How Facebook can help the market research industry find fresh, authentic and representative consumers based on demonstrated rather than claimed behaviour.

1. How Behavioural Recruitment
can refresh the qualitative
research industry
How Facebook can help us move towards a more
sustainable, fresh and authentic way to find the right people
in qualitative research
Tom Woodnutt – Founder, Feeling Mutual Hugh Carling – Founder, Liveminds

2. Results can’t be right if recruitment is wrong
The research industry needs to improve the way participant recruitment works
to enhance the authenticity of the people we research. There are a number of
flaws in the traditional database recruitment process which conspire to increase
the risk that research participants are not as representative as they could be.
We’re not saying all traditional recruitment is flawed and dishonest but Research
on Recruitment 2017 suggests there’s enough bad recruitment happening that
new models should be considered.
Behavioural Recruitment
What people do, not just what they say they do
Behavioural Recruitment is a way of finding the right people to take part in
research based on what they actually do, not just what they say they do. It uses
hyper-targeted Facebook advertising to fish from an ocean of potential people
who haven’t done research before. This increases the chances that you invite the
right people, who are genuinely on spec. and fresh to the process.
Before explaining how it works and sharing some examples, we’re going to first
analyse the problem in more detail and share some of the Research on
Recruitment 2017 findings.

3. Quality of sample is a big issue
The GRIT Report 2016 Q3-Q4 showed that Sample / Panel Quality is the second
most important issue in research study design (after trust in the results) as
recognised by both researchers and clients.
According to the GRIT Report 2017 Q1-Q2, traditional approaches to recruitment
are getting worse - 47% of insights buyers and 42% of research providers
thought that sample quality was getting worse.
We wanted to understand this problem in more detail, so we commissioned
Sketchbook consulting to do further research.

4. Participant quality is the biggest challenge
Qualityofparticipants
Base: All UK-based participants - 100
Overlydemandingclients
Unclearclientbriefs
Costofresearch
Poorlyrunviewingfacilities
Client'strustinresults
Unclearclientsupplied
stimulus
Poorlydesignedplatforms
Applicationofresults
Timeresearchtakes
Flawedmethods/approaches
Slowadoptionofnew
methods
The Research on Recruitment 2017
findings echoed the GRIT report 2016
Q3-Q4 with ‘Quality of participants’
seen as the number one challenge
facing the qualitative research industry
today.

5. Horror stories…
As part of the study, researchers shared their bad recruitment experiences,
which clustered around three issues:
● Lack of fit between participants and recruitment spec - such as the
bald man in a shampoo group
● Lying ‘professional participants’ - such as the woman with a cushion
under her jumper pretending to be pregnant
● Disengaged participants - such as the man who politely excused himself
to go to the toilet, having taken the incentive, never to return
Although extreme, these examples make us question how frequently the wrong
people are included in research studies. The credibility and integrity of research
is threatened if participant recruitment is not effective.

6. Researchers want better participants
Base: All UK-based participants - 100
Betterfitbetweensample
&recruitmentcriteria
Moremotivatedparticipants
Fewerrepeatrespondents
&professionalparticipants
Morereliableparticipants
Morearticulateparticipants
Fasterrecruitment
Betterprojectmanagement
Morefrequent/accurateupdates
onprojectprogress
Moretransparentsourcingof
participants
Better Service
Better
Participants

7. Quality matters more than speed & cost
Accuratefitbetweensample
&recruitmentcriteria
Participantsarereliable
Participantsaremotivated
Responsiveprojectmanagement
byrecruitmentpartner
Participantsarearticulate
Receiveregularandaccurate
updatesonprojectprogress
Fewerrepeatparticipants
Recruitmentiscompletedquickly
Recruitmentischeap
Base: All UK-based participants - 100
Price & speed
were deemed
less relevant.
What is effective recruitment?
Most researchers in our sample want:
1. Accurate fit between sample and recruitment criteria
2. Reliable participants
3. Motivated participants

8. We rely on what people say, not what they do
Sorry boss,
I’m ill - can’t come
to work today
Firstly, we’ve had to rely entirely on what people say, not what they actually do.
Our research revealed,
More than half of researchers believe too
many participants lie to get recruited
We believe there are three key systemic factors which increase the risk of low
quality recruitment when using traditional approaches.
More than half of researchers believe some
recruiters encourage participants to lie
We aren’t saying all recruiters and participants lie - we’re saying the current
system allows it. Under-pressure recruiters are in a position to help professional
participants say the ‘right’ thing, as there is very little transparency in these
interactions.
And when you consider GreenBook’s recent revelation that participants primary
motivation is 5X more likely to be money than any other factor, the incentive for
professional participants to lie is clear.

9. We limit ourselves to the same small pools of
participants
Secondly, the same small pools are being relentlessly over fished. Our research
revealed,
More than half of researchers have seen
repeat respondents in different research
projects in the last year
Data protection means that repeat offenders cannot be identified across
databases - this problem cannot be monitored or regulated. The high level of
human interaction across the chain - which can be very long, particularly for
international recruitment - also creates the opportunity for lying and error.
There’s little transparency so it’s very hard to regulate and relies on trust and
goodwill.
Participants become more professional and
less naturally representative

10. Most researchers in the study agreed that professional participants are a
problem. Although perhaps worryingly, some don’t.
But what actually are the problems with being given professional participants?
Professional participants are a problem
Base: All UK-based participants - 100

11. Professional participants - pro’s & con’s
Those researchers who don’t see professional participants as a problem may say
so because of the practical benefits. They:
● Are quicker and easier to find
● Understand the research process
● Are seen to be more likely to turn up
Because they’re so research-literate it’s easier to have a constructive, affirmative
discussion. But it doesn’t mean they should be there just because they make the
research process easier.
The problems with professional participants are that they:
● Can be too familiar with the research process - such as the participant
who interrupted the moderator and suggested they really should be doing
a personification exercise.
● Are more likely to lie when recruited - because they know what to say
and they’re focused on doing whatever they can to get in the study.
● Are more likely to lie in the research - people who have done lots of
groups start to think like marketers and do not represent the average
person.
Base: All UK-based participants - 100

12. To us, the solution is simple…
Facebook now has over 2.2 billion users around the world, in 190 countries. This
is well over 100X the size of even the biggest quantitative panels.
Reach 2.2 billion people
Use Facebook’s ocean of people, rather than fishing in those small finite pools of
regular respondents.

13. Accurate fit based on real behavioural data
Cast your line exactly where it’s needed, based on the network’s incomparable
behavioural data, rather than relying on what fallible humans have said.
Fresh to research
The greater reach means that participants are typically fresh to research, so you
get the views of real consumers rather than conditioned responses.

14. What Facebook knows about us…
On average we spend 55 minutes a day on Facebook reading, watching, sharing,
commenting, liking, reacting, clicking and posting, and every single one of those
behaviours goes into building their understanding of us.
In a recent study, Stanford professor Michael Kosinski revealed that a computer
model based simply on Facebook likes, knew more about its subjects than their
closest friends and family.
And also this…
But ‘Likes’ are just 1 of 98 different data points collected on users, from the TV
shows we watch to our international traveling habits.

15. From what we do on Facebook…
And 10 million websites with this button…

16. How does Behavioural Recruitment work?
Here’s how we find the right people, engage with them, screen them and then
deliver the best participants.
Step One
You share your research criteria.

17. Step Two
We research Facebook’s vast dataset on users to determine the complexity of
the recruit and give you a quote. When you accept the estimate...
Step Three
We’ll use that same targeting based on demographics, interests and behaviours
to reach the audience we need to see our adverts.

18. Step Four
We place a range of adverts in the News Feed of that hyper-targeted audience,
A/B testing c.50 versions of the ads to find the best approach for that audience.
Step Five
People interested in taking part click through to a landing page with more
detailed information about us, the project and how their data will be used.

19. Step Six
If they’re still keen, they go on to take the screener. The screener sits inside our
Facebook application, ensuring that we get minimal drop out along this process.
Step Seven
In qual projects, if applicants pass the screener, their responses are fed into a
dynamic spreadsheet where we’ll review them and prioritise the best.

20. Step Eight
We then check their public Facebook profile, which they have given consent to
share with us.
Step Nine
Finally, we contact each by phone and invite the best to take a qualification test
where we can evaluate their comprehension, creativity and technical ability.

21. Finding affluent, tech savvy, travellers in the US
Finding frequent flyers in France, Italy & UK
We then check their public Facebook profile, which they have given us consent to
share with us.
For Virgin Hyperloop One - Facebook logs users precise location whenever they
use the service so we targeted invites directly at frequent travellers and
combined that with tech interests.
For a low cost airline - We used geo-targeted adverts to find people thinking of
buying air tickets with access to particular airports.

22. Finding specific segments globally
Finding Generation Z who love music videos
For The Box Plus Network - Facebook knows what music genres users enjoy and
the videos they watch so we targeted invites at fans of music videos and the
network’s channels in particular.
For a global snack brand - We used interest targeted adverts to find people
based on specific consumer segments.

23. Reach
Freshness
Accuracy
BehaviouralTraditional
The benefits of Behavioural Recruitment
Small Pool
Claimed
Behaviour
Repeat
Respondents
Vast Ocean
Real
Behaviour
Fresh
Participants
feelingmutual.com liveminds.com
In summary, we believe Behavioural Recruitment addresses the three biggest
criticisms leveled at traditional recruitment:
● Superior reach - meaning we recruit from the vast oceans of Facebook
rather than the limited pools of traditional recruiter databases.
● More accurate - as we are inviting people based on what they do not just
on what they claim.
● Far fresher - since it involves people who have never done research
before, and cuts out repeat respondents and professional participants.
If you’d like to find out more click here to visit liveminds.com