Here at MindMeister we’re perpetually looking for ways of utilizing mind mapping to enhance collaboration. Nearly two years ago we added a new collaboration feature to MindMeister which allows users to add comments to topics on a shared mind map, and vote topics up or down. The feature enabled teammates to give feedback on each others’ ideas, without cluttering the canvas or deleting anyone’s ideas.
Comments and votes have proven to be extremely popular with our users, so we’ve decided to now take this method of collaboration to the next level, by teaming up with a specialist in community outreach, advanced data collection and collaboration.
As one of the leading online survey tools, the QuestionPro team know a thing or two about gathering data, feedback and opinions from friends, colleagues, clients, even the general public.
Their software allows you to create online surveys and polls, by using their tool to write your own, by editing a pre-written survey template, or by uploading your survey directly from a Word file. The survey can then be disseminated in a number of ways, for example you can link to surveys within an email or newsletter (as we did recently to survey MeisterTask users), embed it within a website, or even create a pop-up exit survey for your product page.
We’re extremely pleased to announce a partnership between MindMeister and QuestionPro, which will enable us to utilize each other’s technologies, knowledge and resources, and combine the power of collaborative mind mapping with data collection.
So How Will It Help You?
We have a ton of exciting ideas about what an integration between a mind map app and a survey tool could offer, and our respective development teams are at this moment discussing all the possibilities. But more than any other of our recent integrations, this one is about helping you collaborate, so before we drill down the details, we first want to collaborate with you, to hear what you really want to see. What are your collaborative needs and expectations? What should this new integration offer to help you in your community outreach and brainstorming efforts?
We’ve created a Wiki mind map (that is, a public mind map that can be edited by anybody on the web) and would like to invite your feedback. Just jump into the map and add your ideas, suggestions and wishes wherever they fit.
To give your imagination a few cues, here are 4 general ideas of how we envision MindMeister users will be able to improve their collaboration and workflow by utilizing the QuestionPro integration:
1. Generate lucrative ideas
As reported on Imaginatik, brainstorming sessions are being introduced in a growing number of companies, as employers are realizing that if they don’t provide opportunities for staff to voice ideas and feedback, in-house brainpower is being wasted.
As Anne Fisher from Fortune explains:
“According to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, almost half (45%) of lucrative ideas – whether breakthrough products or services, new uses for old ones, or ways to cut costs – come from employees.”
So by setting up a mind map which can be shared with your team or workforce, with integrated opportunities to provide their ideas for income generation and improvements, you might just see the results (mind the pun) speak for themselves!
2. Boost your internal communications
As vital as we all find Slack, internal communications within your team and business should not end there. Mind maps can help to provide a visual way of improving internal communications.
As an Alive With Ideas Internal Comms report found, 93% of internal communications pros say creativity is central to good internal communications, but only 6% think it’s used to its full potential. Creatively displaying company values, aims and achievements on a mind map will engage your employees and help them to remember the information – and a survey integration would enable internal communications teams to take this one-step further.
You could transform (or start up) your employee survey by displaying questions and survey results in a visual way, achieving the engaging and memorable benefits of mind mapping, while gathering the necessary information to support and retain your valued team members.
3. Ensure the information you provide is relevant
With the MindMeister presentation feature, we know a growing number of users are utilizing the mind mapping tool in order to provide talks at conferences and training sessions.
You could try sharing a QuestionPro survey through MindMeister ahead of a presentation or training gig, in order to establish the existing knowledge of attendees and ensure your session will be relevant and informative.
You could use a voting system to decide which topics to cover within the session, or simply share a simple questionnaire to discover what attendees would like to see and achieve, helping with the preparation process and improving delegate engagement.
4. Engage readers in your content
When you’re trying to come up with topics for content articles, it’s already been found that mind mapping can help to get the creative juices flowing.
With the MindMeister and QuestionPro integration we aim to enhance this. Content writers and marketers could receive feedback on their ideas ahead of publishing, for example when brainstorming topics for a guest blog on another site your mind map could be shared with the editor, allowing them to feedback and vote on the ideas that you’ve provided, using the survey tool.
Similarly, embedding a mind map in your blog post (as we have below) will invite readers to engage with your writing by adding their ideas, creating a new twist on the comment section of blogs and visualising feedback in a more attractive way.
Speaking of engaging your readers: don’t miss QuestionPro’s upcoming webinar about how to get deeper insights through intelligent community engagement, featuring Liam Hughes, the founder of Biggerplate, as a speaker!
Over to you!
As mentioned, we’d really like to hear how you think this integration could best benefit your productivity, collaboration, and workflow. All your ideas will be discussed and evaluated carefully by our tech teams, and hopefully we’ll be able to realize many of them.
So please do collaborate with us, so we’re able to help you collaborate too!