[Crowd Leader: Peter LaMotte] The Coronation of Content

“Content is King!”

We hear it all the time at practically every marketing and social media conference across the globe. However, the statement is fundamentally hollow. It insinuates that content of any kind at any level of quality is all your brand needs. It is a fairly ridiculous statement when you think about it. It's just another catchy buzz-worthy statement that has caught on, and I will be the first to admit that I have heard the words come out of my own mouth many times.

My corner of the crowdsourcing world revolves around video production, so that will be my major use of examples, but it applies to written content as well. I was talking on this very topic recently and mentioned that no one ever comes to me and says, “Can you help me?.... I just need some content.” Everyone has very specific content needs. They are either trying to generate brand awareness, reach certain demographics, or promote a specific launch or event. In almost every situation they have multiple needs but feel limited by budgets to address them all. Here is where crowdsourcing comes in. Crowdsourcing is an affordable way to source content.

How a company uses crowdsourcing is what makes some brands rise above others. If a brand simply turns to crowdsourcing to create a video or turns to a contest to weed through 40 videos hoping to find "the one," then they are doing a disservice to their brand and the power of crowdsourcing. The cost benefit of crowdsourcing suggests that brands can crowdsource multiple videos for a fraction of the cost of one traditionally-sourced video. They need to take that financial windfall and direct it towards creating content for target demographics.

The power of crowdsourcing’s price-point has to do with creating more ads that speak exactly to your audience. Now that you can create multiple ads for the price of one, start going after more audiences and start running those ads in places that you would have never imaged. Keep in mind we have more tools now than ever to reach consumers and clients exactly where they surf, watch, and live their lives.

Why not put content in those places that actually speak to them?