing research firm will schedule a 30-minute call.
- Workplan: Within 24-hours of the end of the kickoff, our team will layout a timeline with key tasks.
- Survey: Our marketing research firm will draft out the 10 to 15 question survey for review.
- Programming: Once finalized, Drive Research will program the survey into our software.
- Testing: After it is programmed, the link is circulated with our testing team and client team.
- Fieldwork: Once ready, the survey is administered through an email panel and paid social media ads.
- Reporting: Your team is provided a passcode-protected portal with all the charts and graphs.
Contact Our Marketing Research Firm
Drive Research is a full-service marketing research firm in Syracuse, NY. We work with news and media organizations across the country on community survey projects. These include designated market areas (DMAs) from coast-to-coast across the U.S.
Questions? Need advice on your market research project? Need a market research proposal? Contact us below.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected] (we'll respond quickly)
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040