Gathering content insights from user surveys confab2014

Gathering Content Insights
from User Surveys
Confab Central 2014
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN

KathyWagner:
Mom (and grandma!)
Tai chi master (yeah, right)
Not quite a crazy cat lady (yet…)

KathyWagner:
Technical Communicator
User Experience Researcher
Content Strategist

“We cannot solve our problems with the
same kind of thinking we used to create
them.”
~ Albert Einstein

Why use surveys for content projects?
Conduct research quickly, easily, and affordably
Gives your audience a voice
Aligns stakeholders and streamlines decision-making

It’s your
responsibility too
Content
Strategy
Customer
Experience

Audience Attitudes + Content Insights
Goals Topics
Priorities Formats
Likes & dislikes Channels
Comparisons Terminology
t: @ Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Surveys are GOOD for
gathering insights to
make better content
decisions based on user
need and interest.

1. Focus your research questions
2. Choose your sample population
3. Choose your incentive
4. Design the survey
5. Distribute the survey
6. Analyse & communicate the results
6 Steps to Effective User Surveys

“Focusing is about saying ‘No’.”
~ Steve Jobs

Don’t begin your survey until you know:
1. Exactly what you want to find out.
2. From who.
3. How you’re going to use the information.
Focus your research questions

Don’t begin your survey
until you know:
1. Exactly what you want
to find out.
2. From who.
3. How you’re going to
use the information.
Do you want to find out:
What terminology to use?
What topics to cover?
What formats to publish?
Or…?

until you know:
to find out.
2. From who.
Do you want information
about:
All your audiences?
Specific audiences?
Sub-set of an audience?

until you know:
to find out.
2. From who.
How are you going to use the
information?
Don’t gather any information
that you don’t have a clear and
immediate use for!

 What kind of content do our
web users want?
Example:
Which news article topics and
formats do our alumni audience
want to see on our homepage?

“‘Stalking’ is such a strong word. I prefer
‘intense research of an individual.’”
~ Sandrine, in Girl From Paris

Choose your survey sample

Choose your survey sample
Tips for choosing your survey sample:
Random sampling is better.
Don’t survey people more than 4 times per year.
Target 400 responses, or as many as possible.

“Nobody made a greater mistake than
he who did nothing because he could
only do a little.”
~ Edmund Burke

Choose your incentive
Ideas for budget-conscious incentives:
$5 or $10 Starbucks gift cards.
Enter names into a draw for an iPad or ?
Free or discounted product or service.

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and
my life depended on it, I would use the
first 55 minutes determining the proper
questions to ask.”
~ Albert Einstein

Design your survey: Structure
Tips for structuring surveys:
Include opening and exit text.
Divide the survey questions into categories.
Organize the questions strategically.

Divide the survey questions
into categories.
Organize the questions
strategically.
Opening text should include:
Name of your organization
Confidentiality of data
Estimated time to complete
Information about incentive
Why their feedback is important

into categories.
strategically.
Exit text:
Thank people for their time
Reiterate importance of feedback
Remind them about incentive

into categories.
strategically.
Example categories:
1. Audience tasks and goals
2. Topics of interest
3. Formats of interest

into categories.
strategically.
Broad & Easy
Specific & Sensitive
1. Screening questions
2. Easy questions
3. Difficult questions
4. Sensitive questions

Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Open-ended questions allow
participants to answer freely.
Example:
What are two ways that we
could improve our videos?

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Multiple choice questions force
participants to choose one or
more answers from a predefined
list.
Example:
Are you a US Citizen? (Y/N)

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Ranking order questions ask
participants to rank answers in
priority against each other.

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Example:
Please rank the following kinds
of articles, from least important
to most important:
Personal profiles
Brief news articles
Detailed research articles
1st 2nd 3rd
  
  
  

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Rating scale questions ask
participants to rate the
importance of various options.
To consider:
Numbered scales
Word scales
Using neutral scores

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Example numbered scale:
On a scale of 1 – 7, with 1 being
awful and 7 being amazing, how
would you rate your overall
experience with our knowledge
base articles?

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Example word scale:
How satisfied are you with our
knowledge base articles?
o Very satisfied
o Satisfied
o Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
o Dissatisfied
o Very dissatisfied

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Understanding neutral scores:
#1) I would rather watch a real-life
video than an animated video.
o Strongly agree (5)
o Agree (4)
o Neither agree nor disagree (3)
o Disagree (2)
o Strongly disagree (1)

Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Understanding neutral scores:
#2) I would rather watch a real-life
video than an animated video.
o Strongly agree (4)
o Agree (3)
o Disagree (2)
o Strongly disagree (1)
o No opinion (void)

This question type Is best for
Open-ended Attitudes and opinions or when options are unknown.
Multiple choice Demographic info, or all feedback with a limited set of options.
Ranking Comparing importance between up to five options.
Rating number scale
Rate the
importance of
items within a
limited set of
options.
Global or ESL audiences when survey can’t be translated.
Rating word scale Most rating questions and audiences.
Rating w/o neutral score Gathering insights to make decision between two options.

Design your survey: Phrasing questions
 Do not:
Lead respondents to an answer
Use emotional language
Use double-barrelled questions
Use extreme absolutes
Provide vague or subjective options
Do:
Be brief
Be grammatically simple
Use simple, familiar terms

 Do not:
Bad
Staying involved in your professional
society is important. How often would
you like to receive news updates?
Better
How often would you like to receive
news updates?
Hey,You:
What’s a better
question?
Do:

 Do not:
Do:
Bad
Staying involved in your professional
society is important. How often would
you like to receive news updates?
Better
How often would you like to receive
news updates?

 Do not:
Bad
How likely are you to share life-saving
safety information with your loved ones?
Better
How likely are you to share safety
information with your family
members?
Do:
What’s a better
question?

 Do not:
Bad
How likely are you to share life-saving
safety information with your loved ones?
Better
How likely are you to share safety
information with your family
members?
Do:

 Do not:
Use double-barreled questions
Bad
Would you like to be notified about new
articles through Facebook andTwitter?
Better
articles? (Y/N)
Choose how you’d like to receive
notifications:
Do:
What’s a better
question?

 Do not:
Use double-barreled questions
Bad
articles through Facebook andTwitter?
Better
articles? (Y/N)
Choose how you’d like to receive
notifications:
Do:

 Do not:
Bad
Do you always read articles from
beginning to end?
Better
Do you read articles from beginning
to end?
Do:
What’s a better
question?

 Do not:
Bad
Do you always read articles from
beginning to end?
Better
Do you read articles from beginning
to end?
Do:

 Do not:
Bad rating scale
o Frequently
o Sometimes
o Rarely
Better rating scale
o Daily
o A few times per week
o Once a week or less
What’s a better
rating scale?
Do:

 Do not:
Bad rating scale
o Frequently
o Sometimes
o Rarely
Better rating scale
o Daily
o A few times per week
o Once a week or less
Do:

Question 5 4 3 2 1
Satisfaction How satisfied are you with… Very satisfied Satisfied
Neither satisfied nor
dissatisfied
Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
Agreement State your level of agreement
with…
Strongly agree Agree
Neither agree nor
disagree
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
Extent To what extent do you… To a large extent
To a moderate
extent
To some extent To little extent Not at all
Helpfulness How helpful is… Very helpful
Somewhat
helpful
Neither Not so helpful Not at all helpful
Interest Indicate your degree of interest
in…
Considerable
interest
Moderate
interest
Some interest Little interest No interest
Importance How important to you is… Very important
Somewhat
important
Neither important
nor unimportant
Somewhat
unimportant
Very
unimportant
Quality Please rate the quality of… Excellent Above average Average Below average Poor
Tips for phrasing questions using a 5-point scale

Tips for minimizing survey bias:
Provide list options in random order.
Keep questions and answer options short and simple.
Allow respondents to answer anonymously.
Allow respondents to skip questions.
Design your survey: Minimize bias

Tips for maximizing response rate:
Pre-notify survey sample of an upcoming survey.
Pilot test your survey for clarity and functionality.
Keep the survey short. Aim for 5 – 10 minutes.
Offer incentives.
Schedule reminder messages.
Design your survey: Maximize response

“You’ve got to kiss a lot of toads before
you find your prince.”
~ Proverb

Distribute the survey through:
Email lists (Monday mornings work best)
Your website
Company newsletters
Social network channels
Relevant industry, professional, or social networks or clubs
Printed announcements that staff can hand to customers
Distribute your survey

“They’ve done studies, you know.
60% of the time, it works every time.”
~ Brian Fantana, in Anchorman

Tips for analysing and communicating survey results:
Remove invalid responses
Choose the best chart type
Filter to compare responses between audience segments
Provide context
Analyse and communicate the results

This chart type Is best for
Vertical bar chart Comparing percentages of 2 – 7 different groups.
Horizontal bar chart Comparing percentages of 8 or more different groups
Pie chart Illustrating a sample breakdown.

Example:Vertical bar chart

Example: Horizontal bar chart

Example: Pie chart

Provide context. Example:
People want to find specific information
All target audiences identified finding
information quickly as the most important
priority for them on the website.
Having engaging and entertaining editorial
content is a “nice to have”.

Questions?
Get more content tips at
ContentStrategyInc.com
Find me on
Twitter: @Kathy_CS_Inc
Linkedin: ca.linkedin.com/in/kathywagnercs
Slideshare: Content_Strategy_Inc

Gathering content insights from user surveys confab2014

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

En vedette

En vedette (20)

Similaire à Gathering content insights from user surveys confab2014

Similaire à Gathering content insights from user surveys confab2014 (20)

Plus de Content Strategy Inc.

Plus de Content Strategy Inc. (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Gathering content insights from user surveys confab2014