Like-minded individuals will find each other. It’s a fact, so get used to it.
Online forums simply provide an outlet for like-minded people to effortlessly gather and chat with a rare anonymity unique to online communications. These no-holds-barred communities are perfect for discussing complicated subjects, reading the thoughts and opinions of other consumers, and asking stupid questions without risking public humiliation. Forums are populated by people just like you and me, each drawing their own sense of power from the group.
In fact, forums are really just a microcosm of society.
There are:
Online bullies who make menacing comments and chastise spammers.
One-time posters who search for a simple answer to their burning question.
Good neighbors who welcome new posts with a kind word and a digital bundt cake.
Lazy half-sentence posters who keep the chat conversational.
Know-it-alls who post responses to just about any thread they find.
Pretty much it’s who you’d find in any American neighborhood. So, if you’re an effective communicator in the real world, you can be equally as effective in a forum, you just have to understand the community.
At MGH we never promote shameless spamming of forums. Instead, we take a news approach in determining which bits of helpful information will prove valuable to the community. We carefully select the venue, timing, messaging, and angle based on the tone and environment of the online neighborhood. This is in sharp contrast to the common advertisement or public relations outreach where you might push an announcement onto the target audience. Instead, WOM programs access a huge database of information and resources to present the most community-appropriate contributions based on the unique needs of the forum. And that, my friends, is the distinct difference between spamming and entering the conversation.
It takes time to perfect the art of conversing, but the credibility of a well-placed, informative post makes it all worthwhile. In fact, MGH typically sees a five to 10 percent click-through conversion from forum posts to web links. That’s a pretty good number considering most online ads or keyword buys yield a 0.02 to 0.06 percent click-through rate.
You won’t want to abandon your other online marketing strategies all together, but if you’re not already, you should certainly consider adding a community outreach into the mix. You can benefit from huge results up-front and begin gaining valuable community credibility for your brand.
Check out some of MGH’s favorite forums here:
IGN Boards: Dedicated to gamers, this network provides a strong platform for consumer discussion.
ESPN Boards: High-traffic, multi-topic boards with a pure base of true sports fanatics.
YM Boards: For young women, these boards are the best. They score unbelievable page views and supply a huge variety of topics for girls.
