Designing a process to make a decision
Every great idea begins with a spark—a question that drives curiosity and opens the door to possibility. For us, that question was: When should micro-influencers start monetizing their services?
This project set out to do more than just answer that question. It was about designing a process—a way to harness the value of survey data, reach the right audience, and extract meaningful insights that can drive informed decisions. By leveraging LinkedIn polls, we created a framework to transform scattered responses into actionable clarity.
But the magic wasn’t just in the survey itself. It was in the strategy behind it: using data as a tool to solve ambiguous problems, uncover hidden patterns, and provide businesses with a roadmap for smarter decision-making. This project serves as a blueprint for how anyone can turn raw data into a mechanism for driving value, shaping ideas, and sharing their story with impact.
What We Did: A Strategic, Structured Approach
The heart of the project involved strategically deploying a surveys across carefully selected LinkedIn groups. These groups were chosen based on their focus on influencer marketing, content strategy, and professional engagement. By distributing the same survey across these diverse communities, we captured a broad range of perspectives while ensuring relevance to the topic.
The survey asked participants a focused, measurable question:
“When do you believe micro-influencers should start monetizing their services?”
Respondents were given four follower thresholds to choose one from:
1,500–2,999 followers
3,000–4,999 followers
5,000–9,999 followers
10,000+ followers
Targeting Audiences With Intentionality
Selecting the right LinkedIn groups was crucial to the project’s success. The survey was strategically distributed to a mix of:
Large, generalist communities (e.g., Social Media Today) to maximize reach.
Smaller, niche groups (e.g., Big Data and Analytics) to capture more specialized input.
This structured solution ensured the results could be compared and analyzed effectively. Leveraging LinkedIn’s platform allowed us to tap into a professional audience and utilize its built-in engagement tools, transforming a straightforward feature into a powerful research mechanism.
Capturing and Measuring Engagement
We gathered critical data points from each LinkedIn group to understand both visibility and participation:
Votes: Direct responses from participants, reflecting engagement.
Impressions: The total number of people who viewed the poll, providing insights into reach.
This project’s intentional design ensured a balance between broad exposure and focused relevance. The resulting dataset reflected diverse professional perspectives, which could then be analyzed independently by group to uncover meaningful insights.
This project demonstrates the value of leveraging tools to gather data—like surveys—in a deliberate, strategic way. While posting a survey might seem simple, it’s the thoughtful execution that makes it powerful.
Designing a Framework: The survey question was crafted to provide structured, measurable data.
Reaching the Right Audiences: By targeting specific groups, we ensured the input was both broad and meaningful.
Creating Actionable Insights: By connecting impressions and votes we uncovered patterns that go beyond individual metrics.
This approach transforms what could be an isolated activity into a systematic process for solving broader business problems.
The Outcome is A Foundation for Future Applications
The project offers a repeatable framework for addressing ambiguous questions across industries:
Structured Input Collection: Start with a clear, measurable question and deploy it to relevant audiences.
Strategic Distribution: Use intentional targeting to capture diverse perspectives and maximize engagement.
Deeper Analysis: Connect multiple data points such as reach and participation to uncover meaningful insights.
This process creates a structured approach to decision-making, bringing clarity and organization to previously ambiguous situations.
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