Tread carefully when it comes to social opinion formers

They say there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. I’ve always felt that was a little harsh on researchers and econometricians who are trying to find form and consistency in our world to help us understand and predict outcomes.

That said the recent elections in the UK were a perfect demonstration of the good and bad in statistics. Before the polls all surveys had the outcome far too close to call, yet within minutes of the exit polls a Conservative win was being called and just a few hours into the results the outright majority they needed to form a government. Suddenly we had gone from all of the talk about who would have the power in a coalition to a single party holding the choices.

And there’s the thing. The pollsters were vilified but they can only work with the data they are given. Maybe samples weren’t as good and reflective of the population as they could have been. Maybe people simply changed their minds on the day, no doubt someone will do the research and produce a report. Even more concerning was the social media reaction to the result. Yet more statistics were bandied around claiming that the electoral system is unrepresentative despite an electoral reform referendum being held and rejected just four years previously.

Social media is hugely democratising but it comes with no duty or responsibility. There’s no accountability. The perfect example is a much-shared photo of champagne being delivered to the chancellors’ house with ironic comments about ‘so much for austerity’. When the photo’s provenance showed it had been taken the last time the labour government was formed, no apology was asked for or offered.

You may we ask what has this got to do with marketing but I would suggest marketers need to tread carefully when supporting social media opinion formers. All those eyeballs might not be seeing what you want.

Social media is hugely democratising but it comes with no duty or responsibility. There’s no accountability. The perfect example is a muchshared photo of champagne being delivered to the chancellors’ house with ironic comments about ‘so much for austerity’.