Crowdsourced

In 2007, a well-known app called Waze was discovered by an Israeli and Palo-Alto based developer. The company went on to expand its boundaries globally, becoming a popular means by which to avoid traffic all throughout America. The most outstanding and quite sensational part of their story is that, due to crowdsourcing, Waze changed the way people made their commute. It is truly a model of successful crowdsourcing, and it defines ways in which people can use crowdsourcing as a tool to grow their community, their brand, and their efficiency.

Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining information pertaining to a certain product or subject that is gathered via a large group of people, who can be paid or non-paid. This mostly takes place online and via social media. Companies such as Aerie, Starbucks, and Airbnb have all had successful use of the practice of crowdsourcing and continue to crowdsource even to this day. Participants in the aforementioned companies have all been voluntary, which is an excellent way of reaching a bigger market, as your contributors are internally motivated and can reach audiences you might not have otherwise.

Waze is well known for crowdsourcing, as the company nearly relies on audience participation to continue further use of its app. To further explain, Waze is akin to GoogleMaps. It gives direction on how to get to a specific location. It allows you to plan trips, rest stops, and meal stops. It even will point out the nearest gas station that has the cheapest gas. Most importantly, and I’m sure this is the manner in which it was most actively used, it allows drivers to know ahead of time when traffic is ahead of them, and it reroutes them to a faster route.

As I live outside the city and commute through it, the app was most certainly my miracle for getting to work on time, on several occasions. Users of Waze simply input into the app when they were experiencing traffic due to closed streets due to traffic, parades and other events, or construction. From there, the app would reroute drivers behind you, so they would not get stuck as well, and ultimately it kept traffic flowing. Waze was constantly updating with traffic information, and therefore the directions on your app are constantly changing. I discovered shortcuts, streets, and complete neighborhoods around the city that I had no idea existed. Everyone used it, including uber drivers, who claimed to get better tips when they used it.

The app took over the entire nation until its decline in early 2020, but that was mostly due to unrelated issues. It still serves as an example of the success of crowdsourcing. Previously mentioned companies such as Starbucks and Aerie have also seen success with crowdsourcing. I have a friend who posted a picture in an Aerie swimsuit and tagged the company, and saw it featured on the official Aerie Instagram page. She was so excited by it; I continue to hear about it to this day. Pictured below is an example of crowdsourcing done by Aerie.

When Starbucks launched their “My Starbucks” crowdsourcing idea in 2008, they had no idea the type of impact it would have on their social media feed. Essentially, My Starbucks, is a way that Starbucks goers can submit your ideas for drinks and snacks you would like to see in shops. On the action website page, the logo reads, “You know what you want. So, tell us” In crowdsourcing, Starbucks not only created an open conversation between its company and its users that took interactions with the brand to a more personal level, the company now has an influx of great ideas to continue to innovate. Of course, Starbucks cannot adhere to every single idea, but the concept of truly listening to your audience carries them far.

The “My Starbucks” crowdsourcing social media tactic is so successful that, even today, it continues to be a way that Starbucks interacts with its consumers. However, it is still important to practice crowdsourcing with precaution. As you are relying on consumer interaction, it is imperative that you have some form of control over what your audience’s views about your brand. This is demonstrated clearly in the Massachusetts Bay Transit ordeal. As you can see pictured below, it didn’t end up working as successfully for them.

Massachusetts’ Bay Transit Authority Asks Audiences to Post “What They Love About It”

Guests were asked to shoe what they love about their Massachusetts Bay Transit stops, and they did just that. Guest feedback is important to have for a company, you just want to make sure that potentially negative feedback is private, and positive feedback is what other guests see.

With that said, crowdsourcing is an excellent way to get your audience involved with your brand, and it mostly is successful in doing so. It is important to retain some level of control while crowdsourcing, just as Aerie and Starbucks can monitor their feeds and choose which materials are released to the public. Through it all, crowdsourcing has shown us through WAZE, the endless possibility of connecting with your audience.