SBF IS A Social Media Marketing Channel?

[PeterHoggan]

When thinking about using social media as a marketing channel forums might not readily spring to mind. You are more likely to think of Twitter, YouTube or Technorati. Yet forums are the longest established form of social media, in-fact forums were around before the term ‘social media was ever coined. Forums have a strong sense of community that encourages conversation, contribution and feedback between members.

I know that many of the members here don’t see SBF as a marketing platform, nor do they consider their posts marketing messages. However, that might just be what they are even if the thought never crossed your mind. A willingness to freely share information and give good advice can identify you as an expert in your field. When allied with the strong sense of community fostered by forums you can quickly become the goto guy/girl in your field of expertise.

There is another audience you should consider, non members; these could be people who have been visiting the forum for a while and haven’t become members yet or people who parachute in from search engines. Although there might not be any commercial intent in starting a thread or the following posts, there could well be commercial intent behind the search that brings visitors to the thread. How often have you searched for something and landed on a forum page? It happens to me regularly so I guess it happens to others as well.

I come from a marketing background so my take on forums may be slightly different from yours but think about this - people reading your posts are not only building an impression of you they are building an impression of your integrity, your company, your brand and often your ability to service their needs. You have the power to control whether that is a positive or negative impression.

 

[NorthSouthMedia]

People reading your posts are not only building an impression of you they are building an impression of your integrity, your company, your brand and often your ability to service their needs. You have the power to control whether that is a positive or negative impression.

Amen, to that, I learned a number of years ago about the reputation management of Forums. Post by all means, post with vigour and enthusiasm but remember your posts are cached for all too see many months/years down the line when your anger/frustration has subsided...

My approach to forum posting is too look at the fellows who always finish with their 2c or 2p signature ... it means they 'thought' about their reply and were fully aware of online reputation management well before it was coined.

 

[andrewghayes]

Peter - absolutely! It all depends on your brand and your business. For some, technorati might be worthless, while others, SBF is a gold mine. It's all about understanding what your online goals are and finding the right outlets to make it happen.

 

[Adventurelife]

I always found life online is the same as offline, Front up say who you are and what you do, help people when you can and stay out of things that divert you or end up in arguments.

The huge difference to me has been the ability to contact many more people via online rather than offline

Peter