The document discusses using surveys to gather insights for content projects. It provides tips for conducting effective user surveys, including focusing research questions, choosing an appropriate sample, designing effective survey questions, distributing the survey, and analyzing and communicating results. The key benefits highlighted are that surveys allow quick, easy and affordable research that gives audiences a voice and aligns stakeholders to streamline decision-making for content projects.
4. “We cannot solve our problems with the
same kind of thinking we used to create
them.”
~ Albert Einstein
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
5. Why use surveys for content projects?
Conduct research quickly, easily, and affordably
Gives your audience a voice
Aligns stakeholders and streamlines decision-making
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
6. Why use surveys for content projects?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
It’s your
responsibility too
Content
Strategy
Customer
Experience
7. Why use surveys for content projects?
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.
8. 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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
6 Steps to Effective User Surveys
9. “Focusing is about saying ‘No’.”
~ Steve Jobs
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
10. 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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
11. 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
Do you want to find out:
What terminology to use?
What topics to cover?
What formats to publish?
Or…?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
12. 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
Do you want information
about:
All your audiences?
Specific audiences?
Sub-set of an audience?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
13. 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
How are you going to use the
information?
Don’t gather any information
that you don’t have a clear and
immediate use for!
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
14. Focus your research questions
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?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
15. “‘Stalking’ is such a strong word. I prefer
‘intense research of an individual.’”
~ Sandrine, in Girl From Paris
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
17. 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.
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
18. “Nobody made a greater mistake than
he who did nothing because he could
only do a little.”
~ Edmund Burke
t: @ Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
19. 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.
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
20. “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
t: @ Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
21. Design your survey: Structure
Tips for structuring surveys:
Include opening and exit text.
Divide the survey questions into categories.
Organize the questions strategically.
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
22. Design your survey: Structure
Tips for structuring surveys:
Include opening and exit text.
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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
23. Design your survey: Structure
Tips for structuring surveys:
Include opening and exit text.
Divide the survey questions
into categories.
Organize the questions
strategically.
Exit text:
Thank people for their time
Reiterate importance of feedback
Remind them about incentive
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
24. Design your survey: Structure
Tips for structuring surveys:
Include opening and exit text.
Divide the survey questions
into categories.
Organize the questions
strategically.
Example categories:
1. Audience tasks and goals
2. Topics of interest
3. Formats of interest
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
25. Design your survey: Structure
Tips for structuring surveys:
Include opening and exit text.
Divide the survey questions
into categories.
Organize the questions
strategically.
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Broad & Easy
Specific & Sensitive
1. Screening questions
2. Easy questions
3. Difficult questions
4. Sensitive questions
26. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
27. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
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?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
28. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
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)
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
29. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
Multiple choice
Ranking order
Rating scale
Ranking order questions ask
participants to rank answers in
priority against each other.
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
30. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
31. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
32. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
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?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
33. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
34. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
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)
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
35. Design your survey: Question types
Question types to consider:
Open-ended questions
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)
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
36. Design your survey: Question types
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.
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
37. 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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
38. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Lead respondents to an answer
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?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Hey,You:
What’s a better
question?
Do:
39. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Lead respondents to an answer
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?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
40. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Use emotional language
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?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Do:
What’s a better
question?
41. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Use emotional language
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?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Do:
42. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Use double-barreled questions
Bad
Would you like to be notified about new
articles through Facebook andTwitter?
Better
Would you like to be notified about new
articles? (Y/N)
Choose how you’d like to receive
notifications:
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Do:
What’s a better
question?
43. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Use double-barreled questions
Bad
Would you like to be notified about new
articles through Facebook andTwitter?
Better
Would you like to be notified about new
articles? (Y/N)
Choose how you’d like to receive
notifications:
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Do:
44. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Use extreme absolutes
Bad
Do you always read articles from
beginning to end?
Better
Do you read articles from beginning
to end?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Do:
What’s a better
question?
45. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Use extreme absolutes
Bad
Do you always read articles from
beginning to end?
Better
Do you read articles from beginning
to end?
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Do:
46. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Provide vague or subjective options
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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
What’s a better
rating scale?
Do:
47. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
Do not:
Provide vague or subjective options
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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
Do:
48. Design your survey: Phrasing questions
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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
49. 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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
50. 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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
51. “You’ve got to kiss a lot of toads before
you find your prince.”
~ Proverb
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
52. 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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
53. “They’ve done studies, you know.
60% of the time, it works every time.”
~ Brian Fantana, in Anchorman
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
54. 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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
55. 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.
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
56. Analyse and communicate the results
Example:Vertical bar chart
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
57. Analyse and communicate the results
Example: Horizontal bar chart
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
58. Analyse and communicate the results
Example: Pie chart
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
59. Analyse and communicate the results
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”.
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
60. 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
t: @Kathy_CS_Inc #ContentSurvey #ConfabMN
6 Steps to Effective User Surveys
61. 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