SocialQ has developed an online survey authoring and publication tool that allows researchers to ask their panellists to connect via Facebook, giving them access to demographic and psychographic information about likes, dislikes, activities and interests.

According to the company, this does away with the need to ask certain questions of the panellists themselves, while allowing researchers to find commonalities of interest between those in their sample and those who fit a specified response pattern.

“By integrating SocialQ’s data with AdInsights’ advertising effectiveness data, InsightExpress will now be able to report deeper and more relevant data points about consumers’ activities, attitudes and preferences – from favourite TV shows and sources of news, to education and political affiliations,” the companies said in a press release.

The move has been welcomed by Jon Gibs, the vice-president of analytics for digital agency Huge. “Understanding the interplay between paid and earned media is absolutely critical to our clients,” he said. “This collaboration between InsightExpress and SocialQ gives us the ability to see the impact of our paid marketing efforts on earned media and ultimately how the two spheres are connected.”

• Check out our Q&A with SocialQ founder Troy Woolley to find out more about the company’s platform.