Using social media like forums to promote your product can be a very productive marketing action, since all your messages are saved and will appear in search engines. However, you need to take the time to test several forums, target their audience and make your own contribution, before you can hope to promote what you offer. Forums are only an indirect way of reaching your target audience, as most of them prohibit any form of advertising in the body of messages. Let's take a look at the steps you need to take to promote your product on forums.
Public or private forum?
On a public forum, access to all content, including archived content, is free, and every user has access to all discussions.
On a private forum, you must be registered and adhere to the rules of good conduct in order to take part in exchanges.
How to target a forum audience?
The best way to do this is to scour the forums with the help of keywords related to your specialty, and then check that the interests of registrants match up well with the product you're selling, i.e. that it's able to respond to their interests and problems.
It's an important step, albeit a tedious one, but one that will save you a lot of time. Look carefully at the themes and read a few posts to get a good idea of the exchanges between members.
You should also ensure that you only register on forums with a large number of active members. To be sure, take a look at the dates of your last posts and their average number per month. There's no point in investing in a forum that has no real popularity and has been dormant for several months.
Once you've made your selection, you should start by reading the messages that are posted and making your contribution, without ever explicitly talking about what you're selling. It's important that you enjoy taking part in the discussions, as this job requires you to spend several hours a week.
It's at this stage that you need to make sure you're a regular contributor. If you're knowledgeable in the field you're addressing, you'll quickly be spotted, and members won't hesitate to question you directly.
How to avoid looking like a spammer?
Forum spam consists of registering on as many forums as possible and inserting a link to your site in every post, with the aim of getting noticed by Google's algorithm. In fact, if your site's URL regularly appears on a quality forum, this misleads the search engine into concluding that your site is recommended by the forum administrator.
So to avoid being quickly classified as a "spammer" and excluded from the forum, you need to show your good will by helping members of the community, which is the primary aim of any forum.
Remember to introduce yourself before posting a message, explain your reasons for registering and fill out your profile, highlighting your experience in the relevant field. If you're taking part in a conversation, simply offer advice and demonstrate your expertise, without promoting the product you're selling. By doing this, you'll get noticed and followed, and create a small community around your name within the forum itself.
When and how can you promote the product you're selling?
It's a long process, but it should never be mere advertising. In fact, many forums stipulate in their General Terms of Use (GTU) that brand promotion is forbidden.
However, over time, if forum members have noticed your competence, they will tend to trust you and ask you questions. That's when you'll be able to talk about the "product" that can meet their needs, without making it clear that you're selling it.
Once several users have asked you where you can get your product, you can contact the forum administrator and ask for permission to talk about your product, for example by creating a dedicated forum topic.
If you've followed all the previous steps, and if you've been favorably noted thanks to the relevance of your interventions throughout the weeks, it's possible that the administrator has already noticed you and is willing to trust you.
Target your audience by creating your own community
Creating a forum is also a successful marketing strategy.
You have two options:
- You can set up a forum on your website, using specialized software.
- It is also possible to install a forum on a different URL, by choosing a hosting platform.