Crowd input can help you improve your products, provide a better service or create something completely new. Let\u2019s look at some tried-and-tested crowdsourcing strategies.<\/p>\n\n
Ask the Experts<\/h2>\n\n
No one can hear you scream in space. Thankfully for NASA<\/strong>, they can hear your cries for help on Earth. On space missions, astronauts are at risk from radioactive solar storms. After 30 years trying to predict them, NASA was stumped. To bring fresh insights to the problem, the space agency posted a challenge on crowdsourcing company InnoCentive. This online \u2018solver network\u2019 boasts 400,000+ creative minds.<\/p> And one of them cracked it. A retired telecommunications engineer from New Hampshire, USA, came up with an algorithm to predict storms. It involves magnetic coupling between the sun and Earth. [1] Ah, of course!<\/p> By opening the problem to different types of expertise<\/strong>, NASA got its solution.<\/p>\n\n NASA doesn\u2019t just turn to an elite circle<\/strong> to solve issues. To stoke up interest in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), it partnered with Lego<\/strong> to make educational toys for kids. [2]<\/p> As well as strategic partnerships<\/strong>, the toymaker has its own crowdsourcing platform \u2013 Lego Ideas \u2013 which invites anyone, of any age, to submit their model ideas. For concepts that get over 10,000 votes from the online community, the inventor gets to work with Lego and make the model for real. (They also get 1% of its sales.) [3]<\/p> On Lego\u2019s Japanese site, for example, a 35,000-strong community voted to build the Hayabusa spacecraft. [4] In this way, the crowd helps Lego scope demand before they manufacture<\/strong>.<\/p> Amazon Studios<\/strong> also sounds out interest before hitting play on a production. Customers can stream free-to-watch TV pilots which they then rate – and Amazon only commissions the favorite shows for a full season.<\/p> But Amazon takes crowdsourcing further by inviting customers to collaborate. Its innovation community<\/strong> lets people feed back on scripts, storyboards and test-footage. [5] And anybody can submit scripts and concept videos to create one of its shows.<\/p> For example, it recently turned a TV show script \u2018Blackburn Burrow\u2019 into a digital comic for feedback on what people thought about the story. As screenwriter Jay Levy says, \u201cThis way, [Amazon] begin to get actual feedback about the story and will create something that people really get invested in.\u201d [6]<\/p> By getting input from the crowd, Amazon goes around the traditional, time-consuming development process and lessens the chance of making a big-budget flop.<\/p>\n\n You know those small tasks that take up your team\u2019s time and creative energy? To avoid them, many organizations turn to crowdsourcing marketplaces such as Amazon\u2019s Mechanical Turk<\/strong> for data entry, surveys, moderating content and more.<\/p> On them, you can post \u2018micro-jobs\u2019 and a network of online workers bid for, then complete tasks for a \u2018micro-fee\u2019. [7] That way, companies get these small jobs done faster and cheaper<\/strong> than tasking teams, recruiting new staff or finding a traditional freelancer.<\/p> But it\u2019s not just grunt work these marketplaces are good for. To stay fresh with America\u2019s eating habits, USFoods<\/strong> uses MTurk workers to research competitors\u2019 menus. Medical trainers C-SATS<\/strong> let surgeons upload videos for experts to give feedback on. And AI experts Bai du Research<\/strong> test computer-generated voices on real people to see if they help or freak them out. [8]<\/p> In this way, managers can take the strain off their teams by breaking complex projects into more manageable parts.<\/p>\n\n Because there are always new bugs to fix and ways to make apps easier to use, the software sector has crowdsourced from the beginning.<\/p> That\u2019s why many software companies have an ‘open source’ model<\/strong> that lets anyone see, update and improve upon their code. Apache OpenOffice<\/strong>, for instance, is free-to-use office software with an open development process. That means anyone can report bugs, request new features and enhance the user experience.<\/p> But you don\u2019t have to be a coder to influence apps. Some businesses are carried by the crowd. Like the community-based GPS traffic app Waze<\/strong>. Over 90 million users report real-time info such as police traps, traffic jams and the cheapest gas stations on your route. [9]<\/p> With so much competition in the software industry, organizations realize that direct input from customers is often more valuable than protecting a patent.<\/p> For decades, advertisers have crowdsourced the thoughts and feelings of potential customers through focus groups. Modern forms of opinion gathering include online surveys and user reviews.<\/p> But now companies can go further with social media. Ben & Jerry’s<\/strong> regularly asks customers to come up with its new flavors. And owner Unilever<\/strong> even asks customers to make its advertising.<\/p> Not only is this far cheaper than hiring an ad agency, but studies show that user-generated content<\/strong> (UGC) is more relevant and impactful than traditional ads. In a recent survey, 86% of millennials said UGC is a good indicator of the quality of a brand. [10] Unilever will show the 13 best customer-made brand films at the 2019 London Film Festival. And the winner will walk away with \u00a37,000. [11]<\/p> By inviting customers to carry its brands, Unilever is aiming for long-term customers over instant sales. That leads to ambassadors with genuine enthusiasm<\/strong> who offer word-of-mouth marketing more powerful than any poster.<\/p>\n\n Convinced by the crowd? Here are our top five tips to crowdsource effectively.<\/p> By crowdsourcing, you\u2019ll step into the unknown, face uncertainty and new ways of working. But organizations from all types of industry show that it\u2019s a risk worth taking. <\/p> . <\/p>Find the Right Fit<\/h2>\n\n
![\"Movie](\"https:\/\/nova-live.imgix.net\/\/migration-ABeginnersGuidetoCrowdsourcingIMGB2.jpg?q=60&fm=webp&w=700&h=394\")
Invite Innovation<\/h2>\n\n
Break It Up!<\/h2>\n\n
Code for Success<\/h2>\n\n
![\"Times](\"https:\/\/nova-live.imgix.net\/\/migration-ABeginnersGuidetoCrowdsourcingIMGB3.jpg?q=60&fm=webp&w=700&h=394\")
Let the Masses Do Your Marketing<\/h2>\n\n
How to Crowdsource<\/h2>\n\n