Forums Are Relevant in Social Media Marketing

I have long considered online forums to be an early form of what we now consider to be social networks. They’ve been around much longer than Facebook, Twitter and the rest, and have allowed users to create profiles and communicate with each other on the web.

They have profile pages, private messages, and public conversation where other users can respond and add to the conversation. They are also indexed by search engines. Do you value forums as social media marketing tools? Tell us what you think.

In a post a few months ago, I referenced a WebmasterWorld thread discussing how Google values forums. WembasterWorld founder Brett Tabke said Google was devaluing forum links, but there is a bigger picture I think that Jaan Kanellis pointed out (which was also referenced in that article).

"It is normal for Google to favor forum threads for certain queries. Naturally websites do not optimize themselves for long-tail queries that forums are automatically optimized for by way of user-generated content."

Forums have marketing benefits. And they’re very much the same as the benefits that come from social media marketing. In fact, I would say that social media marketing plans should include forums in the mix when applicable. When it is about the conversation, that conversation is generally not confined to Twitter or Facebook. That conversation is very possibly being extended into the Blogosphere, and yes…online forums.

Forum participation allows for reputation management strategies, brand awareness tactics, and even link generation, similarly to where social media fits into the SEO equation. Of course, many marketers have known this for ages now, but forums seem to have taken a backseat in the mind’s eye to the newer, trendier networks.

But the forums are still there. And they’re there in niches. And niches mean relevant and related content, audiences, and engagement.

Of course, there are benefits to forum participation beyond just marketing. They often provide destinations for help with specific problems that can be hard to find elsewhere. They are still a fine venue for networking with other professionals, and just being involved in the conversation often simply translates to staying in the loop for current trends within your industry.

With social networks like Facebook and Twitter, do you still have time to participate in forums? Tell us about it.

There are 59 Comments. Add Yours.

Stacy Karacostas
May 13, 2009 at 12:43 pm

Thanks for the thought provoking article Chris!

I still love and use forums to market my small business, and I regularly recommend my clients do the same. Here’s why:

1) You can find out exactly what questions and problems are of most interest to your target market.

2) You can showcase your own expertise by providing helpful responses.

3) It’s an easy way to get relevant links back to your own site that drive traffic, and ideally search engine rankings (depending on Google’s mood of the month).

It’s fun to try what’s new and different, and I do a lot of Web 2.0 stuff as well. But that’s no reason to leave behind the tried and true tools like forums.

Stacy

Stacy Karacostas
Practical Marketing Expert
http://www.success-stream.com
BB Becker
May 13, 2009 at 2:17 pm

We operate niche content sites for women. One of our sites is a general crafting site called favecrafts.com. Our editors go to other forums daily to answer questions and help moderate. We regularly post craft news on other forums. You need to be careful you don’t engage in shameless self promotion. That said, some of our posts on other forums have brought us hundreds of visitors in a day. Of course, most bring just a few, or less:) We also use forums to identify designers who can bring designs and videos to our sites and/or our blog.

Hope this helps.
Houston Search Engine Optimization
May 13, 2009 at 7:00 pm

The niche is the important aspect of forums. Sites like Twitter and Facebook allow you create community niches with groups and hashtags.
1st-Quiz - forum and community
May 14, 2009 at 4:08 pm

When it comes to search for specific knowledge on a specific topic; forums are essential! I always use them my self when ever I need to research on a topic.

IMO social networks are fine, for what they where invented for: social relations. Forums handle the rest:-)
Alex
May 15, 2009 at 6:22 am

Forums do help in social connectivity as well one can get solutions of many problems by discussing on forums.
I use forums regularly and take help when needed.
Maria
May 16, 2009 at 4:12 am

Personally, forums give more benefits to users compared to social networking sites. Professional who is in need of help or freelancer who is in need of job usually prefer to join a forum than a social networking site.
SEO Services
May 17, 2009 at 2:15 am

Forums area a great source of quick help especially within a specific niche or topic. But I think a lot of people down play the actual value that forums play in link building. They can be a great source of links if done correctly and ethically.
Tom Carty
May 17, 2009 at 10:35 am

Personally I dont rate forums as all that imortant, but the owners of http://www.larnatire.com swear by them, gumtree in particular.

Be careful how you do it though, the owner of http://www.celticsongbook.com got banner more than once from forums for overgoing it…
Valentina
May 17, 2009 at 11:04 am

I agree that forums are a great place to hang out. The crowd is like-minded, i.e., they are on topic with you and the questions and answers are relevant to your interest. I have a handful of forums I belong to and make a practice of visiting them at least once a month and cherry picking the posts/subject to those that I can of value to or which can expand my knowledge on that theme/problem/topic.
Helen
May 17, 2009 at 3:40 pm

I think spending some time on related forums is a great way to bring targeted traffic to your site (or, you client’s site), but in terms of getting quality backlinks (even if you use your url in forums’ sig) doesn’t have any impact
- Rey Young
  May 18, 2009 at 10:11 am
  
  Forums are relevant to social media marketing campaigns, were most forum users are likely ignite a rolling word-of-mouth effect. where members will be promoting your brand to their friends, increasing quality traffic to your website and resulting in – and this is exactly where you want to be.:)
Mark - Web Design
May 17, 2009 at 9:19 pm

Social media has to be defined as anywhere people gather online to discuss any topic.
Anywhere this happens, Google is going to find longtail optimised content, which is very specific to the topic.

If you own a business you need to be anywhere people gather to discuss your company or industry, be it online or off.
SEO Firm
May 18, 2009 at 10:41 am

There is a big difference between paid/private forums and open/catch-it-all type of forums. The noise to quality ratio is huge, therefore, making it worthy to spend $$$$ in a year membership.
Adrienne Boswell
May 19, 2009 at 8:12 pm

What surprised me in this article is no mention of Usenet. Usenet predates the World Wide Web by many years. The oldest usenet message Google has is May 11, 1981, and Tim Berners-Lee sent a message on Usenet to announcing the WWW on August 6, 1991.

I find Usenet to be very helpful if I have something I cannot solve. I am a web developer, and I have been a respected member of several authoring groups for over ten years.

I guess people don’t read, or understand the importance of following conventions. That goes for Usenet, forums, or just playing in the sandbox. Google groupers seem to be the worst of the lot.
Opace Technology Solutions
May 24, 2009 at 9:11 am

Nowadays, Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc. are in the spotlight when it comes to social media marketing and so they should. They provide an excellent mechanism for information sharing and marketing between friends, associates, businesses…

Having said this, in my experience it
- http://review-group.forumotion.com/forum.htm
  June 2, 2009 at 11:13 pm
  
  I spend a lot of time on forums as well as twitter and other sites.
David
May 26, 2009 at 3:13 am

I agree forums are very valuable not only as potential sources of info but also back links.
Affordable Web Design
May 28, 2009 at 10:38 am

Forum is still a worthy way of building links since the months or years the thread is still alive the links also is still alive…

Cheers.
Austin SEO
January 15, 2010 at 9:12 am

It’s a proven fact that two minds are better than one. Everyone goes through learning curves on the Internet. Whether that learning curve involves starting out, building websites, search engine optimization, or the millions of other things that you must be prepared to do on the Internet to establish your business, there is someone in your favorite forum that has been there and done that. These people will be more than happy to give you free consultations.
Kenneth Forrest
August 25, 2010 at 1:25 pm

I think that in order to have a successful market in the web, one should consider posting in forums. It does not only generate traffic but it can increase the chances of making you more popular. The popularity depends on how you help in forums and get to be trusted by the fellow members. I do appreciate the way you elaborate things in your post. Thanks for the information. Great post indeed!!
Mirna Bard
October 23, 2010 at 6:27 am

I have joined a lot of forums before and I see it also a very important thing to do on social media marketing. Your reputation is something at stake when you join in forums so the trust rating is high. You can build your reputation from forums.