Informed decisions

With tools like Doodle and the recently launch Twitter polls, it has never been easier to get opinions and have a more informed approach to working in PR and communications.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing isn’t new but it’s not always used to its advantage. It helps gather feedback and input, act as a sounding board and help inform decisions you’ll be making.

A good example of a newly launch crowd sourced initiative is #FuturePRoof by Sarah Hall (@Hallmeister). Sarah asked top people in the PR business to contribute to a new book which looks to “drive up standards and professionalism, engender innovative thinking and to encourage PR practitioners to create disruption, not just embrace it”.

Opinions are essential in developing something that is relevant and informed. Opinions of brands are what shapes them – it’s not you what you say it is, it’s what others say about it!

Use your community and networks

Whilst it’s not available to everyone yet, Twitter says it soon will be. You can ask any of your community any questions, but there is a limit to two responses. The poll is open for 24 hours and the overall voting isn’t made public. I was speaking at an event recently, as part of a panel, who were giving advice to start-up businesses. One of the things I put a lot of emphasis on was getting feedback from communities and networks. You can get people as involved as you want them! By including your community and networks you’re getting input and making your product/service more relevant. You’ll hopefully get even more ideas for development.Similarly, I’m developing a new event for 2016, a two-day PR festival, which has been partly informed by crowdsourcing via my network and through feedback at other events. Perhaps I’ll use the new Twitter poll to get feedback on the new branding for the festival?!

Do it early on

Getting feedback isn’t always an easy thing to take on the chin, particularly if you aren’t prepared for the response you get. However, it’s more effective to have feedback, input and opinions before you go too far down the road. It’s easier to develop something that’s targeted and relevant than rewind and think of all the time you’ve potentially wasted with something you’ve just run away with.Will Twitter polls hold up? Will brands use Twitter polls to maximum advantage? I think so. It could reveal a whole lot more because it’s so easy for Tweeps to use. Go on, give it a try when you get access.