Base One Beliefs #2: I would like to believe that forums will be recognised as effective instead of unfashionable

I'm going to start by taking you way back to the classic 'The Tortoise and the Hare'.

I am sure that a lot of you can remember that story - a fable that in many ways reminds me of the social media mix and how some platforms are similar to the Tortoise and others to the Hare. I very much feel that online community forums and discussion boards could be deemed as the Tortoise, compared to the whizzier, more flamboyant medium of Twitter etc. A slow moving result but a true winner! Let me explain why...


Online community forums are less glamorous than the likes of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc, but they are firmly established with many having been around for years (where was Twitter in 2004?).

This maturity means that forums contain many established relationships between regular users and therefore have a high level of trust that cannot be found in more recent channels. That means that people trust what they hear in there more than elsewhere - which makes it a good place for marketers to establish a brand presence. Also bear in mind that the usability is a lot higher as people who have been using them for years. Because its design and interface has become standardised, it attracts people who are put off by new and unfriendly looking technology - or simply put off by the idea of having to learn something new.

For these reasons, millions of people - including B2B buyers and marketers - use them to do the following:

•Seek feedback, advice or guidance on a product/service that they may want to purchase. It has been stated that 77% of UK consumers look to community forums and blogs for this purpose (E-Consultancy Report, 2009.) Additional proof comes from a survey done over ten thousand US consumers in 2007 which showed that 28% 'read online discussion forums or message boards,' - the second highest method of participating online (Forrester Online, 2007.)

•Discuss new business development ideas; assess potential opportunities

•Source niche information. The number of forums has increased drastically thus covering
virtually every area/category that interests you and your business
 
•Connect with a wider audience at no cost

•Drive results from a social media perspective - conversation, brand reach and awareness and, last but not least, engagement

•Promote websites - inserting links into posts and signatures to drive traffic to your site

But how can you best use forums to help build your brand or drive sales? There are key steps that should be adopted in order to make the most out of your forum-related social media experience. Keep reading our Beyond Blog as that will come in Part Two of this blog very soon.

Image credit: minds-eye (Creative Commons/Flickr)