Media & Social Media Research at a glance
Media & social media research shows where your target audience actually spends time, what content and formats they consume, and which channels make sense for your goals. You’ll get a solid data foundation for your media mix, content strategy, and investment prioritisation – without “shooting in the dark”. We deliver outputs in a form you can use immediately for campaign planning, content planning, and collaboration with agencies and internal teams.
Quick summary:
- where your audience consumes content (media, platforms, formats)
- how behaviour differs by segment (age, needs, situations)
- the role channels play in the path to purchase (inspiration → consideration → action)
- what topics people care about – and what turns them off
- which formats work (video/shorts, articles, podcasts, influencer content…)
- priority recommendations: what to do now vs. later
- inputs for media plan, content plan, and messaging
- option to follow up with communication audience research → EN_PAGE_PLACEHOLDER | CZ source: /cz/sluzby/komunikace-a-media/cilove-skupiny-komunikace/]
- option to connect it with brand perception & evaluation research
- outputs in a clear format for marketing and management
What you’ll get out of it
- Clarity on where to invest – which channels and platforms make the most sense for your goals, and which don’t.
- A real picture of your audience’s media habits – how people combine media and social networks during a typical week (and what that means for planning).
- Content grounded in reality – topics, formats, and “hooks” that keep people watching/reading – or make them drop off.
- Segment breakdown – differences between groups (e.g., generations, needs, situations) so you’re not planning for the “average”.
- Priorities and recommendations – what to do now, what to test, and what you can safely park.
- Materials for your team and agencies – outputs in a format that can go straight into media and content plans.
When it’s worth looking into media and social networks
Media & social media research makes sense when you need to make channel and content decisions based on real audience behaviour – typically when building or revisiting a communication strategy (see also Communication & media services), planning your media mix, setting a content plan, entering a new platform, or when campaigns underperform and you don’t know whether the issue is channels, formats, or messaging.
It’s a strong fit for brands and teams that want to prioritise budget and effort (marketing/brand, digital & performance, content/social, PR) and also need clear materials for agency collaboration and management decisions. If you also need to go deeper into who you’re talking to and how, you can follow up with communication audience research.
What we examine and what you get (outputs you can actually use)
We map your target audience’s media and social behaviour and turn it into clear planning recommendations. In practice, that means:
- what types of media your audience follows, how often, and in what situations
- which social networks and platforms they use, for what, and what they expect there
- which content formats they genuinely consume (video/shorts, articles, podcasts, etc.) – and what they mostly ignore
- which topics and needs your audience is actually dealing with – what attracts them and what pushes them away
- the role each channel plays in the decision journey (inspiration → validation → action)
- how behaviour differs between segments (so you’re not planning for “the average”)
- a map of your audience’s channels and platforms + priority recommendations (what to amplify/limit)
- recommendations for media mix (channel roles, strong combinations, where to invest)
- a content map of topics and formats with the highest potential
- recommendations for content and tone of voice (how to speak, what to avoid, what to test)
- a clear report with conclusions and priorities (not just tables)
Why NMS (and why this won’t be just a “nice report”)
We design solutions tailored to each client: an individual proposal based on your needs and goals.
- Experience – NMS builds on 20+ years of research practice.
- Methodological confidence – we combine approaches based on your brief and target audience (quantitative and qualitative).
- Professional grounding – membership in professional organisations (ESOMAR, SIMAR, etc.) is a long-standing quality standard on the NMS website.
Some of our happy clients
Questions and answers
What is media and social media research?
It’s research that describes where and how your audience consumes media and content, which platforms they use, and what that means for channel and format choices.
When is it worth investing in?
When you’re deciding on media mix/content, building a strategy, targeting a specific audience, or want to stop “testing blindly”.
What outputs will I get?
Typically: a map of channels and platforms, content insights, segment differences, plus recommendations for priorities and planning.
Is it mainly about social media, or other media too?
Both – the goal is to understand the full media context of the target audience and the role of each channel.
What’s the difference vs. communication target group research?
Media/social focuses mainly on where and how people consume content, while communication audience research goes deeper into motivations, barriers, segments/personas, and messaging.
Can we follow up with brand research?
Yes – if you’re looking at communication impact on brand, it makes sense to connect it with brand perception & evaluation research.
What if we already have platform data (GA4, Meta, Google Ads)?
That’s a great base, but it won’t answer the “why” and it often won’t capture the audience’s full media picture. Research adds decision context and segment differences.
