What Can Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok Teach Us About Crowdsourced Content?

Home , Instagram, TikTok

Here’s why you SHOULD follow the crowd in ask your people the questions at the end, rather than the other way round. Yes, you’ll hear lots of opinions, and you might not your comms and virtual events. agree with them all, but at least you’ll be listening. Audiences like to be heard, so find as many ways as you can to listen. As an events and comms professional, the chances are, you’re a pretty good communicator. You’ll know that one of Interconnect channels to improve your reach the hardest things to do in our industry is to hand the tag">mic One of the big successes of video app TikTok is how well it over to your audience. We get it. In particular, there’s been talks to other platforms. It’s seamlessly integrated with Apple a longstanding tension between the corporate world and Music for mutual benefits – and it’s so interconnected with social media, and perhaps for good reason. Just ask those Instagram that a quick search on the photo sharing app shows businesses who’ve scored an embarrassing own goal online. over 50 million posts are using the hashtag #tiktok.

Now, we’re not here to advise you on social media strategy If your comms and events aren’t interconnected, you’re – that’s not our thing. But what we do know, is that social potentially losing a captive audience of content creators, platforms are entirely built by crowdsourced content. and worse, supressing your scope for scale. Every event and And they’re undeniably successful. piece of comms should talk to the next (and the last). If you’re crowdsourcing photos on Yammer, tell people through Teams. So, how can you use some of the principles of social If you’re crowdsourcing ideas, broadcast them on a podcast. media to improve your virtual events and communications? If you’re building an army of vloggers, tell all your bloggers. Here’s four ways to create collaborative, compelling Interconnected channels will increase your reach and create crowdsourced content. As always, it’s never about you. sustained scale. It’s about your audience. Create challenges Invite personal contributions Apps like TikTok gain traction by starting trends and creating If you contribute, you’re invested. That’s the basic principle crowdsourced challenges. We all remember the ice buckets behind Twitter, Instagram et al: People want to be part of the and the mannequins, but have you seen the #ButHaveYouSeen story – whether it’s their own, or someone else’s. So, whether trend (2.7 billion views)? How about the #HowToAdult you’re encouraging live chat comments and GIFs during challenge (2.5 billion views)? These hashtags are linked to a virtual keynote or launching a digital vlogging campaign memes where the crowd creates their own content based on using video platform Seenit, encouraging your audience to a chosen theme. Even world famous museums like the Uffizi personally contribute to the story will automatically make in Florence have taken to TikTok, so how can you embrace its them more invested. Put your crowd right at the centre of your principles in your comms and events? content – because that’s where they want to be, and that’s For fun and frolics, launch a team lip-sync challenge, or where you’ll see real engagement. develop a dance move driven by your company values. More Listen to your crowd business-like? Try a crowdsourced business skills challenge By encouraging dialogue in your virtual events, and by inviting or a ‘networking hacks’ lunch and learn series. It’s all about conversation and collaboration in your comms campaigns, creating an accessible online challenge with a bit of healthy you’re guaranteed to get honest, authentic insights from competition. Something your crowd will love contributing to. your audience. Use pre-event surveys to ask people what What might yours be? they want, sprinkle ‘ask the audience’ polling throughout your virtual presentations, or even try a ‘reverse Q&A’ where you Read more of our musings here