Every subject you can think of has a dedicated forum where ideas and business contacts are exchanged. These are undoubtedly the best places to find people to connect with in your business. However, it’s not just about finding new customers, you can also find new suppliers and business opportunities.
The key to making forum marketing work is to join in and contribute to the hot topics so that you build some interest from the other community members,
Then get involved in discussions and offer your opinions on topics, rather than just advertising your product without building trust with the existing members first.
- You could go to Google to look for forums but first go to Big Boards at http://www.big-boards.com. Big-Boards tracks the most active message boards and forums on the web. They currently have over 2,300 message boards in their list, which you can search and rank according to the subject or business area that you are researching.
- Write a general biography about yourself and your business
- Sign up on each forum and Complete the profile for each one ensure that you include links to your website and a photo of yourself – photos really help to build trust and gives you some credibility. You could also add a business logo, but not a logo instead of a photo.
- Create a forum signature that includes keyword specific links to your website so that every post you make on that forum automatically publishes your links.
- Become involved in discussions and contribute good value to the forum community and you will build trust, liking and credibility with people wanting to know more about you. With luck they click through to your website and become part of your social circle.