Businesses are increasingly turning to customer feedback and specifically online communities to generate insights, but insights don’t just appear (though we often wish they did). Successful online communities are the result of a carefully executed strategy, solid design and patient nurturing. Though they may seem like a lot of work, the benefits an online community can bring to your brand make the efforts worthwhile.

Here are some important tips that we have used over the years to get closer to the heart of true insights in online communities:

1. Start with experiences: We all know the drawbacks of reported behavior, but having people describe their experiences in free flowing ways is a great technique to spot ideas and challenges. Think about semi-ethnographic ways for consumers to tell you about their last experience with your product through online diaries, journals, and photo exercises.
2. Don’t let the garbage in: Make sure you are focusing on the right issues for your business. Ask questions and introduce topics that really matter. If you don’t know why you are asking a question, then don’t ask.
3. Give people room to breathe: Don’t overburden your community with too many focused research tasks. Instead, prompt them with softer content (e.g. articles, tips/advice) to solicit more undirected feedback and user generated content that will lead to insights. Avoid tedious and repetitive surveys. Just because you have a continuous relationship with your community members, doesn’t mean you should ask them the same questions over and over again.
4. Take a step back: Regularly look at themes and ideas that emerge across the broader community rather than just focusing just on feedback for individual issues or activities. Take the time to connect the dots.
5. Say, “so what”: Focus on implications. When reviewing feedback, always ask “so, what” does this mean for my business?

Of course, this list is not exhaustive. I would love to hear about any additional tips you have for generating insights in your communities. What would you add to the list?

The data released this year was telling. Some pointed to things that we already knew (people don’t trust bankers or journalists much these days), and some to things that you would be unlikely to consider (the most trusted location for a company to be headquartered, for example, is Canada). Below are my highlights – you can see the figures for yourself here.

The ‘informed public’ (college-educated/within the top 25 per cent of household income per age group/significant media consumption/engaged with business news and public policy) felt significantly higher degrees of trust than the general public. According to the data the global difference was 9 points (informed public trust standing at 57 points against the general public trust at 48 points), with the UK displaying equatable levels (taking into account margins for error). The US, however, surged ahead with a whopping 14 point difference (informed: 59, general: 45) – though it is worth noting that this may have been artificially inflated by the recent election and the ‘hope’ of Obama having a successful second term, however improbable.

Business was trusted more than government in 16 out of 26 markets surveyed, including the US, the UK, Japan, and India. Interestingly, citizens of Singapore and China – neither possessing especially liberal or hospitable governments – expressed greater trust in their governments than in business, by 5 per cent and 7 per cent respectively. Whether this is due to mass failings in business (corruption et al.), good economic performance, or the lack of a polycephalous media…

We in the West, perhaps somewhat idealistically, trust small businesses significantly more than we trust big businesses: in the UK this amounts to an astonishing difference of 30 per cent (trust in small business: 78 per cent, big business: 48 per cent). Emerging markets on the other hand, expressed greater trust in big business. 89 per cent of Chinese, for example, giving the thumbs up for large organisations, against only 65 per cent for their smaller equivalents.

The winning statistic, purely from a fear factor, is the increasing level of trust that many are placing in social media as a reliable news source – 58 per cent in emerging markets view social media as a credible news source, 28 per cent in developed markets.

Bertrand Russell once said, “I think we ought always to entertain our opinions with some measure of doubt. I shouldn’t wish people dogmatically to believe any philosophy, not even mine”. By relying on social media to provide information about the world around us we run the risk of regressing into an environment that relays to us only what we wish to hear, rather than ideas that challenge our perspectives.

In the case of Twitter, for example, a platform where you, and only you, are responsible for choosing the sources of your daily digestion, this possibility is entirely plausible. I myself am guilty of ‘unfollowing’ those with whom I expressly disagree with. An over-reliance on social media to provide us with a snapshot of world events creates the foundation for a wholly unbalanced diet of media consumption.

The government wants us to eat five portions of fruit & veg every day, why not engage with five different news sources each day as well – it would be healthy for both you and the world around you.

Press Release download available here.

Less than one in five respondents in the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer believes a business or governmental leader will actually tell the truth when confronted with a difficult issue. This lack of confidence in traditional authority figures was continually reinforced in 2012 against the backdrop of high-profile scandals involving CEO and government officials, including former McKinsey managing partner Rajat Gupta, former Chinese government official Bo Xilai and Lance Armstrong, former chairman of the Livestrong Foundation.

“We’re clearly experiencing a crisis in leadership,” said Richard Edelman, president and CEO, Edelman. “Business and governmental leaders must change their management approach and become more inclusive by seeking the input of employees, consumers, activists and experts such as academics, and adapting to their feedback. They must also pass the test of radical transparency.”

The general public’s trust in leaders is far below that of institutions in all 26 markets. Globally, trust in business to do what is right is at 50 percent while trust in business leaders to tell the truth is 18 percent, a 32-point trust gap; the gap between government and government official is 28 points. The trust gap between business and business leader is amongst the largest (35 points) in the U.S. and China. At 47 points, China had the greatest divide between government and government official.

This year’s Barometer also reveals that academics, technical experts and a person like yourself are nearly twice as trusted as a chief executive or government official. “This confirms the democratizing trend of recent years with influence and authority moving away from CEOs and government leaders to experts and peers,” said Edelman.

Trust across all institutions increased, including narrow upticks for business and government. Three of four institutions (NGOs, 63 percent; media, 57 percent; business, 58 percent) surpassed their all-time-highs. While there was an increase, it was tentative, with only 17 percent and 16 percent of those who trust business and government, respectively, saying they trust either business and government a great deal. Trust’s fragility was further exemplified by a January follow-up study done in the U.S. and UK. Trust in media in the UK experienced a dramatic 14-point drop, after the release of the Leveson Inquiry – an investigation into the role of the press in the phone-hacking scandal – making it the least trusted institution. In the U.S., trust in government dropped eight points among the general public, making it the least trusted institution, after the poor handling of the fiscal cliff issue.

Overall, the general population is far more skeptical of institutions than informed publics. Trust across all four institutions is nine points lower among the general population; the largest difference, 14 points, is seen in the U.S., Sweden and Poland.

Banks and financial services remain the least trusted sectors particularly trust in banks in Germany (23 percent), UK (22 percent), Spain (19 percent) and Ireland (11 percent). Trust in these sectors reached their lowest point in the U.S. in 2011 and in the UK, France, Germany region in 2012. With trust in two-thirds of the markets below 50 percent, trust in banks, globally, is now 11 points lower than it was in 2008.

The Barometer finds that this lack of trust is driven by poor performance and the perception of unethical behavior. Developed economies rate bank performance much lower than emerging markets, giving the industry poor grades in its practice of lending to small businesses and providing home mortgage loans. More than one in two people globally (56 percent) say they were aware of last year’s banking and financial services scandals (78 percent in the UK) with 59 percent saying the cause of those scandals was behavior, specifically corruption, poor corporate culture or poor leadership.

“The financial services industry must become more aggressive in explaining its business model and do away with terms such as ‘proprietary trading’,” said Alan VanderMolen, president and CEO, global practices, Edelman and vice chairman DJE. “Stakeholders have to understand how banks are making money and how the industry is working to benefit its shareholders and society.”

The Barometer found multinational companies headquartered in developed markets consistently have higher trust levels than those in emerging markets (China, India and Mexico scored lowest). While companies headquartered in developed markets are trusted globally, companies headquartered in emerging markets face their biggest trust hurdles in developed markets. Furthermore, the Barometer also found that small businesses are most trusted in the West while big business is on top in emerging economies.

There’s been a dramatic change in how trust in companies is established as stakeholders are now placing greater importance on engagement and integrity-based attributes such as treating employees well, listening to customers and exhibiting ethical and transparent practices. Operational-based attributes, including financial performance and being recognized as a “best” place to work, were nearly twice as important in 2008 (76 percent) as they are in 2013 (39 percent).

“Innovative products and making money are now table stakes,” said Ben Boyd, global practice chair, Corporate, Edelman. “Business must show that it has a broader skill set and can execute on engagement and integrity-based attributes. Now is the time for business to go beyond simply earning the license to operate toward earning a license to lead, serving the needs of both shareholders and broader stakeholders by being profitable and a positive force in society.”

Other key findings from the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer include:

• Business leaders are trusted by less than 50 percent in 16 of 26 markets, while government leaders are trusted by less than half in 21.
• Technology (77 percent) and automotive (69 percent) were again the two most trusted industry sectors.
• NGOs remain the most trusted institution posting trust levels above 50 percent in 23 of 26 countries – four of the five top markets are in Asia (China 81 percent, Malaysia 76 percent, Hong Kong 76 percent, Singapore 75 percent).
• Further dimensionalization helped media continue its rise in trust that began in 2010. Among the general population, mainstream media and online search (both at 58 percent) are the most trusted sources of information. More than half in emerging markets trust all forms of media while developed markets have a high variance in trust levels across the various media types. When looking at social media, emerging markets (58 percent) are more than twice as trusting as developed (26 percent).
• Germany saw the most significant increases in trust across all institutions. NGOs up 16 points, media up 19 points, business up 14 points and government up 15 points. Argentina experienced the greatest decline in trust among all institutions.

About the Edelman Trust Barometer

The 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm’s 13th annual trust and credibility survey. The survey was produced by research firm Edelman Berland and consisted of 20-minute online interviews conducted October 16, 2012 – November 29, 2012. The 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer online survey sampled 26,000 general population respondents with an oversample of 5,800 informed publics ages 25-64 across 26 countries. All informed publics met the following criteria: college-educated; household income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or watch business/news media at least several times a week; follow public policy issues in the news at least several times a week. For more information, visit: http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/trust-2013/

The Edelman 8095® team is excited to share a refresh of its study of the Millennial generation, those born between 1980 and 1995, to help you understand how to engage this most influential group.

A Look Back

In 2010, Edelman unveiled 8095®, a global insights group and study of Millennials that explores the generation’s relationship with brands. The 8095® study was the first to reveal truths about the generation that remain common discussion today, including the insight that brands are a partnership and a form of self-expression for Millennials.

8095® 2.0

Today, Edelman and Edelman Berland refreshed the 8095® study to explore how the generation is changing the world and the implications for marketers when “average” is no longer enough. 8095® 2.0 examines 8095er’s view of success – in life, in work, in relationships – and reveals how marketers can support the generation’s new definition of contentment and also create new moments of identity and success. Coming of age during one of the worst global recessions ever, we explore the new dreams that drive Millennials in an attempt to uncover the needs and desires that, if supported, can be game changers in their relationships with brands.

Follow 8095® updates on Twitter: @Edelman8095 or #Edel8095.

Watch this short 8095® introductory video:

For the past few holiday seasons the debate among shoppers has been when and where to find the best deals—in-store on Black Friday or online during Cyber Monday.  This year, we asked members of our PluggedIN Nation community to weigh for an ultimate “battle of the bargains” —and you’ve got a ringside seat! Take a look at our infographic to see how the holiday heavyweights stack up.

Black Friday Not for the Faint of Heart

For many, Black Friday has become synonymous with crowded shopping, parking shortages, long lines, and impolite behavior.  While online shopping gives consumers the option to avoid the crowds and check their lists off from home, 1 in 4 of our community members still plans to hit the mall this Black Friday.  They may not appreciate the crowded aisles or the long lines, but for many, the in-store deals are too good to resist.  Still, others say you have to embrace the crowds to truly enjoy the experience, and for some it is a ritual they brave every year.

Cyber Monday Has its Perks

Cyber Monday has much more appeal among our community members than the more traditional Black Friday, with nearly 40% saying they will shop online during Cyber Monday this year.  These consumers suggest that they would rather stay in bed—even “drink hot chocolate” —than wait in line at the stores.  The online shopping experience is much calmer, and many say that they can find a wider range of items at Amazon compared to big-box stores, so it is easier to shop for multiple people.  Overall, 84% of our shoppers plan to shop online for holiday gifts this year, while only 45% say they will battle the crowds at the mall.  Despite the appeal of shopping from home, some are skeptical that Cyber Monday deals are as significant as Black Friday.

Black Thursday Bandwagon

Many retailers are kicking off the holiday shopping season earlier than ever this year, with some stores opening their doors at 8 p.m. on Thursday.  The earlier start to Black Friday does not seem to have a widely detrimental effect on brands, but a little over 30% say it makes them feel worse about the brands when they open on Thursday.  Overall, 46% of our shoppers say it’s a bad thing, 12% think it’s a good thing, and 41% don’t care.  While only 29% say they will shop on Black Friday, even less (12%) plan to shop on Black Thursday.

Tale of the Tape

From the numbers, community members plan to shop less on Black Friday (down 4%) and Cyber Monday (down 7%) this year compared to 2011. In general, those who shop on the day after Thanksgiving say they spend more.  Interestingly, those who do not plan to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday plan to spend less overall this holiday season.  This suggests that Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers as a whole may spend more than non shoppers.  Black Friday shoppers rely more heavily on the newspaper and traditional ads, while Cyber Monday shoppers rely on social media and email.

The Winner: The Double-Team

The results are in. This year, the lowest prices won’t necessarily appear on Black Friday, and they also won’t necessarily be in-store only—they could just as easily be available online.  Black Friday may not be the primary day for deals anymore, but don’t remove it from your calendar just yet.  With more people than ever expected to do at least some of their shopping online, retailers are responding by making more of their Black Friday sales available online on Thursday and Friday.  As an added bonus, many retailers will give shoppers the option to pick-up in stores, so you can dodge the lines and still get in on the action.  Whether you call it Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or even Black Thursday, for consumers, it’s all about the price.  With a little research, consumers can find deals on the products they want, and they may not have to fight the crowds on Black Friday—or wait until Monday—to get them.

Edelman Berland Holiday Forecast

A return of consumer confidence and willingness to spend has the potential to make the 2012 holiday season the strongest we’ve seen in years.  Although we saw a drop in the number of consumers who plan to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, we expect to see holiday sales rise this season—particularly online. While they may not hit the mall on Friday or surf for deals on Monday, 72% of shoppers in our community plan on spending the same or more this holiday season. The National Retail Federation estimates that total holiday sales this season will rise 4.1%, above the 3.5% average for the previous 10 years. Last year, the NRF initially projected a 2.8% rise in holiday sales, but the actual figure was 5.6%, so this estimate may be conservative.

“Millennials” – the diverse population born between 1980 and 1995, or “8095ers” – are the most analyzed, marketed to and influential generation to-date.  Today, Millennials are dramatically less enthusiastic and optimistic about Election Day than they were four years ago.  With less than 50 days remaining until the 2012 Presidential Election, it’s worth asking: What do Millennials want? What are their top concerns? What will it take to sway them this election season?  Here are the key highlights from our qualitative discussions in Edelman Berland’s 8095 PluggedIN community:

Millennials cautiously hopeful.

Millennials describe their attitude about the upcoming presidential election as “cautiously hopeful,” but many don’t really expect much change.  There is a high level of skepticism and distrust this year and they don’t believe that either candidate will significantly be able to change things for the better.  While almost 2/3 of those in our community are Obama supporters, many think he will have a much harder time getting votes compared to 2008 because his promised changes have not helped them personally.

I think this is a critical election year, but there are currently no candidates in the mainstream parties that are willing to make the extreme changes necessary to improve the lives of Americans.”

Millennials more anxious about their future than pure politics.

For these Millennials, the biggest issues are jobs, the economy, national debt, and to a lesser extent, healthcare.  While other generations may have a more pronounced party line, these Millennials are most concerned about the issues that directly affect them.  Many have friends and family that are struggling with job loss and are worried about their own financial future.  They say money is getting tighter and they don’t have high hopes for future income and job opportunities.  Also, their specific concern for the national debt highlights their anxiety over having to take ownership and deal with the financial repercussions of government spending decisions made today.

Soon I’ll be out in the large world with thousands upon thousands of other people without a penny to our name if something doesn’t change.”

All generations may feel discouraged about voting.

While the majority of our Millennials do plan on voting, there is a small cadre who think that people in their generation care less about voting than past generations.  Generally, they feel that younger people are more skeptical about their individual vote and whether or not it will matter. However, they say that older generations are starting to feel this way as well.  There is a general sense of discouragement across the board.

Right now nobody cares as much as the old days when it comes to voting. There was a sense of pride and actual differences being made during the old days. Now it’s only promises that aren’t kept.”

Lack of political aspirations among young people.

Overall, our Millennials have a general distrust for government and do not have much desire to run for political office. They are a bit disillusioned with politics and don’t feel that one person can necessarily make any difference in political office. Others don’t like the idea of the shear amount of stress officials have to deal with.

I don’t really feel that there are a lot of political aspirations in my generation… I think my generation is fed up with political ‘crap.’”

The feedback collected in this post reflects the attitudes of Millennials in our 8095 PluggedIN community. Our PluggedIN Communities provide a way for people to express their opinions and ideas directly with brands and researchers. They have revolutionized the way research is conducted, making it more social, interactive and enduring.

Today’s Millennial voters are very different than their predecessors – in terms of how they view the government, as well as how they arm themselves with information as voters.  According to panelists in Edelman Berland’s 8095 PluggedIN community, only 5% of this group strongly trusts the government, compared to 75% that are neutral and fully 20% that exhibit strong distrust toward the government.  Younger Millennials are even more likely to say the current administration is in bad shape.

This demographic group shares its malaise with friends and family; over half discuss politics frequently with those close to them, and more than three-fourths of millennials care a lot about the upcoming election. Of the 80% who plan to vote in November, more than three-in-four are heavy TV watchers. This indicates their votes may be swayed by the news sources they view – with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report topping the list of most watched political TV shows.

The bulk of Millennials follow the election via traditional and Digital Media, but word of mouth and social media are among the leading means by which they share information about the election.  Those who plan to vote for Obama are nearly twice as likely as Millennials overall to follow or share candidate information via social media.

Is the election little more than a popularity contest?  If it is, Barack comes away the Homecoming King. Edelman Berland’s panelists are at least two times as likely to choose Obama over Romney when asked with whom they would rather play sports, have dinner, be stranded on a dessert island, or be supervised at work.  As shown in our latest infographic, Obama wins all test matches except when panelists are asked with whom they would prefer to start a business; Mitt Romney wins 51% to 42%.

As candidates seek to connect with this critical audience, knowing where to find them (on TV and in traditional media) and how to mobilize them (through word of mouth and social media) will prove instrumental.  Unless Mr. Romney figures out how to connect on a personal level with this generation – connecting his point of view to economic and job growth – the President’s lead on likeability and personality factors will prove insurmountable.

While the Beltway may be placing its bet on Obama, he was not the star of the show at last week’s Democratic National Convention.

That honor went instead to former President Bill Clinton, who was named the top speaker of either party’s national convention by 44 percent of inside-the-Beltway policy elites, according to Edelman Berland’s latest Beltway Barometer survey. But 60 percent of Beltway insiders expect Obama to be reelected in November.

Finishing a distant second to Clinton for the best speech of the conventions was former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, with 11 percent, followed by Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan. President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney both ranked near the bottom.

The survey, which fielded September 7-10, 2012, comes on the heels of a column by Chris Cillizza of Washington Post’s “The Fix,” who named Clinton the best speech of the convention.

Edelman Berland’s Beltway Barometer surveys 400 of the most politically elite, influential and engaged citizens in the Washington, DC area, with 200 respondents per party.

Beltway insiders’ prediction of an Obama victory tracks closely with Gallup survey data, which shows 58 percent of the American public expect Obama to win in November.

Jennifer Myers is Research Director in Edelman Berland’s DC office and is director of the Beltway Barometer.

We are excited to announce that StrategyOne is now Edelman Berland, a new company within Edelman, the world’s largest private PR firm.

The new name reflects Edelman’s commitment to re-imagine and re-invent research under the leadership of Mike Berland, advisor to Hillary Clinton and Mike Bloomberg and President of Penn Schoen and Berland, one of the world’s leading public opinion research firms.

In announcing the hire, company CEO Richard Edelman said, “I have known and admired Mike Berland’s work for close to a decade. When it comes to fully integrating research with PR programs and partnering with both account teams and clients, he is simply the best.”

Edelman went on to say that a need for better inclusion of research in PR campaigns makes the time right, and Edelman’s success integrating digital 10 years ago, shows that aligning the businesses closer together is the right move for clients and for the company.

Moving forward, the operations of StrategyOne will fully integrate and become part of Edelman Berland.  As a single entity operating within Edelman we will partner with the more than 65 offices around the globe ensuring that research and analysis are at the core of Edelman’s client work.  Edelman Berland will also establish its own client relationships where consulting and research are required prior to the development of a communications campaign.

If you have visited our site in recent days, you may have noticed our new logo. Today, we’re pleased to formally unveil our new identity to our clients, friends, and partners. Over the coming days and weeks, you will notice more changes to our website and business collateral that will reflect and reinforce our new name.

Please note we have changed our corporate domain name to www.edelmanberland.com and email address domain to ‘@edelmanberland.com .’ The old email addresses will continue to be operational for the foreseeable future; however, we recommend you update your contact information now to ensure no issues arise at any future date.

We’re excited about what’s ahead for Edelman Berland and the huge opportunity we have to build a world class research company of global scale.

Read the full press release here.

The global  State of Create study reveals that creativity is ubiquitous. It is a core, important human need and form of expression that weaves through all of our lives. People feel that there is a need to create new things and bring innovation to life; they feel that the ability to create is limitless, ageless and timeless.

Globally, creativity permeates our lives, defining who we are and giving our lives meaning. Creating allows people to have fun, share ideas, and above all, make a difference. People express their creativity across a diverse array of passions. Tools make the creator. The increasing number of tools available to create with is seen as increasing creativity the most.

What Value Does Creating have Globally?

Creativity is viewed as valuable to both society and the economy, however, a Creativity Gap exists.

We feel that being creative is highly valuable to both the economy and society, but the prestige that accompanies it is low. Most feel that in their countries, people, as well as themselves, are not living up to their creative potential.

Have We Created an Environment that Fosters the Very Creativity Needed for Countries and Societies to Grow?

Globally, people spend only a fraction of their time at work creating while feeling that a significant percent of their ability to create remains untapped.  There is increasing pressure to be productive rather than creative at work while many agree that they are increasingly being expected to think creatively at work.

Most feel that creativity is being stifled by their educational system.

How Can We Help Drive the Ability to Create?

Time, tools and the environment are key drivers of creativity but they are not readily accessible . Time to think creatively, tools, and an environment to think are said to be the most important things to have to be creative.

Technology and tools provide the ability to help people overcome their own creative limitations and inspires them to create but many say that they these tools are not accessible. Time, is seen as the biggest challenge to being able to create.