Crowdsourcing takes on many different shapes and sizes. Crowdsourcing has changed the way companies do business, gather information, complete projects and a plethora of other business related tasks. There are certain trends that are here to stay, but as crowdsourcing continues to develop and grow, there are some new trends that people need to pay attention to in the future.
Experts Turn to Crowdsourcing
Some people have questioned the quality and expertise of those who contribute to crowdsourced projects. Those people would be shocked to learn that crowdsourcing isn’t just a platform for up and comers to get their name out there. It is predicted that there will be more experts participating in crowdsourced activities and turning to crowdsourcing to help gain assistance for their own projects. The crowdSPRING article “Ten Crowdsourcing Trends for 2011,” states:
“In 2010, we already saw greater professional participation when many Brands and agencies embraced crowdsourcing and searched for new and innovative ways to purchase design, copywriting, R&D, and other services.
This trend is rapidly accelerating. For example, in a recent survey of crowdSPRING designers (conducted in 2010), 60% of the respondents reported that they had 5+ years of graphic design experience. In fact, more than 25% of survey respondents had 10+ years of graphic design experience (and 9% of the respondents had many decades of experience in the graphic design industry).”
That’s a lot of experience!
Demise of Traditional Ad Agencies
The way companies market themselves has transformed. Some companies have ditched expensive television commercial time for low-cost viral campaigns. I’ve touched on this topic in some earlier posts and discuss this point in the crowdSPRING article I mentioned above. Some companies are abandoning traditional ad agencies and replacing them with ones that are known for social campaigns that see no boundaries. In today’s marketing world, the more creative the better. Marketing isn’t cookie cutter – what works for one company is going to be completely different than what works for another. Crowdsourcing helps companies stand out from the others.
The More the Merrier
Ultimately, as time moves forward, more companies will start using crowdsourcing. One thing that we’ve noticed through starting Ideavibes is that companies and nonprofits want to use crowdsourcing. These groups are just looking for an easy, cost-effective way to implement it. That’s why we’ve developed a crowd engagement platform, where companies can store all of their projects in a centralized location for easy monitoring and up-keep. Each company has their own unique approach to crowdsourcing. All it takes is a quick Google search and you can see how companies – both big and small – have used crowdsourcing in different ways to achieve their goals.
