3 social media posts that are perfect for market research

August 3, 2022

While you’ll never truly know if anyone wants to buy a product/service – until you’re brave enough to try and sell it, investing time in market research can save you a ton of time (and heartache).

In this episode of the Courageous Content Podcast, I’ll share 3 social media posts you can create that are perfect for market research.

And by the way, these posts are also perfect for helping you discover why a product/service isn’t selling as well as you’d like.

Here’s what I cover:

1. The ‘which do you prefer’ post

2. ‘What’s most important’ question

3. Competitor research post

Here’s 3 social media posts that are perfect for market research:

1. The ‘which do you prefer’ post

The more you can involve your online community in your product research, the more ‘invested’ they’ll feel. So when your product/service goes on sale, they’ll be far more likely to buy. That’s why asking questions about product/services you’re developing can be a great way to get your audience involved.

You can ask about anything, including titles/names, logos and/or design features. Just make sure what you ask is specific and easy to respond to. If your question is to ‘open’ people won’t reply.

If you’re using images (which I would recommend if possible) label up options e.g. 1, 2, 3 4 or A or B. The ideas is to make it as easy as possible for people to reply.

For example, before we open pre-orders of my Courageous Content Planner each year, we publish a short list of 8 potential cover designs and invite my social media followers to vote for their favourite one. This helps create a buzz about the upcoming launch.

It also allows us to build a waitlist for the planner. So when my planner goes on sales, we have a list of people who are excited and ready to buy.

Creating a waitlist is a great way to increase sales of a new product/service. So do include a call-to-action for your waitlist in your post. And no you don’t need fancy tech or email marketing automation to create a waitlist. As long as you are compliant with data protection law, you can create a spreadsheet or even a list in a notebook (what’s important here is the strategy – not the tech).

You can turn posts like this into polls on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and even Instagram Stories. You can even turn them into social media videos, including Instagram Reels.

I include templates for market research posts in my content kits, including my Courageous Planner Launch Content Kit.

2. ‘What’s most important’ question

Asking your followers what they find most important when they’re considering buying a product/service like yours is a great way to get conversation going (and get feedback from your ideal customers).

For example, if you’re carrying out market research ahead of a planner launch, you can ask people what they find most important when choosing a planner/journal.

To increase the number of replies you receive, you’ll need to be specific e.g. size, layout, visual, design…and do always add an option for people to add their own thoughts. I usually add the phrase ‘something else entirely’. And don’t forget to add a call-to-action for your waitlist.

3. Competitor research post

This may seem counterintuitive – but I promise it’s useful).

Asking your social media followers to share products/services they use that are similar to yours can be a great source of market research. Because it gives you the opportunity to ask people what they love about that product/servive – and also what would like to add/change.

Understanding what’s missing from your competitors’ products/services is a great way to ensure your product/service meets your ideal customers/clients’. It may also give you ideas for new features, bonuses – or even upsells/downsells you can add.