Adding Stronger Business Success With Crowdsourcing

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04.23.10

Adding Stronger Business Success With Crowdsourcing

By Roxanne Rives

It seems everywhere you go, there will be a person you meet who claims to be the "biggest fan" of a product or brand. You know, the guy that wears a compete 3 piece Nike suit with shoes every day, the office co-worker carrying a Starbucks into the office every day of the week and the family in my neighborhood that have 4 Volkswagen carsin their driveway.

Does that family know something about Volkswagen that I don't? Or are they simply the biggest fan of a specific car company just because they know it runs forever and has great safety ratings.

Any way you look at it, I noticed it, and chances are next time one of those companies ask for people to give their opinion or ideas...they will get a money making idea from one of their "biggest fans."

More companies are turning to the people that love them most for ideas on all areas of their business by creating online public contests, games and increasing consumer interaction. In 2008, Starbucks launched a major initiative to enhance their services with a website called My Starbucks Idea that polls members on decisions that would most directly impact them. Most recently, Dunkin Donuts ran a contest for fans on facebook to create their own donut flavor, the top 12 (or dozen) fans will take home $1,200, a year's supply of donuts and get to compete in a bake-off at Dunkin' Donuts headquarters in Massachusetts.

This kind of sourcing from the people that know and love your product or business can make the company that encourages fan interaction a jump ahead of the competition. Why? Because not only are they having you participate in the next big thing, but they are in a sense saying that they trust and believe in the people that make it all happen...their biggest fans! And it is because of things like this, that make social media that much more powerful than any other type of marketing.

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About the Author:
Trying out about 3 new sites per week, Roxanne has chosen Social Media as her flavor. She spends several hours a day online, with a heavy focus on Facebook and Twitter. Learning, reading and sharing with other Social Medialites, Roxanne enjoys StumbleUpon in the place of her cup of coffee every morning. Combining Reddit, Digg, Blogger and Technorati, she recommends anyone to try out several pieces of Social Media and then narrow down to a few favorites that work for you based on your needs. Check out her blog at Social Media Rox.

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