Market Connections Blog » Market Research

Survey Finds Federal Workers not Leveraging Social Media

MarketConnections — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:47:43 +0000

A Fierce Government IT article covering Market Connections’ July 27, 2010 social media event said, “Even when agencies are using social media–a recent GAO testimony found 22 of 24 major federal agencies maintain a presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube–many workers are often unaware of their agency’s Web 2.0 strategy. Only 29 percent of the government workers surveyed said their agencies were using social media, 48 percent said their agencies were not using social media, and 23 percent said they didn’t know whether or not social media was being used.

“A lot of the social media that agencies are currently undertaking is outward facing, it’s targeting constituents, citizens, external stakeholders,” said Market Connections’ John Kagia. “Perhaps there’s not been as much internal-facing social media use within the agencies or communication about what is taking place within the organization.”

Read the full article at www.FierceGovernmentIT.com for more on the study findings and panel discussion featuring social media experts from the government and contractor communities.

The Federal Community Social Media Report takes a comprehensive look at the use of social media among federal agencies and suppliers and includes detailed case studies of how agencies use social media to connect with citizens and expand their audiences.

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Survey Tells Two Tales About Feds’ Social Media Use

MarketConnections — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:15:29 +0000

A Federal Computer Week article covering Market Connections’ popular social media event on July 27, 2010 highlighted that while 60 percent of respondents to the study of social media usage among federal employees have embraced social media, the rest either don’t use it or don’t know about it.

The article by Alice Lipowicz said, ”[T]hose results suggest that agencies are taking advantage of social media primarily for promotion and communications with the public, rather than applying those tools internally with their staffs. Consequently, many employees may not be aware of what their agencies are doing in this sphere.”

Read the full article on www.fcw.com.

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Measuring ROI is Greatest Challenge for Contractors

MarketConnections — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:07:41 +0000

On July 27, 2010, Market Connections presented the findings of the 2010 Federal Community Social Media Study to a standing-room-only crowd at the Tower Club in Vienna, VA. Of the findings, Alice Lipowicz of Washington Technology wrote, “Federal contractors have jumped into social media in a big way, but many are finding it difficult to calculate a return on their investment, according to a new survey of 167 federal contractor employees by the research firm Market Connections Inc.

“The most popular social media tools among federal contractors are wikis, followed by commercial social networks, followed by blogs.

“LinkedIn was cited among the most popular social media sites for federal contractors…”

View the full article on www.washingtontechnology.com.

The full Federal Community Social Media Report takes a comprehensive look at the use of social media among federal agencies and suppliers, including analysis of the use of a variety of social media tools and planned investments in social media.

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Panelists just confirmed for Social Media Event

MarketConnections — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:05:42 +0000

This morning, we confirmed three panelists who will join us at the July 27 event releasing the findings of the 2010 Federal Community Social Media Study. You may be wondering how this event will differ from many other social media events in and around DC right now. Market Connections will present the results of a research study looking at social media usage among government employees and contractors. You’ll leave with real data to help guide your strategic decision-making!

Confirmed Panelists:

Michael Donovan – Chief Technologist, Strategic Capabilities, HP Enterprise Services
Donovan is responsible for leveraging HP and partner capabilities to meet the needs of federal, state and local governments. He is currently involved in development of cyber security, cloud computing, and information management to better serve the needs of U.S. Public Sector clients.

Bev Godwin – Director, Center for New Media and Citizen Engagement, Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, GSA
Godwin is establishing a Center on New Media and Citizen Engagement in the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies at GSA. She recently returned to GSA after a 6-month detail to the White House Office of New Media. Prior to these posts, Godwin served as director of USA.gov and Web Best Practices for GSA and Deputy Director of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government.
Follow Bev @govnewmedia and @BevUSA.

Doug Mashkuri – Director of Business Development, GovLoop and President and Founder, Mash Digital Strategies LLC. As a member of the GovLoop team, Mashkuri works closely with government contractors to create social media marketing programs that focus on best practices, contextual marketing, and provide the GovLoop government community with timely, relevant product and services information.

Get event details and register

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Special Event: Social Media in the Federal Community

MarketConnections — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:02:04 +0000

Join us for a networking breakfast event to discuss the findings of Market Connections’ highly anticipated Federal Community Social Media Study. Expert analyst John Kagia will present the study findings, followed by a panel discussion with experts from government and the contracting industry. Market Connections President and CEO Lisa Dezzutti will moderate the panel. Attendees will leave this event with at least three ideas they can implement immediately in the office.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010
8:00 a.m. Networking and breakfast
8:30 -10:00 a.m. Presentation of survey findings and panel discussion
The Tower Club, Tysons Corner
8000 Towers Crescent Drive
Vienna, VA 22182

Attendees will:

Take a closer look at which agencies are using social media to connect with their communities
Find out what agencies and contractors perceive as opportunities, challenges, and risks
Learn what agency employees feel they need in order to adopt more social media usage
See how organizations serving the federal government use social media to connect with these audiences

Why LinkedIn, Why Now, by Mark Amtower

Listen to Market Connections’ John Kagia discuss the 2010 Social Media Study findings on Federal News Radio.

More about the 2010 Social Media Study.

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Best Practices for Researchers: E-mail

Sarah Wholey — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:46:04 +0000

A recent session at Marketing Research Association’s Annual Meeting highlighted different laws that affect market researchers. A session exploring the possible perils for companies involved in B2B research outlined laws regarding sending communications (telephone, fax, or e-mail), data security, privacy, and trade secrets.

There are several laws regarding sending unsolicited communications via fax and e-mail. They are the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991(TCPA), the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 (JFPA).

The TCPA and JFPA refer specifically to commercial messages delivered via telephone and fax. The CAN-SPAM Act defines commercial messages this way:

In general: The term “The commercial electronic mail message” means any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service (including content on an Internet website operated for a commercial purpose).
Transaction or relationship message: The term “commercial electronic mail message” does not include a transactional or relationship message.

Survey research e-mails do not fall under this commercial heading. However, since researchers are likely to be sending bulk e-mail messages, it is in our best interest to follow these best practices when sending out e-mails for research purposes:

Subject lines or e-mail headers should be accurate.
Subject lines should be non-commercial sounding.
Provide recipients with an easy way to opt out in every message sent.
Avoid HTML messages.
Use valid e-mail messages to send all messages.
Do not use BCC to send messages.
If you are using an outside company to e-mail surveys, make sure they also comply with these best practices.

These recommendations have been adapted from the MRA Email and Spam Best Practices for Survey Opinion Leaders.

Marketing research and marketing are closely related. If you also send non-research commercial messages, check out The CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business from the FTC.

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Why LinkedIn, Why Now

MarketConnections — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:28:52 +0000

If you’re still on the social media sidelines, it’s time to get into the game

In a Washington Technology column on July 6, 2010, Marketing expert and B-to-G consultant Mark Amtower uses Market Connections’ current Social Media Study to make a case for contractors to differentiate themselves with a well-thought-out social media strategy.

The current Market Connections Social Media Study indicates rapidly growing acceptance and use of social media tools by both industry and government. Amtower wrote, “Government is lagging behind, but federal agencies have more restrictions for everything. However, the study indicates the growing use of social media by 29 percent of feds and 55 percent of contractors, a huge increase over the previous year.”

According to the Market Connections study, only 19 percent of the companies using social media have a strategy or social media policy in place. “You need to devise a well-thought-out social media strategy with an intelligent policy behind it,” Amtower wrote. “Then you need to establish some initial goals and start measuring the effectiveness of various platforms. Create your benchmarks along the way, and if you use the tools properly, you will see some measurable gains.”

Read Mark Amtower’s full article.

More about the Social Media Study.

Listen to Market Connections Research Manager John Kagia discuss the 2010 Social Media Study findings on Federal News Radio.

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Lockheed Martin and Market Connections Present Cyber Security Study Findings

MarketConnections — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:59:50 +0000

Webinar details government attitudes on cloud computing

The Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance and Market Connections presented the webinar Securing Data in the Cloud on June 23, 2010. The live event shared findings from a recent research study of federal government IT decision-makers and influencers involved specifically in cyber-related activities. The presentation detailed awareness of and attitudes on cloud computing and cyber security in federal agencies, in addition to considerations when moving to a cloud computing environment.

Download a PDF of the slide presentation.

View a recording of the webinar.

Speakers included:

Melvin Greer, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Solutions’ (IS&GS) Cloud Computing Strategist, moderated the session.
Cynthia Poole, Director of Research Services and expert analyst at Market Connections, presented the results of the research study commissioned by the Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance.
John Pescatore, Gartner Vice President, Distinguished Analyst and Cyber Security expert, provided additional insights on security considerations and best practices for government agencies moving to a cloud computing environment.

Download the related white paper, “Awareness, Trust and Security to Shape Government Cloud Adoption.”

More on the Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance.

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Federal Community Social Media Study

MarketConnections — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:04:49 +0000

You don’t want to miss the highly anticipated 2010 Federal Community Social Media Study, a comprehensive look at the use of social media among federal agencies and their suppliers.

Highlights include:

Government agency perceived challenges, risks, and opportunities
What agency employees feel they need in order to adopt more social media usage
How organizations that serve the federal government use social media to connect with these audiences

And much more! This government market research serves as an excellent benchmark for social media usage in the federal community prior to the Obama administration defining its policy towards Web 2.0 technologies in the fall of 2009.

Visit www.marketconnectionsinc.com/socialmedia for more details and a peek at the contents. Download your copy and start enhancing your social media strategies today!

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Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance Presents: Securing Data in the Cloud

MarketConnections — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:36:16 +0000

Webcast Wednesday, June 23, 2010
12:00 noon ET/11:00 a.m. CT/9:00 a.m. PT
Register online now

Lockheed Martin, in conjunction with its Cyber Security Alliance members, Government Executive Magazine and Market Connections, Inc., will share the results of a research study measuring awareness and attitudes on cloud computing and cyber security in federal agencies. Study respondents included federal government IT decision-makers and influencers involved specifically in cyber-related activities. The report represents feedback from all military and intelligence branches, in addition to a representative sample of civilian agencies.

Join the live webcast featuring:

A snapshot of cloud computing adoption in U.S. federal government, defense/military and intelligence agencies
Analysis of trust levels related to cloud computing, outsourcing and different delivery models
Discussion of specific cloud computing and cyber security concerns and governance issues
Recommendations to help government agencies prepare to adopt, secure and manage cloud computing

Cynthia Poole, Director of Research Services at Market Connections, will present the results of a recent Cyber Security research study commissioned by The Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance.

Melvin Greer, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Services’ (IS&GS) Cloud Computing Strategist, will moderate the session and share information about the value of the Alliance to the federal government.

Gartner Vice President, Distinguished Analyst and Cyber Security expert John Pescatore will provide additional insights on security considerations and best practices for government agencies moving to a cloud computing environment.

Register online now

Preview the survey results! Download the white paper, “Awareness, Trust and Security to Shape Government Cloud Adoption.”

More on the Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance.

View related article.

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