How to use Forums for marketing your precious business

I call today’s idea the Get a Little Forum Lovin’ hack.

If you want to connect with more like-minded people who can help grow your business, try finding a niche-focused forum to participate in. Most social media focussed business owners think Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is where the action is online, turning a blind-eye to Forums. But forums can be great places to go to when you want to exchange ideas with prospects, get honest feedback about your offerings, network with people, learn new skills, and find more customers.

So, here’s my 3-steps to gettin’ some Forum lovin’:

Identify Forums to join by going to Google and typing [your topic] + the word forum in the search bar. Spend time sniffing around deciding which ones are the best fit. You can also take a look at more popular and well-established forum community sites like Reddit, LinkedIN and Quora when trying to decide which forum you want to participate in.
When you find a forum that floats your boat, find the Introductions thread so that you can start things off by telling people a little about yourself and your company.
Bookmark the Forum and make a diary note to participate in discussions at least once per week. Then bump it up to twice a week. Then three times a week. The more time you can spend interacting with other people, the more credibility you’ll build.

Pro-Tip: When responding to other Forum members’ questions. Be helpful. Avoid sales speak, avoid marketing speak … just be the most helpful person in the Forum. Did you know being helpful releases the feel-good drug dopamine into your bloodstream …. So does eating chocolate and having sex – make of that what you will!

That’s my 3-steps on how to use forums for marketing and getting some online lovin’ from your audience.

Here’s some resources to help you bring this low cost marketing idea to life:

Etiquette tips for posting on Reddit

6 Forum posting mistakes that make you look like a jerk

So, what have you got to lose?

WHYGTL