How To Effectively Use Forums - Part 3

How to Leverage Internet Marketing Tools to Grow Your Business - Part 3 - How to Effectively Use Forums

Forums are one of the most popular social networking tools available online to drive traffic to your website. They are also commonly referred to as message boards, discussion groups, bulletin board or discussion boards. Consumers click on forums for a number of reasons, including: to review information, to ask questions, to learn new things and to meet new people.

Forums are an effective strategy for business owners to implement to increase their revenues.

As you begin to build your forum marketing plan, you will need to start by searching the available forums that exist for your business niche. Use your search engine to locate “(your type of business) forums”. Review each site and choose 2-3 forums to start with that are relevant to your business and that are demonstrating a high level of daily traffic.

Most forums will require you to join them before you are allowed to post content or comments. Be sure to read the forum FAQ so that you are familiar with the posting rules before you begin posting. While forums are a great way to market your business, a more ‘soft sell’ approach is appropriate.

As you are creating your forum profile, consider adding information about yourself, your business and a company logo to serve as the beginning of your online brand image. Once you are able to post, search for threads that you can contribute comments to. You can also start by asking questions of other forum members and post comments that offer insightful information to other members. The key to forum marketing is to establish credibility for yourself and to post unique and value rich content that will encourage the reader to click on your URL link or to find your website through their search engine.

The best opportunity for you to have a ‘soft sell’ approach for your business in forums is to have an effective signature file. Be sure to check the rules with the forum site about what they perceive as acceptable, so that you don’t get kicked out of the forum community. Your signature file should include one line about yourself, a URL link and something compelling to make the reader click on the embedded link. You could offer an affiliate link (and earn extra money at the same time) or a FREE offer such as a report, Ezine or Ebook. Once the reader is at your home page, they will have the opportunity to Opt in for something, giving you the opportunity to collect their information for future marketing techniques. To use this method effectively, the squeeze page should have a visible Opt-in area to gain the reader’s attention.

Avoid spam postings, canned or duplicate postings on multiple sites and being too “salesy” in your postings to that you don’t turn off the readers. This is your opportunity to use a social setting to build a lead base in a similar fashion as you would if you attended a business networking function.

Utilizing forums as a method of marketing should take less than 30 minutes per day and is extremely effective when done well at driving traffic to your business website.