We just pinged our members a short report on how best to apply Face Book and Twitter to their marketing arsenal and are preparing a more detailled report on the benefits of forums and blogging.
Below is a short taster on forums ....... by way of introduction.
In order to be successful in using forums to run viral marketing campaigns there are some things that you need to be aware of and other things that are required.
Do Your Homework: Prior to joining any forum, you must do some research.
1. Join relevant forums that are in some way related to your market primary sector. For example, someone involved with a health related product/service, there are many types of forums that could apply … everything from holistic medicine to stay-at-home mums. Be creative with your search.
2. Choose popular forums. There is no point in wasting your time and energy on forums that have only a handful of members and few or irregular posts.
Page ranking and the amount of active members are two good ways to check for this.
3. Choose forums that allow sig tags (see example at the end of this post for my sig tag) If it’s possible read the rules before joining and pay attention to them.
Your time is important, too. It is better to find out that a forum doesn’t allow posts with sig tags before you go to the time and trouble of joining.
After you have looked the forum over and decided: OK! … you have chosen two or three forums that meet your requirements … which you have joined and have been accepted, spent some time getting familiar with the structure ...... now what?
1. Create your profile including your sig tag and update it regularly. The ideal thing is to limit yourself to one link, preferably to your main website.
2. Never create posts that are nothing more than an advertisement. This is all but a universal rule and only displays the marketers lack of experience if they do so.
At best this kind of post will be deleted by the monitors/administrators … at worst, it is grounds for being banned or becoming isolated before people even get to know you.
Some forums do allow one advertising post per month .... so be aware of the rules for posting.
3. Work the room. Be an active member on the forum. Plan to spend at least a half hour each day there and allow yourself time to get to know the users. Take the time to introduce yourself with intelligent questions/replies to threads depending upon the forum’s topic.
As you become a regular member, and start to actively post threads yourself, you will hopefully develop a good reputation and without saying a word about your company ..... other than a short introduction, those who are interested in your product will contact you for more information.
Forums are a great source of B2B and B2C referrals.
Have fun posting ........
John
Quote for the day: "Learn to give more in value ..... than you receive in payment"
John Wylie MCIPR
Director of Public Affairs
Translate Scotland Public Relations & Marketing
e mail: info@translatescotland.co.uk
Website: http://www.translatescotland.co.uk
Tuesday 17 August 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
