Remember forums and BBS? They're not as common anymore, but the idea behind them is far from dead.
Just look at Reddit, one of the world's most popular social media websites.
Organized similarly to old-school forums — but with an upvote/downvote system that determines the order of posts and comments — it consists of thousands of subreddits with their own distinct communities.
If it exists, there's probably a subreddit for it.
So no matter what you're promoting or selling, you can almost certainly find an audience there.
There's also Quora, a question and answer site.
Both Reddit and Quora are often overlooked by marketers and entrepreneurs, but they can be a gold mine for exposure.
But here's the thing: it's not easy.
You really have to add value. Period.
You can't just waltz in and start posting links to your products or your blog posts.
Reddit, in particular, is generally hostile toward sales pitches and blatant advertising.
You really need to have a feel for a subreddit and its community before you try posting there.
Same with Quora.
It's a bit easier than Reddit, but you still have to add something to the conversation that's genuinely valuable.
A recent post from Kissmetrics explains how these social forum sites can become part of your content marketing strategy.
Participate in Social Forum Sites and Add Value
When it comes to social forum sites, you’re looking at three main contenders:
- Quora
- and Inbound.
Each of these sites is full of active communities that are chatting, sharing, and getting support.
If you participate on these sites, you’ll get more attention on your brand.
Here’s a great example of a Quora answer that shot to the top because of the time and insight shared in the answer.
If you have read this Quora marketing guide, you’ll remember the site gives you exposure to 1.5 million monthly viewers so you stand a good chance of drawing more attention to your site.
If even a fraction of those eyes want to check out more about you and what you do, the investment you’ve made in sharing value online will pay off.
You can find more uncommon yet effective social media marketing ideas in the full blog post from Kissmetrics.
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