This means that social media presents brands with an extraordinary feedback opportunity, as Keith Quesenberry notes in chapter 11 of his book, Social Media Strategy. In the chapter, Quesenberry discusses how brands can use social media as a way to “crowdsource,” or to ask consumers for feedback.
This method of social media crowdsourcing represents the platform at its most democratic; everyone can have a say if they want to and all opinions can be heard directly.
This method of social media crowdsourcing represents the platform at its most democratic; everyone can have a say if they want to and all opinions can be heard directly.
Last week, one reporter crowdsourced his following and it appeared not only smart, but necessary.
C. Trent Rosecrans, a Cincinnati Reds beat writer for The Athletic, simply asked his Twitter followers what they would like to see more of in his coverage. “So, @TheAthleticCIN subscribers, would you be interested in a newsletter every (weekday) morning just on the Reds? Could be like the BAR, but in your mailbox. Or maybe weekly? I don't know... just spitballing.”
He got 66 replies and all kinds of suggestions. By doing this, Rosecrans could gain insight from his following (as The Athletic is a website-only news organization and a sizeable chunk of its writers’ audiences exist online, and therefore on social media) as to what type of content they would like to see and how he could improve his work.
But this was about much more than just improving content. In asking his followers what they thought and creating dialogue between his brand and his consumers, Rosecrans likely gained great respect from the people who read his work. He liked all tweets that provided constructive advice, a sign that he cared, as if to say, ‘Thank you.’ He responded to many tweets, not only expressing his gratitude, but also having a conversation about anything and everything to do with content improvement.
But this was about much more than just improving content. In asking his followers what they thought and creating dialogue between his brand and his consumers, Rosecrans likely gained great respect from the people who read his work. He liked all tweets that provided constructive advice, a sign that he cared, as if to say, ‘Thank you.’ He responded to many tweets, not only expressing his gratitude, but also having a conversation about anything and everything to do with content improvement.
This dialogue likely made Rosecrans’ followers feel closer to him, as is the purpose of social media crowdsourcing. His personal brand was elevated, along with The Athletic’s brand, because of this initiative. And after seeing this, it became apparent to me that all writers with a sizeable platform in the media industry should be doing the same thing.
Why not take a second to reach out to your customers? Why not strengthen that relationship, especially considering how fragile the industry currently is? And why not make yourself better and understand how your consumers think, at the very least?
While many other reporters have probably done what C. Trent Rosecrans’ did last week, this was the first time I had seen it play out to such a magnitude. Now, Rosecrans can better serve his base and has a more transparent, likeable image in the process.
All because of a simple tweet. 'How am I doing?'
While many other reporters have probably done what C. Trent Rosecrans’ did last week, this was the first time I had seen it play out to such a magnitude. Now, Rosecrans can better serve his base and has a more transparent, likeable image in the process.
All because of a simple tweet. 'How am I doing?'
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