The future of marketing: 7 critical applications of crowdsourcing
On October 25 in New York City I will run a workshop on Crowdsourcing for Marketing in Enterprise & Agencies as part of the global Crowdsourcing Week workshop series. The following day I will run a workshop that is highly complementary, on Crowdsourcing for Media and Content.
Following on from the broad-based first edition of Getting Results From Crowds, one of the most important topics I have been delving into is the application of crowdsourcing to marketing. The New York workshop will go into the topic in detail, including the primary applications, extensive case studies, industry perspectives, analysis of crowdsourced marketing platforms, approaches to building your own crowds, effective strategies for creative agencies to tap the rise of crowdsourcing, and more.
Just as the field of crowdsourcing is far broader than most people appreciate (with 22 categories in our Crowdsourcing Landscape), there are many ways in which crowdsourcing can be applied to marketing.
There are 7 major applications of crowdsourcing to marketing:
1. Content creation
Generating marketing content such as videos, images, or copy.
2. Idea generation
Creating ideas to identify or develop marketing initiatives.
3. Product development
Identifying insights to enhance existing products or develop new ones.
4. Customer insights
Gathering customer perspectives on current or potential products or marketing initiatives.
5. Customer engagement
Building greater participation and affiliation with the brand and company.
6. Customer advocacy
Tapping customers to spread word to their personal networks about products or services.
7. Pricing
Gaining insights on attitudes to possible pricing strategies.
The workshop we will go into detail into these applications, including examples, case studies, and lessons into successful approaches in each category. One of the additional chapters in the Second Edition of Getting Results From Crowds covers these issues as part of a broader view of crowdsourcing in marketing.
Perhaps the most important aspect of this list is understanding that crowdsourcing will be at the heart of all marketing activities. It is about the co-creation of the brand with customers. You can no longer foist yourself on customers. Co-creating your products and brand with the crowd, with your customers, is a large part of the future of marketing.
If you’d like to register for the New York Crowdsourcing for Marketing workshop, use the code FRIENDS40 to get a 40% discount.
