Bulletin
boards, message boards, and discussion groups are excellent and often overlooked
marketing tools. They can be quite effective because they help develop
relationships with prospects and customers. From building customer loyalty to
providing customer assistance, participating in group discussions or even
moderating your own can help you build an excellent reputation with, and
significant business from, discussion group members.
Similar to ezines,
discussion lists are done through email. But the difference, however, is that
subscribers may participate in the discussions as each person's emailed
contribution is mailed to every other subscriber. On the other hand, discussion
board messages are posted on a web page -- the top of the page being the most
recent post. And the advantage of discussions boards over discussion lists is
the fact that posts can be viewed by anyone.
Participating in these types
of public forums is an effective and cost-effective way to build traffic. Not
only are you capable of adding a signature file at the end of each one of your
posts (the length of which depends on the group's guidelines), but you also have
the ability to refer to key pages on your site -- as long as they are
relevant to the topic(s) discussed.
For example, I maintain an online
article archive on my site at http://SuccessDoctor.com. During my discussions I often post links that
lead to some of my articles as a way to back up some of my arguments or to offer
further information. Not only does this help to keep my posts short and
to-the-point, but it also gets people to visit my site if they wish to obtain
more information on the subject matter or if they are at all interested in the
topic being discussed.
Nevertheless, there are many topic-specific groups
available on the Internet, ranging from interests to industries. And
contributing ideas and articles to them are great ways to promote your
expertise. For example, each time you participate in an online discussion you
gain visibility and credibility for the few days that your message remains
posted. But the key, however, is to participate in discussions in which your
target market is likely to congregate. In short, hang out where your potential
customers do and your posts will be far more
effective.
Moderately
Speaking
While participating
in group discussions is an effective marketing strategy, moderating your own
group can help you gather a lot of useful information, such as marketing
research and customer feedback. For instance, surveys and polls can be easily
conducted in your group, and clients can be invited to provide suggestions on
how to improve your product or service.
Additionally, by holding a live,
topic-related online conference (also known as "chats" or "chat rooms"), you can
demonstrate your knowledge and establish credibility with an audience that has
chosen to listen to you. Some even allow you to record a transcript that can be
published and promoted. So first, you must find a forum or board where your
target market is likely to congregate. There are quite a few online conferences
and forums on the Internet. Here's a partial list of some forum providers with
which you can start working:
- Delphi Forums --
http://www.delphi.com,
- Talk City --
http://www.talkcity.com,
- BeSeen -- http://beseen.com,
- Reference.com --
http://www.reference.com,
- Town Talk -- http://www.dynapolis.com/towntalk,
- Parsimony --
http://us.parsimony.net,
- Annapolis -- http://avmcyber.com/forum,
- MindSpring --
http://www.pipeline.net,
- America Online --
http://www.aol.com,
- Yahoo! Chat --
http://chat.yahoo.com,
- Starting Point --
http://www.stpt.com,
- Directory of
E-Conferences -- http://n2h2.com/KOVACS,
- NeoSoft -- http://www.NeoSoft.com,
- The Globe --
http://www.theglobe.com,
- Forum One -- http://www.forumone.com,
- Inside The Web --
http://www.InsideTheWeb.com,
- Dejanews -- http://www.dejanews.com,
- Pathfinder --
http://www.pathfinder.com,
- People Talk -- http://www.people-talk.com,
- Suite 101
Discussions -- http://www.suite101.com,
- Cyberforums -- http://www.cyberforums.com,
- Community Chat --
http://communitychat.com,
- iVillage -- http://www.ivillage.com,
- ThirdAge --
http://www.thirdage.com,
- ZDNet Forums --
http://www.zdnet.com/cc/forums.htm,
- RemarQ --
http://remarq.com,
- And CyberTown --
http://www.cybertown.com/clubs/forum.html.
Be my Guest
If you have
found a forum in which you wish to initiate your own discussion or live
conference chat, or one in which you wish to become the featured guest, first
monitor the forum to get a flavor of what is being discussed. Verify previous
topics so that you can choose one that's original and compelling to the forum
members. Then start putting some ideas down.
Generally, forum
administrators or discussion moderators will ask you to prepare a proposal for
your own conference, or to email them a topic that you wish to cover. If so,
express your qualifications on the subject matter. Include a recent article
you've written that's somehow related to your proposed topic or expertise. Give
a short profile with a list of credentials. Look at your proposal from their
perspective. When you're pitching your idea, let them know that you're
interested in doing a great conference that will, among others, help increase
traffic.
If accepted, then prepare a short introduction as well as a list
of suggested questions that the administrator can ask of you while active in the
forum -- it makes it easier for them, and they'll appreciate that. After the
event, get a copy of the transcript for your own use, edit it for style and
professional appeal, and publish it in your various marketing
efforts.
However, be careful. While the conference does handle itself
quite like a verbal discussion, since it is written in an printed medium there
are copyright and privacy issues that you must not ignore. When people type a
question or a message, even if it's in a plain conversation, they're still the
legal copyright holders of their messages. While you could simply omit their
names, get their permission anyway -- similar to testimonials, names add
credibility.
Ultimately, use discussion lists, discussion boards, online
chats, and Internet forums to help build your traffic as well as your
credibility. And the beauty of it all is the fact that you can do it right from
your own home or business -- no traveling is required
:)
