Crowdsourcing
Definition:
The practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the Internet.
Have you tried it? Here are a couple of examples:
A travel company was changing it's name from a sports-themed company to convey that they also provide experiential travel. They sent an email to their large database of clients, offering a weekend get-away to the one with the "winning" name.
Another company wanted a creative name for a new publication. They used a service called
SquadHelp and received over 100 suggestions (at a cost of $199, which includes $100 for the "winning" suggestion).
While there are some instances where I'd definitely recommend a professional graphic designer, marketer or ad/promotion agency, for basic ideas when you'd be brainstorming with your team anyway, crowdsourcing can be a time-saving and affordable option.
You're probably familiar with crowdfunding, such as
Kickstarter,
GoFundMe and
Indiegogo, which provide funding for new projects, companies or ideas in exchange for a sample, product or even shares in the company. Crowd
sourcing is a little different.
Looking for ideas?
Crowdsourcing can be a way to put extra heads on a problem. As in the examples above, you can pay for the service, or put the challenge out to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or email audience and provide an incentive to the "winning" submission.
- company names
- product names
- photo captions
- party themes
- data security & cleansing
- trend watching
- software testing
Before we had terms like "crowdsourcing", there were still free resources for businesses. If you're more "old school", you can find some help from these
7 Free Small Business Resources.
