Editor's Note: Occassionally, we ask the people behind crowdsourcing platforms and other initiatives to share their stories with us. We posed the following questions to Jordan Bowerman of SociallyShared.com about the platform for tapping the power of "social sales" to promote products. 

When were you founded and how did it all began?

...in January 2012 by a 23-year-old entrepreneur who got his start learning from a business incubator called GLIDE -- also where the SociallyShared offices are now located.

How does SociallyShared work? Who are the players?

SociallyShared encourages companies' fans to proactively promote their products. Sociallyshared’s platform allows companies to integrate these fans into their online marketing and sales efforts. The product’s fans get rewarded by indulging their passion of being social and posting things that they like via a social link that easily shares to social networks. When a fan shares a link that influenced and created a sale for the company’s product, SociallyShared automatically pays a commission that has been set to the fan's account. The result is extended reach, higher conversions, and tons of free clicks generated to the company’s product that helps it go viral.

What makes your service unique?

We have created a great environment where companies’ fans and followers from all over the world can cross-pollinate within one central hub. With our model, as we add new products the networks tend to follow, which helps out all products involved to gain great reach and access. Fans can add any product they like to their dashboards and earn from them, which creates a great relationship for business and user. We have great shipping integrations, and automations which make it easy for businesses to sell through sociallyshared.com.

What are the typical [total] costs to use your service?

Suppliers only pay SociallyShared.com a modest handling fee percentage (and what we pay their Socially Linked Fans) out of the proceeds when the product actually sells. No domain to purchase or web hosting services to lease, no pay-per click fees, no management fees, no advertising fees, no one-time set-up charges.

Who uses your service?

Startups, entrepreneurs, small and medium sized businesses. We are in a great space. We work well off of crowdfunding and crowdsourcing sites where new products are being launched and amass a following of people.

What role does crowdsourcing play in your business model?

Crowdsourcing plays a large role in our platform. The salesforce is crowdsourced and the businesses uploading their products are also crowdsourced. These two entities create the engine for social sales. Instead of listing a product on a traditional marketplace, products listed on SociallyShared come to us already with an attached crowd of potentially thousands of people. With respect to crowdfunded products, this crowd loves the product; it supported the project/prototype via crowdfunding. On SociallyShared the crowd further shares the final product with social links that earn them a commission; driving eyeballs to the shopping page and helping drive sales. Both sides are rewarded. The fans sharing the links have a way to earn money using their favorite social media platforms, and businesses don’t have to pay per click on our platform, creating an environment of free advertising.

What are your plans for the future?

We see this platform not only working well with crowdfunding campaigns, but working well as another sales tool to complement a business’ marketing mix.

What is your view on crowdsourcing and crowdfunding?

I think we’re seeing just the tip of the iceberg on all the possibilities in this space. Allowing businesses/customers to participate meaningfully in a process I think is a great thing and I am excited to be a part of this field.