How to Use Groups & Forums to Market Your Small Business

Sharing WordPress and Online Business Knowledge

With the cacophony of noise online, how do you get the word out about your business and website? The answer is to be proactively consistently out there!

Site owners have to use everything and anything to build awareness by taking action. You cannot wait to rank well enough for search engines to send you traffic. That could take months, if not years. Relying on organic (free) search engine rankings alone is not a good business plan.

Email lists (How do you build that list without site traffic in the first place?) and social media are the first two things that come to mind for most site owners. But most stop there.

One commonly overlooked and underestimated venue is groups and forums. Yes, forums are still powerful for showcasing your expertise and building awareness of what you have to offer. But, forums are also a great way to build your brand and be perceived as someone folks want to work with — and trust.

But it takes time and only if done correctly!

Let’s get this out there right away. Using groups and forums doesn’t mean you post all about your business and how great you and your products or services are with links to your site.

Nor do you wait to stalk in the background for a segue to promote what you have to offer. For the most part, you only mention your business if you are explicitly asked by another group or forum member.

And then it’s best to note for the inquirer to PM (private message you). This shows you respect why the group exists — to share and collaborate. Not for opportunities for you to promote yourself.

I hear you… “How is that marketing my business if I don’t mention my business?” So here are the three basics to start with:

Forum Marketing Basics

Find groups and forums where you can share either your business or personal experiences. You want to participate in a way that helps others via sharing your experiences. By doing so, you put your expertise on display while soft-selling your business.
Complete your forum profile with a photo of yourself, noting what you do and why you do it to entice folks to visit your website.
Create a two-line signature file that includes your name and your slogan that is a link to your website. That’s it! No hyperbole, no long-winded about you. No list of links to all your social sites.

Next, a few other things to get in place and keep in mind as we participate.

Tips on How to Market on Groups & Forums

Make a note of the questions that get asked repetitively and then write an article solving that issue and add it to your blog. You can then link to that helpful article on your site from the group or forum when the question arises again.
Use a photo of yourself, not an avatar. You are the face of your business, don’t hide that. Instead, let members know you are a real person and humanize your interactions.
Select a forum username that reflects what you do. Think intuitive and professional!
When responding, always start by using the username of the person you are helping, preceded by the @ sign (@username). Most forums will then send that user a notice that there has been a reply to their inquiry.
Only mention your services or products in your response if they directly match what the group member is looking for. Then, briefly mention and link to your site for more details.
Refrain from posting generic responses that are thinly veiled excuses to mention your business or get your signature file published. You are there to help, not promote.
Link to other sites and resources in your responses, so it’s clear you are not there only to sell your wares.
You don’t have to stick with business-only groups and forums. Instead, find forums that discuss your hobbies and non-business interests and have fun. Then, make a short and sweet (one sentence) mention of your business in your forum profile. People like doing business with people they feel that they know, have grown to trust, and have similar interests. You never know who may reach out.
Start your own forum on WordPress. There are BBPress and several other WordPress plugins to help you create a forum on your WordPress website. You also can choose other stand-alone CMS options such as phpBB, SimpleMachines, and VBulletin.
Last but not least, show your personality! With all the competition online, there is only one you. Use that to your advantage!

One more thing…

While groups and forums can help build awareness for your website, brand, and reputation, they can also help generate leads. As with anything online, this takes your commitment to developing your profile and showing other members your priorities.

Are you there to help or only to pump up your business? Forum and group members can see right through any deception. Don’t squander that opportunity by being too self-serving, aggressive, or sales-pitchy!

All groups and forums have posted guidelines and rules that they expect all members to abide by. Seek those out, read them and live by them. There is no better way to lose credibility (or get banned) than by ignoring the posted rules.

So, follow the rules, be helpful and kind, and share your knowledge and experience. It does take time to do correctly, but you’ll become part of a community that will be there if you need help as well, which is invaluable.

At your service,

Be Helpful and Share

Forum Marketing Basics

Tips on How to Market on Groups & Forums

One more thing…

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