User Generated Content – “various kinds of media content, publicly available, that are produced by end-users.”
The prime example of user generated content is Wikipedia. With millions of pages created by thousands of users, Wikipedia is the largest online encyclopedia that is very accurate. Any user can edit and add to a page, or create a page for a topic that does not exist. If there is incorrect information on a page, it can be quickly corrected.
————————————————–
Does it suck if everyone helped make it?
With this movement towards “crowdsourcing“, it begs the question: “Does it suck if everyone helped make it?” Is Wikipedia truly as accurate as it should be? With students citing Wikipedia articles for their term papers, teachers using articles for their lectures, and the fact that for most people, Wikipedia is the first stop for looking a specific topic up, the accuracy of the articles comes into question. How accurate can something be if everyone had a hand in creating it? On one hand, crowdsourcing the articles allows the collective mind of the people to contribute what each person knows, and if there are any errors, it can be easily corrected by someone who knows what’s right.
————————————————–
Crowdsourcing Your Advertising
With such powerful community platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, businesses should take advantage of the huge user base that these platforms have to advertise their products. One example of a business that does this is One Greek Store, a local Gainesville business. They specialize in custom Greek gear, such as line jackets and hoodies, and also do custom embroidery.
One Greek Store (OGS) uses a Facebook Fan Page and Twitter to inform their customers about new merchandise and current deals & discounts. Some of their customers use the Facebook Fan Page wall to post reviews and comments about the quality and service OGS provides. When these users leave feedback and reviews, it shows up on their friend’s news feeds, allowing them to become fans of OGS, spreading the word, raising brand awareness, and ultimately increasing sales.
I feel that this is a very effective method of utilizing social media platforms to drive your marketing and business, because it allows the users to have conversations that are “elegantly organized.” OGS doesn’t have to spend money on advertising; it can crowdsource their advertising to their fans and customers. As more people converse about the business on the fan page, the more the word spreads.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Write a Comment