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Essay on Build Your Brand Using Forums

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In the age of social media, the forums is often ignored when talking marketing. Instead, business marketers spout about hashtags, Facebook analytics, and how to best navigate Pinterest. Leaving the forum out of your marketing campaign is short-sighted. Forums are a unique way to access a customer base not easily available on Facebook and Twitter. Use these tips to build a strong brand and customer base using online forums.

Find Your Niche

While social media sites do have ways to divide users by likes and interests, forums provide a way to access users who are actively interested in your brand. Forum users seek out information about a subject and interact with other like-minded people. Whatever your business, find a handful of …show more content…

Create a Great Signature

In the vein of transparency, develop a fantastic signature. It should state your title, brand, and company clearly. This will alert users to your affiliation and create an air of trust with forum users. Make sure to include relevant information for contacting you and encourage users to do just that. A signature that draws attention will not only increase user interaction but draw more interest to your brand.

Don't Sell

Social media sites seem to encourage businesses to press the hard sell. Rather than engaging with users, companies often solely post ads, coupons, and giveaways as opposed to interacting with customers. This system doesn't work on online forums. Companies that try to spam the board with covert ads get banned and burned. Offer information on forums. Become an in-house expert on your brand and the industry at large to provide forum users with an insider's look at the industry.

Be Friendly

While your main motivation is exposing your brand, remember that forum users have a vested interest in the topic. This may lead to complaints about your brand, comparisons between you and your competitors, and some users that simply aren't interested in becoming a customer. Don't get defensive or hostile. Never put down competitors or engage in heated arguments with forum users. Be a beacon of information rather than a source of conflict. Provide accurate, polite responses with forum users.

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