You bet crowdsourcing has a place at your next event.

Social media is all about community building. But what do you do when you have a problem and want to get input from that community? Well, you crowdsource!

Crowdsource! What is that? Crowdsourcing is taking a problem which you would normally solve within your company or your team and pushing it out, or outsourcing it, to a large community of unknown or known people seeking their solutions and contributions to accomplish the task or solve the problem.

What does this have to do with events? Well maybe everything. Many of the daily tasks or challenges - Say "Where are we going to have this year's conference?" can be outsourced to a knowledgeable community of event professionals or destinations who can offer input and provide solutions.

But I like crowdsourcing for another reason: it offers the possibility of empowering your attendees to help define and design their experience at your event. Imagine it: you can crowd source various elements of the event to your attendees and let them vote or have input or even make suggestions for what they want to experience. What entertainment do you want to see? Ask the audience. What food will you serve for the gala's main course? Ask the audience. Do you want to take a boat tour or head to a karaoke bar? Ask the audience.

All of these suggestions and a hundred others which might be asked or polled amongst an audience of attendees put the event planner in a unique position. By soliciting input from your guests you excite them, energize them prior to the event. You enable the opportunity to open dialogue prior to the event and at the event ABOUT THE EVENT which is becoming increasingly critical as brands and organizations compete for valuable time of their guests. Giving up ownerships increases the likelihood of success because you have gotten direct, measurable input for those who matter most, the attendees.

But lets take it one step further. For the embattled incentive trip, crowdsourcing solutions that allow the audience to help choose the destination and define the experience creates a whole new motivator for sales teams. If they are able to define the experience of their dreams which they will receive upon the successful completion of goals or sales would only increase their drive to meet those goals. Crowdsourcing could be your corporation's best incentive in driving success, motivating behavioral change and redefining the incentive rewards program to help meet your business objectives.