How You Can Use Social Media for Crowdsourcing
Most people cannot even remember what the world looked like before social media. It is such a powerful tool that allows people to connect with each other, but that also enables businesses to connect with consumers. Obviously, this is highly beneficial, as it gives companies unprecedented access to what their customers feel and think. Social media always intended to be a type of crowdsource software, and that is exactly what it has achieved.
What Is Crowdsourcing?
Crowdsourcing is all about what the social web, now known as web2.0, stands for. Very simply put, it is about asking fans and followers to make suggestions on ideas, content, or design in return for a certain initiative. This gives you more insight into what people want, while at the same time improving customer interaction and relation. Crowdsourcing is about being interactive and engaging, which is beneficial for everybody involved. So how do you use social media for this?
Steps to a Crowdsourcing Social Media Campaign
- Start the conversation. That is what social media is all about, after all: conversation. Simply broadcasting on TV, radio, or printed media is no longer enough to build loyal customers. Through crowdsourcing, however, you can. Best of all, it comes in many different ways (everyone gets a prize, only one winner is chosen, the prize is recognition, and so on), but they are always popular. Plus, you can use it even if you don’t want to create something new, but simply want to hear what other people think.
The example: you create beauty products and ask your customers to create a video in which they talk about it, or use it. This means you will receive lots of content for free that you can use on a range of social media platforms. At the same time, you get to hear what people really think. It’s a win-win situation, because consumers like to be recognized and you like to hear what they think.
- Use the space. There really is no more perfect space for crowdsourcing than social media. It is relaxed and has encouraged people to look for things that they are interested in and join in on conversations. The hashtag idea, for instance, means people can literally search for a subject that they like, and start talking with many others about it. This means that, while you should put some effort into finding some followers, many of them will actually automatically find you, so long as you talk about something that’s interesting (trending topics on Facebook are a good place to start!).
That really is all there is to it. Social media is free, more than one billion active individual users are found in this virtual reality, and they all have things to say. That is something you can and should use to your advantage in any way you can. Your customers will really appreciate it and, just by listening to them, you will instantly create a stronger following.