So the new phones came out yesterday, a big one, small one, a 5G one… the new lineup from Apple is slick, but are consumers going to buy them?

Last night, September 29th was the first 2020 presidential debate between Democrat candidate Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump. The debate last night amassed about 29 million total viewers. Many news outlets are calling the 90-minute Trump-Biden showdown chaotic and out of control, but what did American viewers think?

Professional athletes across America have been using their platforms to speak out publicly on racial unrest and protest against racism.  Sparked by NBA player’s walkouts, civil disobedience in sports has become widely practiced by players.

Mortgage interest rates are at an all time low across the nation. According to the latest Freddie Mac mortgage survey, rates are sub-3% on 15 and 30-year mortgages. The record-low rates are the output of the Federal Reserve policy and intended to increase consumer borrowing and help the U.S economy. 

In every major media announcement about COVID-19, developing a vaccine is lauded as the key to return daily life back to normal. Researchers around the world are working around the clock to develop a vaccine in record time. 

TapResearch is always looking for cutting-edge use cases and partners to leverage our large scale audience engagement network to deliver better insights.  We are excited about expanding our efforts in political and opinion polling.

Last week Instagram launched its new “Polls” feature for stories and my nerd-heart skipped a beat. Instagram is my social-media drug-of-choice, and I love market research, so I just had to try it out. 

Of course I was disappointed at the lack of functionality– I had a hard time even finding my data after a poll. You can only ask one question with two answer choices, and polls are only visible to your story’s audience. It’s obvious that Instagram’s Polls are more geared towards social interaction than research.

At first I was annoyed– then I began taking polls myself. I found it to be a fun and seamless way to engage with friends, corporations, and even celebrities. I started looking at Instagram polls from the respondent’s perspective, and I realized that this feature’s true value to market researchers isn’t the what– it’s the why.

Why have all of the major social media platforms (like twitter, Facebook, and now Instagram) all added polling functionality– and what can their features teach us about the future of online research?

Here are 5 Lessons for Market Researchers from my experience with Instagram Polls:

Mobile Research: The Next Chapter

Research has certainly come a long way. From in-person interviews, to mailers, to phone centers; researchers have always been quick to harness new technologies. Yes, we still get the occasional phone survey, but research has largely relocated to the internet.

In the past, joining an online survey panel became a great way to make a few extra bucks and researchers gained direct access to respondents. But, these traditional panels aren’t without issues–

• They tend to have a shallow reach, and it is difficult to fill them with a truly representative sample.
• Their panelist can be “professional” survey takers, who know they are taking part in research.
• Clever respondents can game the system, and commit fraud which hurts the value of your data.

To avoid these issues, many researchers are turning to mobile research. Mobile is the next chapter; and what better way to reach people than with the apps they use everyday?