[Article] Forums are key to your Social Media Strategy

[JKVirtualOffice]

Since we are all fans and participants of this great forum, I thought I'd share this article with you all about the value of participating in forums as part of your overall social media marketing.

Forums have been around for a long time before Facebook and Twitter and all the others. They are also considered to be social networking and social media platforms. You can all the benefits (and more, actually) by participating in a forum that you do on Facebook and Twitter in terms of marketing yourself and increasing your online visibility. So, really your participation on this forum, is more than just asking questions and gaining knowledge, but this article will also tell you about the other benefits of using this as a social networking tool.

It also recommends something that I always do when talking with clients about social media...and that is to be sure to include getting clients participating in niche forums such as this one that are related to their industry as part of their overall social media strategy. (Unfortunately, not all forums are run as well as this one...but that's another story!)

So, read "Forums are Relevant in Social Media Marketing" to for a good understanding of why your participation here is already a key part of your social networking.

[RebeccaT]

I agree Kimberly. I think that forums are very powerful, especially when they run as well as this one. I get the google alerts all the time and this forum is one of the ones that pops in on a regular basis, so if a business owner wanted to know about VA's and subscribed to that on google alerts, they will get updates for this forum and can watch how things are said. (This forum is the ONLY one that shows up and I subscribe to a couple.)

[Tess]

Yes, yes, yes! Wonderful reminder that the 'old school' version of what we call social networking offers tried and true results and offers so much more value than just the community/informational aspect [which is great in and of itself]

Nice post Kimberly!

[virtual writing]

Kimberly, I'm so happy you brought this up (and I'll read the article right away) because I SO agree! It just makes so much sense that you'll do best in a focused group. And comments on forums definitely show up in searches.

There are now Twitter groups - twibes.com - which I didn't know til yesterday. Breathed a sigh of relief, because Twitter's too damn big, and special interest groups get me closer to good relationships quicker. ('Course, that's just me. Not everyone is Twitter-challenged, by any means.)

I joined this forum at the very birth of my involvement online, so it's guided my learning in a big way, and remains still an indispensable resource.