Who stops the scroll? Researching in real-world context

It used to be that if you could even get in front of consumers, you’d be ahead of the competition.

With modern social media, though, it's easier than ever to get ads in front of your target audience, but that doesn’t mean the job is done. And the hardest part may not even be what you’re thinking. It’s not vying for attention against all your competitors (though that’s certainly part of it), it’s the enticing nature of the scroll itself. What brands do when they have the fleeting attention of consumers determines whether it can be held long enough to develop a sustainable identity, campaign, or innovation.

When the modern consumer launches their social media of choice, they’re met with an onslaught of traditional ads, UGC ads, and even covert sponcon. For brands, at least in those first seconds, it’s not your competitors you’re up against – it’s your audience’s attention. Why should they care about your thing? They’re so used to being sold to, why should they be interested in this one thing over all those other things?

But when a consumer does see an ad that resonates, they stop scrolling. Those are your critical moments. Their attention, however briefly, is devoted to one asset, brand, or innovation at a time. Can you get them to click-through, buy something? Maybe they hit “add to cart” and never come back. Or maybe they’ll recognize that same ad again later and follow through the next time.

Those metrics are invaluable, and they tell a story about what is and isn't working. Here, we’ll explore how and why testing in-context, that is in-feed and side-by-side with your competitors, is vital to keeping an edge on the market, plus how the pitfalls of traditional market research can hold you back.

Real insights demand real-world investigation

Competing for attention against your competition is actually a good thing. 

When you conduct research via traditional methods, you’re testing ideas in a silo. Your survey takers and focus group participants aren’t considering alternatives to your brand or product the same way that they are when they’re scrolling and being marketed to in real-time. When you test in the wild, you’re putting your ideas against the exact same scrutiny and comparisons they’ll meet in the real world.

Traditional research methods are more removed from the reality of where and how consumers shop than ever. Taking a survey or participating in a focus group is a vastly different experience from freely offering feedback where it feels like nobody’s watching.

When you use surveys to collect your data, there’s more potential for bias to creep in. In terms of seeing how you measure up to the competition, recency bias can be detrimental. With rapid trend cycles, every swipe and scroll is saturated with newness. If you ask a survey respondent out of the context of the scroll whether they prefer a cheaper, “dupe”-type product to the real thing, but they just recently saw a well-positioned Instagram ad for the dupe, they're more likely to say they prefer the dupe, simply because they haven’t seen an ad for the original product as recently.

That’s the kind of thing that can really skew your data. When you position yourself directly adjacent to the competition, you’re able to get a cleaner read on what’s resonating.

Getting a leg up with white-labelling     

White labeling isn’t an entirely modern technique, but it’s more effective than ever when you’re researching with the goal of finding out what’s working with your brand in the context of your competition. 

Modern market research methods allow you to take advantage of white labelling in much more meaningful ways. In terms of standing out in the scroll, you can take the risks in a real-world context without the potential liability or asking consumers to disregard any preconceived notions about your brand. It’s not a blind taste test in a staged environment, it’s actually getting in the mix with everybody else while maintaining brand anonymity.  

Controlled targeting methods also ensure that only relevant parties are served up stimuli with your valuable ideas. In other words, you can reach everybody you want, and nobody you don’t, including the competition.  

Traditional market research methods won’t tell you how you measure up to the competition in today’s modern market. The competition, as well as your consumer, is in the infinite scroll of social media. The benefits of in the wild testing aren’t limited to reaching consumers where they’re at. It’s also about putting your brand where it’s going to be when it’s a final product among the other final products you’re up against.  

If you want to find out how to get scroll-stopping good, you need to take a modern approach to your market research.