The advent of the Web 2.0 has brought many
benefits for both users and businesses. Through this redefinition of the world wide web, users may actively
participate in generating content and increasing its value to the greatest
extent.
This article is aimed to discuss about one
of the main pillars of Web 2.0: crowdsourcing. Thanks to
this feature, whose term was coined in 2006, firms are enabled to outsource a
specific business-related task (product/service development, research, etc.) to
the public exploiting its collective knowledge. Businesses gain a significant
cost reduction, an increase in the process’ speed and an access to a larger
talent pool (than that one available within firm’s boundaries). As a
consequence the outcome will be based on user-generated content, diversity,
democracy and meritocracy.
As Laura Lake clearly states in her article “What Is Crowdsourcing Marketing and How Is
it Used?, there are three main types of crowdsourcing.
1.
Crowfunding,
which allows people to raise funds for projects through online platforms
instead of looking for investors (in the standard way). Those platforms just
require a description of the project (often supported by a video) and display
it to the “virtual investors” that represent the crowd. Descriptive videos of
project could also be posted on socials, with the probability to produce a high
degree of engagement (comments, shares) becoming viral and enabling the
entrepreneur/firm to get the required funds and enough buzz about the idea.
2.
Crowdcontests,
through which firms may create real online contests engaging a specific target
(for example designers) to develop a specific task (design the new firm’s logo).
Contestants will submit their outputs to firms that can decide which is the best,
compensating the winner with intrinsic (recognition) or extrinsic (money)
rewards.
3.
Microtasking
that enables firms to assign “microtasks” to the crowd. For instance if the
firm needs 5000 photos that need captions, than it could assign one
photo-capture to each person.
As you
might imagine, this “crowdconcept” is strictly related to marketing, in fact
the crowd who helps you in developing a certain task represents also your
hypothetical customer base.
A relevant example of a crowdfunding campaign is that one about Veronica Mars’ film version. The latter was a popular TV series with a large and devoted fan base. Director and writer wanted to make a film version of it but unfortunately they were not able to get enough funds by themselves, so they decided to display their dream into a popular crowdfunding site: Kickstarter.
A relevant example of a crowdfunding campaign is that one about Veronica Mars’ film version. The latter was a popular TV series with a large and devoted fan base. Director and writer wanted to make a film version of it but unfortunately they were not able to get enough funds by themselves, so they decided to display their dream into a popular crowdfunding site: Kickstarter.
The result?
After having set the initial goal of $2 million, they ended up raising the
amazing sum of $4.7 million. As a reward, people who donated a certain amount
received invitations to the red carpet premiere of the film.
In
conclusion it is important to have in mind that setting a clear goal and the right
web platform to display it are not enough, since firms/entrepreneurs should
also provide clear and detailed instructions in order to avoid receiving
submissions not aligned with their expectations.
Remember: you are never alone, the crowd is just behind you :)
Remember: you are never alone, the crowd is just behind you :)
Giuliano Condorelli
Yves Zabal
https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-crowdsourcing-marketing-and-how-is-it-used-2295467
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