When we think of developing and cultivating our Social Network, we think of promoting our cause or product, driving traffic, increasing visibility, growing our customer base and strengthening our brands. But in addition to all of these, Social Networking is also a powerful tool to obtain information form large groups of people before we take that big plunge with our product or service. I am talking about using Social Networking as a Focus Group. Below are three scenarios of ways to utilize Social Networking without spending much money. In fact, what you will learn in your journey of discovery will probably far exceed the information you were originally looking for, leading to other ideas and opportunities.

Newbie Testing the Waters

If you are new to Social Media, and are thinking of launching a new product, the Internet can become your best tool to gauge the interest without investing thousands of dollars in market research. For fun, let’s say you are considering opening an online store for a new Thai cookbook series you want to write and publish. The amount of money it is going to take to get the series written professionally, printed and published is half of your retirement funds. You are sure you have the skills and tenacity to see your series through, and know that family members often compliment your writing of recipes.  Even though you have the passion and the drive, your still not sure the market is there.  Doing some Blog exploring could be a great way for you to see what types of Foodies are out there.  Googling Thai Food Blogs can bring up a list of sites to start researching. If you like what you see, you might want to take it a step further and create a free Twitter account. Be sure your profile describes you as a Thai Food Connoisseur as this will be key in attracting others interested in this topic. When I received my prototype of my kitty cat enclosure product, the Kritter Kondo, I took to Twitter and quickly generated a following of cat lovers.  As I tweeted with them and got to know their kitties, I would tweet links to pictures of my product for their feedback. Twitter and the wonderful Tweeps on Twitter is one of the reasons I had the courage to take my product to manufacturing. Engaging with Bloggers and Tweeps in your niche is an excellent and inexpensive way to generate market feedback. Congratulations, you now have your own Focus Group and hopefully some valuable information.

Already Established Looking to Add New Products

So for fun, lets assume your research analysis for your Thai recipes was encouraging, so you since launched your books and are now actively selling them on Amazon and through your Website. Congratulations! Since your Thai launch, you have developed a sweet tooth creating some fabulous desert recipes you really believe will be a hit. This is a great time to utilize that niche market of Foodies you already have and continue to grow your following.  One way to gauge a desert recipe book interest with your existing audience and customer base would be to write an E book of a few of the desert recipes.  Offer a free copy as a ‘taste’ of what’s to come with the agreement each recipient will send you feedback of the E recipes. Take to Twitter and make sure to add ‘lover of all sweets’ to your profile description and start gaining a network of desert Foodies too. Get them linked into the E book recipe giveaway so you have a fresh set of eyes on your work. If you really want to get some attention, connect with some Mommy Blogs and ask them to do a recipe product review and prepare the recipe as well. Offer to pay each $25 for their time and work.   If you do not want to spend any money, you can have them provide the recipe review, but prepare the desert and ship it to the winner as a giveaway yourself. Make sure you cook up a storm some Sunday with a few of the recipes and take photos of your masterpieces. Write an article about each and how mouth watering they are. As you naturally talk about your ideas, without heavily promoting, you will gauge the interest and either attract potential customers or realize it might not be all you thought it was. Either way the information will be invaluable.

Social Network in Place, Thinking of Additional Business

Since we are having so much fun with the recipe business, let’s assume you are in a good routine with this business now. Your hard work is paying off and orders are starting to roll in.  Your Social Network has grown, and you are all set up on Facebook, Twitter, Triberr and StumbleUpon.   More ideas start coming to you about other businesses and services. One idea that has you up at night is the thought of starting a Blogging for Foodies Conference. Before running out and renting a floor of hotel rooms and booking some famous speakers, you could send out an online survey with some key questions to find out how many people would come to your Conference.  There are many survey services for this type of questionnaire. I use iContact.com. Others include FluidSurveys.com and KiwiSurveys.com. If you’d rather have a partner in crime help you with the event using your Social Network is also an inexpensive way to find a partner or two and even volunteers or paid employees to help out. Newsletters and emails are a great way to send out invitations to invite interested individuals to get in touch with you for more information.

There are millions of people on the Internet today. Before taking that step into a new product launch or service, consider doing a test with the market groups at your fingertips. The information you discover may add to your plan and ultimately help you know exactly what your potential customers want. This can save a lot of time and money on the front end, and also create new ideas and more robust offerings on the back end.

Lisa Illman is the Publisher of http://www.krittersthattwitter.com, an online Social Media Blog for pets and the people who love them. She is also the Inventor of an outdoor cat enclosure product line, the Kritter Kondo http://kritterkommunity.com. Two adorable cats, Madison and Abigail, own Lisa; they are her inspiration for her pet products and social network.