5 reasons why Forums are good for online marketing
During these hard times caused by the global economic meltdown companies are turning over every penny twice before spending it. Both large and small companies are being forced to think out the box to keep overheads low and profit margins high. Large to small companies who have more than a handful of clients and who have a fair amount of traffic on their website should consider setting up a forum. A forum can take the roll of a call centre but thankfully will have less strain on the financial budget.
Why should every company have a forum?
Test Audiences. Companies can test audiences by asking questions and getting feedback from users.
Powerful Recommendations. Before making a big purchase, many users search out as much information that they can about a product as possible.
Building a Network. Another benefit to being involved in forums is creating a network for yourself to keep up with what is going on in your industry or in something you (or a client) is interested in.
Direct Sales. Consider this an ancillary benefit. While many companies have seen direct sales come from forums, this is not the major intent of the participation. Although sometimes someone is looking for a product or service and asking for a recommendation. In that case, participate. Drop a link with a good story behind it.
User generated content: Once a forum becomes active and people start interacting with each other, this creates keyword rich content which search engines love.
Wikipedia provides a good comparison between the various Forum software available:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Internet_forum_software_(PHP)
3 Woodlands Road, Woodstock Cape Town, WC, 7925 South Africa
neil@webgrowth.co.za • 27216856083
Neil Pursey 
Wiehan Britz 
Margot Knight 
Jean-Michel 
Shu-aib Benjamin 