The internet has all but erased geographical boundaries, transforming almost every local company into a potentially global business. It has also allowed global communities to gather together based on their likes, interests, or beliefs. These groups are known as forums, and are used by people to ask questions about a certain topic and receive answers from experts as well as the general public.Â
Some of the most popular forums include Quora and Reddit, both of which have a diverse array of sub-forums and topics for people to join. If you want to improve your content marketing strategy try using an online forum. You can create a content marketing plan by spending time on these forums to see what type of content receives the most upvotes, comments, and interactions.Â
Want to learn more? Keep reading for the why and how of using forums for your content marketing strategy.Â
The Why
Connect With And Understand Consumers
You might be thinking that social media is one of the best ways to connect with consumers and understand your audience. And, while you are not incorrect, there are other ways in which you can connect with and understand consumers. A forum will allow you to understand your consumers in an easy and effective manner.Â
Forums are highly popular among internet users who are looking for answers to questions, and many of these questions relate to products and services. If you manufacture and sell a product, you can join a forum and find out what questions are being asked about your wares. You can then answer these questions in the forum, or use the questions to create content that you share on the forum and on your social media platforms. This is a proactive and effective content marketing strategy.Â
Build Expertise And Authority
Building your expertise and authority is an important part of any digital marketing plan, but this can be difficult to achieve. If you are using content marketing, then organic traffic is one of the best methods to use for improving your authority and expertise in the eyes of both the public and search engines.Â
The more likes, upvotes, comments, and other actions that take place on your profile on your chosen forum will show other users that you are trustworthy. These actions will take place if you post high quality, relevant content for users to read. If you are highly active on the website, this will make your profile seem more “human” and not as though it has simply been created to churn out content about your business. You can easily build your authority and expertise on a forum, making your brand seem more trustworthy and modern too.Â
Increase Website Traffic
One of the major benefits and reasons why to use forums in your content marketing strategy is that they can help you to increase website traffic significantly. This is especially true if you answer questions and use links back to your home page or a page that is related to the question being asked.Â
However, you will need to ensure that these backlinks do not appear to be “spammy”, as this could see you being banned from the forum. Any link should support your answer and be relevant to the content and question at hand. This also means that your content should not be a hard sell, but should rather answer a question or solve a problem. Be sure to ask if readers are interested in learning more about an additional resource you have created. Increasing your website traffic via forums might be gradual but the clicks are worth the effort.Â
The How
Find A Niche
You should not be spending your time on a forum or sub-forum that does not relate to your business. For example, if you offer airport shuttle services to a large city, answering questions about baking cakes is certainly not going to drive any leads. You will need to look for a forum which has like-minded people on it and that fits in with your business and industry.Â
Solve Problems
A forum is a perfect platform for writing short-form content that solves the problems of consumers. Your content should solve problems without the need to sell a product or service. One example is giving advice on a problem and referring readers to a long-form piece of content you have created on the topic. This way, you will be solving a problem and gaining referral traffic to your website.Â
Try Topic Generation
If you are trying to improve your content marketing strategy, you do not have to simply wait for questions on forums. You can look for common questions and keywords used on the forum in order to write content that you can syndicate on the forum as well as on your own website. This allows you to answer a question as well as build your authority and rankings.Â
 If you would like to improve your digital marketing strategies, get in touch with NetMechanic today to find out how we can help you.Â
