Building personal relationships on forums
Because of the anonymous nature of the internet
people are generally more skeptical when it comes to doing
business online. Owing partly to famous internet scams
sensationalized by the media and to bad personal experiences
online, people are less likely to trust a party whom they've
never met in person.
As an online marketer, you face the challenge of building trust
and loyalty without the benefit of a physical handshake, a
face-to-face meeting, or even a smile. To this end online forums
can provide an excellent way to build meaningful relationships
with people and attract new customers.
By joining a forum in your area of expertise, you gain access to
a community that shares your interests as well as a pool of
potential customers. There are countless forums dealing with
just about any topic imaginable. The vast majority of forums do
not charge you a fee to register or post messages. Many allow
you to include with your posts self-promotional "signatures"
that you can use to promote your business and link to your
website.
A good way to locate a forum relevant to your line of business
is to do a keyword search using one of the major search
engines. Why a major search engine? A Google search for
"website marketing forum," for example, will not only return
dozens of relevant forums on website marketing, but will also
give you an indication of how highly they are regarded by the
search engine giant, as gauged by how high they rank for that
key phrase. Forums that rank higher on the search engine result
pages (SERPs) are the ones of which you'll want to become a
member.
Forums allow you to share knowledge and gain reputation as an
expert in your field. Offering concrete advices that are
immediately useful to other people is an especially effective
marketing technique. Once you've gained credibility in your
field, you will be sought after for your professional expertise
without your having to promote yourself.
Participating in forums is also an excellent way to humanize
yourself and your business. When people deal with you, they'll
know that they're dealing with a real person, not a nameless,
faceless business entity. By staking your reputation online,
you demonstrate that you are willing to accept some degree of
accountability for your actions.
If you're a generally honest and agreeable person in the real
life, there is no reason to hide behind a company name when
conducting business online. The personal qualities that make you
likable in the real world will also make you likable in
cyberspace. Indeed, establishing meaningful relationships
online is a lot like making friends in the real world. After
all, on the other side of the terminal is a real person with
real emotions just like you.
Another key to meaningful online relationships is to create an
atmosphere of openness and transparency. Although you normally
use a nickname to start and respond to posts in public forums,
you should use your real name in private correspondences. It is
good practice to begin your messages with a salutation,
addressing them by their real name whenever possible. A little
courtesy can go a long way in building loyalty and trust.
Apart from selling your personal qualities, you must have
something of value to offer to people-- and at prices that are
fair to everyone! On a venue where your personal reputation is
not at stake, you can price a widget for any amount you want and
hope someone will come along and buy it. When you do business
on forums, however, you must be extra value-conscious when
pricing your product or service. If you overprice your widget,
you risk receiving flames from other members that could harm
your reputation. This is why it's so important to research what
other members are charging for a similar widget and to price
yours competitively. Often you'll end up charging lower prices
to members of your forum than to other customers with whom you
have not developed as close a relationship for the same widget.
Building positive relationships is about making people feel
important. Just as you want to feel good for having sold your
product or service, people want to feel good for having bought
it. This is why it is so important to promptly answer their
questions and attend to their concerns. Listen to their inputs
and incorporate their ideas into your business practices. This
is how you make your customers a part of your team. It's not a
stretch to speak of your customer as a member of your team. When
you really think about it, no business can exist without its
customers. Teamwork is not limited to interacting with other
members of your company. It also takes teamwork to build a
constructive, mutually beneficial relationship between you and
your customers.
Oudam Em is the webmaster of
www.unlimitedtraffic.net, a site that offers a wide range of
effective and affordable solutions to
increase website traffic. Visit his site for more helpful
articles on website promotion and online marketing.
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