Viewpoint: To Spin Straw into Gold? New Lessons from Consumer-Generated Content

Abstract

The author presents her views on the significance of user-generated content for marketing research. The impact of online social networks on marketing strategy is discussed, and it is noted that nearly 140 million brands have pages on the Facebook web site. The author believes that some essential features of marketing research into consumer behavior remain unaffected by technological innovations, such as the importance of analyzing qualitative data.