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The Role of Crowdsourcing in Social Media
Paul Massey
Late last year, our team partnered with KRC Research to interview more than 200 top executives at Fortune 2000 companies who have responsibility for philanthropic, social responsibility or community outreach. For more than a year, we’ve been fortunate to see the powerful impact of crowdsourcing in CSR through our work with Pepsi on the Pepsi Refresh Project.
With this survey, we wanted to understand new developments in the CSR sector, in particular, the role of crowdsourcing and social media in raising awareness and driving engagement. Here’s what we learned.
Forty-four percent of executives we surveyed say they have used crowdsourcing – asking customers to provide ideas and help in decision-making. Among those executives, an overwhelming 95 percent reported that it was valuable to their organization’s CSR programming.
When asked why crowdsourcing is so valuable for CSR, executives said it:
- Surfaces new perspectives and diverse opinions (36%)
- Builds engagement and relationships with key audiences (25%)
- Invites clients and customers from nontraditional sources to contribute ideas and opinions (22%)
- Brings new energy into the process of generating ideas and content (16%)
The fact sheet and PowerPoint below summarize a number of additional findings, including perspective on crowdsourcing from executives who haven’t used it, and several findings on the role of social media (including specific channels such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) in raising awareness and driving engagement for CSR.
We’re going to be talking on our blog about the implications of these findings and any questions they may prompt. We’d welcome your questions or comments.
Crowdsourcing and Social Impact Fast Facts
