DIGITAL MEDIA GHOST
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About
Search

Making Your Next Hackathon Wildly Successful

5/13/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Mary C Long

When old systems no longer serve your business, a hackathon is the perfect solution for finding new and better ways of doing things. But hackathons aren't just exercises in team building or churning out ideas for the sake of it. Succeeding requires strategy.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a hackathon – for our purposes – is an event built around brainstorming ideas to problem-solve key business issues. It's a team effort which can last a single day, or several, ultimately resulting in creative solutions presented by project teams and voted on by participants.
​




A successful hackathon requires a bit of strategy.



In addition to producing ideas that make for better business operations, hackathons foster a culture of innovation and collaboration.

Raising awareness and building excitement
For there to be collaboration, you need to have people – and it really is a case of "the more the merrier." You never know who holds the perfect solution to a long-standing company problem, so you want everyone to not only be aware of your hackathon but feel encouraged to participate.

You must communicate clearly about when the hackathon is happening, who can participate (ideally everyone who wants to) and how. Making use of hackathon software with automated systems and apps to organize each stage of the process is smart – especially if employees have access to keep tabs on things too. And it helps keep excitement building as you lead up to the event itself.

The C-suite sets the tone, of course, so be sure all executives and managers are on board with the plan and are excited to hear from everyone in the organization. If they can't drum up enthusiasm, it will be hard to get other workers to care. And what is there to be excited about when it comes to hackathons? They jumpstart innovation.

“As events, hackathons are focused, creative, collaborative – and highly energetic," writes Nikitas Magel, senior content marketing manager at Brightidea. "They’re turbocharged opportunities that often bring together software developers, graphic designers, interface and usability designers, along with subject matter experts in a collective effort to think differently about the challenge at hand. For that reason, hackathons have become a valuable tool of innovation – and in many cases an integral part of corporate culture.” 

Getting organized
Once your workforce knows about the hackathon, they can start submitting ideas via your event app or website. Encourage employees to submit or vote for their favorite ideas by offering incentives for certain actions. Perhaps a particular project speaks to them, and they want to be part of the team brainstorming solutions on the day of the hackathon – or even the team leader. Or maybe they want to take part by voting on the final projects presented at the event.

If your company employs several hundred – or thousand – people, all the more reason you need technology to track all of the moving parts.

You also need a way to keep tabs on team leaders, sponsors and judges leading up to the event.

Feedback, scoring and follow-through
And speaking of judges, how will you manage feedback and scoring of the projects presented at your hackathon? Remember, not every project will be implemented immediately, but many ideas might have future potential. If that's the case, you want to be sure all feedback can be captured and stored for future reference.

Software is a no-brainer for wrangling big data born of social networks, CRM systems, and now it’s necessary for harnessing innovation too – even when it's only happening internally, as is typical with hackathons. And it makes sense: According to McKinsey & Company, "hackathons can be adapted to greatly accelerate the process of digital transformation. They are less about designing new products and more about 'hacking' away at old processes and ways of working."

But just as important as capturing employee ideas and moving internal processes forward is, connecting with your customers who are served by hackathon solutions is equally important. Human-centered design has become the hallmark for winning companies worldwide – just ask Kellogg's and Colgate!

Whoever and however individuals participate, they should be able to follow along and celebrate the victories as well as monitor the progress of implementations post-hackathon (to some extent), so be sure to create a microsite to host hackathon specifics as well.

When participants and stakeholders can see the connection between their submissions, votes and the end result, they're more likely to participate going forward. And they'll feel more invested in the business overall, because they've had a hand in creating or evolving operational process.

And that is arguably the biggest success of all for generating long-term loyalty both within your company and from your target audience.

This post originally appeared on business.com.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Become a Ghostwriter!
    Picture
    Contribute to DMG
    Picture
    BECOME A GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
    Picture
    PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS BY GUEST POSTING
    Picture
    ARE YOU A GHOSTWRITER? WE WANT TO KNOW!
    Picture
    DO YOU HAVE A GHOSTWRITING BUSINESS?

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Agency Spotlight
    Business
    Digital Marketing
    Ghost In A Flash
    Ghostwriting
    Media Relations
    Privacy Concerns
    Social Sabotage
    Technology
    Writer Spotlight
    Writing

    Advertising Disclaimer

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

Find your domain and create your site at Weebly.com!
Digital Media Strategy
Content Marketing
Law Firm Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Social Media Marketing
eBooks
Writing
Becoming a Ghostwriter
Blogging
Content Marketing
Ghostwriting Services
Guest Post Guidelines
Media Relations
Online Crisis Management
Personal Brand
Public Relations
Reputation Management
About
Our Team
Our Results
Testimonials
Contact Us
Locations:
New Orleans, LA
Nashville, TN

DMG University
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Policy
Digital Media Ghost  @2020
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About