How can we understand consumers’ use of social media? How is social media marketing changing with increasing online participation? And what role can social science research play in all this?

These questions were discussed at the Social Media Reality Check. The event, hosted by Polis and digital research agency Human Digital, brought together social media marketers, researchers, and students to explore the latest in social media marketing.

The event featured a presentation by LSE graduate student Liam O’Neill, recipient of the 2011 Human Digital Social Media Prize. The annual prize is awarded to an LSE student to conduct applied research on a topic in social media marketing. Liam presented his research on how social science methodology can offer insight into consumer sentiment that traditional indicators — i.e., positive, negative or neutral — may miss.

The three-month project examined online comments about the Blackberry Playbook. It used quantitative content analysis of 500 user-generated comments on consumer websites like Engadget. The research provided new insight such as correlations between lack of direct experience with the product and negative comments. The research examined several topic areas including user experience and hardware.

Human Digital Managing Director Christian Gladwell emphasized that as consumers’ online participation increases, it will be crucial for organizations to better understand their social media footprint. “This is not an internet bubble,” said Christian. “This is not going away.”

This report by Polis Intern Claire Manibog

If you are an LSE student interested in applying for the 2012 Human Digital Social Media Prize then contact us at Polis@lse.ac.uk