Asking for Feedback from a Crowd

“What do you think of my logo?”

“Do you like my color palette or should I change it to something bolder?”

“Should I post every day or every other day?”

“Should my business be on TikTok?”

“Should I always post my Reels to my feed?”

“Do you like this photos or that photo for an Instagram post?”

If you’re an entrepreneur or small-business owner, you have likely seen someone ask those questions or asked them for yourself.

And when you stumbled across this type of decision making and crowdsourcing, I’ll bet you noticed how all over the place the responses were. The reality of asking a group of people, whether it be a fabulous Facebook group for  entrepreneurs and small business or your wonderfully supportive family and friends, is that they’re likely not your ideal audience. On top of them not being your target audience, and while they will probably jump at the chance to offer constructive criticism or share their opinion, they also might not have the full picture. Without all the details, it’s hard to get the answers you’re looking for.

Three Things You Can Do to Get the Most Out of Crowdsourcing Advice and Critique

If you’re going to look to a Facebook group (or any group) for advice, there are a few things to keep in mind to get the most out of the feedback you receive.

1. Give more than enough details about your logo or marketing project.

Not enough information creates a significant problem for you and the people you’re asking feedback from.

You are about to post a logo or ask a question to a group of people that have no idea who you are, what your brand represents, or how you do business.

So, fill them in!

→ Tell them about your business, a bit about the brand you have already established (or hoping to create).

→ Tell them about the demographic you’re targeting and the niche you’re in. Mention if you’re already established or if you’re just launching.

→ If you’re undecided about brand visuals (and you have permission from your designer to post a likely unfinished design in a public forum), make sure you give them some history on the creative brief you provided your designer and the concept they’ve created in return.

→ Asking them some marketing advice? Tell them some of your statistics and share what has done well in the past and what could use improvement. Give context to what you’re marketing.

2. Know your audience. Both of them.

Your ideal business audience is one you’re probably quite familiar with already. As mentioned above, you’ll also want to include who exactly that is when you go to your group for feedback. However, they’re not your only audience.

The people whose advice and feedback you’re looking for may not be your target demographic but they still have valuable input to give as professionals in their own field. If you plan on asking different groups feedback on the same logo or marketing query, consider their standpoint and adjust your request based on what you know they can offer you.

→ For example, if you’re asking a group of designers about a logo (again, with permission from a designer to share unfinished work if needed), don’t be afraid to get technical (or ask them to) and into the details of your shared design. Their feedback will be different than if you’re asking a group of business coaches.

→ Have questions detailed to them.

→ If you’re asking a group of general virtual assistants versus social media centric marketers, switch your questions. Virtual assistants will be able to give great general feedback and will see things from a different perspective than a social media focused professional will.

3. Pay attention to feedback only when it comes in the form of constructive criticism.

We all have different styles and ways of doing things, especially when it comes to business. When you’re crowdsourcing advice on a logo, branding conundrum, or something business related, you might not always get what you want.

While people’s personal taste might come through in a few comments, it’s not exactly their opinion you’re looking for.

→ Don’t take feedback personal! Even if you designed the logo yourself. Even if you shared a project in a field you specialize in and it didn’t do well.

→ Helpful feedback is when people answer the questions you asked. Maybe they didn’t answer all of them but if their share a bit of information that clearly shows they took the time to read about your project and understand where you’re coming from.

→ ‘I don’t like it’ is not nearly as helpful as the people who include the reason why or a suggestion to improve it.

→ Remember, people can only provide as much feedback as they can with the information their given. If you ask is ‘do you like this logo’ and you get 50 Nopes and 25 Yeahs, than responses like that are expected. If you ask ‘do you think this logo represents an eco-friendly brand geared towards millennials?’, it gives people the chance to respond with more than just their own opinion.

→ If someone takes the time to give you helpful feedback or advice, thank them! Consider every comment you receive, whether or not you decide to make every specific change.

General Wording to Try Next Time You Ask a Group for Feedback

Swap out the italicized text (and anything else that seems relevant) to make it your own and fit your situation. The below writeups should give you an idea of the type of detail to share that will provide enough information for people to share helpful feedback.

Asking for feedback for a logo design.

“I’m working with a designer to create my logo and we’re trying to nail down our concept.

I’m a professional title and have been operating for a few months using some generic designs and visuals that I made myself.

My current clients are local and came to me through word of mouth and referrals. I would like to work with people in this industry and will be marketing myself mainly on Instagram and through my website.

The logo attached is the main design concept and my designer will be providing alternative formats for social media branding and specific small format branding. My creative brief included a few requests, such as using a script font, having a playful feel, and an illustrative aspect that would look good displayed in a large header on my website.

Do you think this logo portrays a creative but professional business? If it doesn’t, what sort of design aspects do you think could be added or changed on the design to give it more of a playful feel?”

Asking for feedback for a color palette and general brand design.

“I’m a professional title and have been on social media for a couple years now. I’m really trying to create a cohesive feed because I think it will help present myself as the professional I’ve become.

I have always had a neutral palette and feel that introducing a little color will be a great way to add a little unique touch to my online content and better reflect how my brand has grown.”

I’m torn between two palettes, each featuring different accent colors. I’ve included the palettes in the photos as well as examples on how I would use these in my photo editing and graphic content.

From the palettes and examples, which strikes you as the most unique? Does the teal feel overused in this industry? Is the pink in the other palette too bold?

For reference, my social media is linked on my profile or DM me for links to my existing website where you can see my branding and existing professional tone.”

Facebook groups and online communities are a wealth of support and knowledge—we just need to find the right ones that we fit into (and make the most of them when we do.

Three Things To Remember When Asking a Facebook Group for Advice