Crowdsource Your Perfect Event

crowd·source

ˈkroudˌsôrs/

verb

  1. obtain (information or input into a particular task or project) by enlisting the services of a number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the Internet.

Crowdsourcing allows event organizers to gain deeper insights while actively engaging attendees. For example, South by Southwest has public voters choose 30 percent of their conference sessions via an online “PanelPicker” system. Not only does this strategy give the festival organizers a better understanding of public interest, but it also allows their guests to feel more empowered and involved in the decision making process.

Here are three ways you can crowdsource your next event.

1)   Entertainment

While it’s not always sensible to let attendees vote on the entertainment portion of an event, it can be beneficial in some circumstances. For example, with events like South by Southwest or even smaller conferences, you can release a choice of speaker topics or breakout session options and allow attendees to vote on their favorites. Depending on the size and timeframe of the event, this same strategy can also work when it comes to choosing a theme, band, art display, etc.

2)   Time and Location

Crowdsourcing the time and location of large-scale events isn’t very feasible since there are so many variables beyond attendee opinion that go into making that decision. However, polling attendees and event guests on their time and location preference is perfectly acceptable – and likely appreciated.

3)   Gamification

Gamification is one the fastest growing ways to engage and excite attendees. However, without proper planning, adding games to an event can be a complete flop. Companies invest thousands in event apps that receive less than a 10 percent download rate. Organizers plan trivia games that are completely overlooked and ignored by guests. In other words, it’s not always easy to succeed with gamification – which is why it’s a perfect topic to crowdsource beforehand. Ask guests if they would be willing to download an app, which game they are most likely to play, what types of giveaways they prefer, etc. And remember to check out how we can help!

Have a crowdsourcing idea that we didn’t mention? Let us know below!