What is the difference between Online Panels VS Online Communities?

 An online panel is a group of respondents within a specific population that have agreed to take part in surveys or other forms of research. This could be via email, but more and more often they will comprise web-based panels where members log on and complete the tasks through their internet browser. There are many examples of online panels such as Nexis UK , Survey Sampling International (SSI) , i-Say Panel etc…

Online communities can be social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc... But also include forums, chat rooms and so on. The main difference between an online community and an online panel is how it's members join. If they join through signing up because they were invited email, then it is likely to be an online panel. If they join through a social media site, then it's likely to be an online community. Both Online panel and Research Communities are an important part of market research industry.

The examples of panels are the NOP World , Populus Live Panel and Sky Broadband .

An example of a company that offers social networking for customers is Tesco Clubcard .

The main three benefits of using panels are:

1) They can be highly targeted - because you have agreed your details with them, they know who your demographic is. Therefore you may not get too many people from other demographics taking part in your research. Also, by targeting you only receive the surveys which are relevant to what interests you, thus increasing response rates.2) Panels have said that because every member has selected their details from a wider population, by only receiving the surveys which are relevant to them, this increases response rates as they feel more connected and help matters move along faster.3) Panels claim that because their members have already given out personal information to take part in research, trust has been built up between members. This means that people will be more favourable towards completing further surveys for other companies/panels.

The main three benefits of using online communities are:

1) Online communities can build a relationship with each other and help each other out - good examples of this is the Ecosia community where community managers regularly switch on chat so that everyone can communicate better or if you look at Tesco's Clubcard page, every now and again they will hold question and answer sessions with the community. This is great for customer engagement as it makes them feel like they are engaging with the brand, increasing their brand loyalty to the company/brand.

2) Online communities allow members to create profiles where other members can view their details - this is a really good way of getting to know customers on a more personal level because you should have all of their information including things such as where they live, what day they 'receive' newsletter etc... Plus it's easy marketing as you can send out targeted emails based on this information.3) Forums are free-to-use, unlike panels which require payment for each survey your complete - because you are not paying for every survey that you complete online, you may be more inclined to complete several surveys for different companies, thus increasing response rates.

These are the main difference between online panel and research communities. There are some clear benefits in using both types of communities. Panels usually only want the data that is used for research purposes where as an online community can use this information when marketing products to customers, creating loyalty etc…