Social Media Marketing

[janeth]

A lot of people spend time trying to build a name for themselves or their businesses online. One of the best ways to do this is with forums. After spending six months on one forum I turned around and started my own, I had over 500 people follow me from the one forum to the other. And that was without having to contact them or ask them to do so. I had built a good enough name for myself on the first forum that the members wanted to continue discussing things with me. The problem was that I continued to visit other forums and never focused on those that had followed me.

I’ve found over the years that owning a forum is not the best way to go about making money with a forum. There is more money to be made hanging out and helping others that there is with trying to market, own, operate and help people on your own forum.

I supported my web design business for over 2 years by using nothing but forums. But the problem with forums is from time to time you run across a moderator that does not have a clue what is going on and makes post out of the blue that brings threads off topic and causes problems in the very forum that he is suppose to be moderating. And it’s not just the moderators it happens with forum members as well. When there is an exchange of information going on people are learning from each other and that is a valuable tool when trying to make a living online.

It is of value to both the forum and the forum members for moderators to understand that they are not gods. There job is to keep out spam and try and keep the forum going. Not hinder its growth by making off topic post.

And if you’re on the right forum you are learning and making money.

Take for an example if I was a jewelry maker and was posting on a forum full of people who owned jewelry stores. I can explain to them how to do this and that and helping them out and I stand a chance of someone needing something and asking me to make it.

When MySpace hit everyone stared leaving the forums and running to MySpace and yelling about social media marketing. I’ve played around a little on MySpace, face book and many others. And none of them are as good as forums. And twitter, while I like it, is nothing more than a messenger. I am not sure what direction social media is taking but I would love to see it head in the direction of something similar to forums rather than sites like MySpace.

I wonder what you would need to make a forum go over as big as MySpace?

[kgun]

Good post Janeth.

Some fads and bubbles burst and disappear. I have seen popular chat's fade and finally die. In my view:

1. Forums will stay. Some will die, the most important will get more important.
2. Social media networks will stay. Some of them will die too.

I think social bookmarking del.icio.us and participating in a professional netwok like LinkedIn: Relationships Matter will stay. The same with Welcome to Facebook! | Facebook and Digg / All News, Videos, & Images.

You mention moderators and forum members that (like me) think they know everything. The most frustrating for me personally is when I meet persons that don't have a high school degree in mathematics and they start polluting a highly mathematical subject like the Google algorithm, especially the Pagerank part of it. So moderators have to be very careful with new members. Are you sure that the new member doesn't have a Dr. degree in mathematics or statistics? I am sure that some of them will leave fairly quickly, even on a claimed professional forum like WPW.

500 members following to your forum? Why not sign up on LinkedIn: Relationships Matter and let them follow you there? I can invite you if I get your email address. I am not active there now, but you and your fellow members may. You may get customers there, one of the better social networks to get customers in my view, since it is about sharing professional profiles and ideas.

One last thing. I think the ability to spot new trends and adapt dynamically will be very important to survive and prosper with your web business. Don't jump on every new fad. But you know how to see the difference, even when old kgun "spam" your post since no one else commented.

[janeth]

Originally Posted by kgun

You mention web masters and forum members that (like me) think they know everything. The most frustrating for me personally is when I meet persons that don't have a high school degree in mathematics and they start polluting a highly mathematical subject like the Google algorithm, especially the Pagerank par of it. So moderators have to be very careful with new members. Are you sure that the new member doesn't have a Dr. degree in mathematics or statistics? I am sure that some of them will leave fairly quickly, even on a claimed professional forum like WPW.

And some are very well known on other forums but because of the low post count people think they are new. New here does not mean new to the internet.

Originally Posted by kgun

Why not sign up on LinkedIn: Relationships Matter and let them follow you there? I can invite you if I get your email address.

janeth at geeksonsteroids.com

Originally Posted by kgun

One last thing. I think the ability to spot new trends and adapt dynamically will be very important to survive and prosper with your web business. Don't jump on every new fad.

I do believe that is the hardest one.

[kgun]

Originally Posted by janeth

And some are very well known on other forums but because of the low post count people think they are new. New here does not mean new to the internet.

I am fully aware of that. I always look at join date, especially when collecting a link.

Originally Posted by janeth

janeth at geeksonsteroids.com

You should have an invitation now. You have to edit your last name, since I did not find that in a hurry, so I used your domain name.

Originally Posted by janeth

I do believe that is the hardest one.

Yes, good blogs, social networks and forums are one important place to discover new trends.

I also think mobile browsing is becoming more important. Have you tried to target the mobile market? Don't use too much time on it in the beginning, but if (when) you have free resources, that may also be a profitable niche in the future.
Link: The mobile revolution

Mobile shopping via a Paypal account and eBay. It is a fact already.

One idea for your company:
A Norwegain webmaster that is fairly famous here Bedre Webkommunikasjon - Nettredaktor.no and where I regularily get invitations did the following.

1. She have a email maling list network.
2. About a week ago, I was invited to a party there. Her business is web education.
3. She arranged a fashion show at the party.
4. She awaited 300 persons.
5. When 610 had joined (many friends because of the fashion show) she closed the invitation.

What do you think she did? She sold beer / wine / food etc at the party. I am sure even if the price for beer / wine / food were low that she had a fairly good profit. And she got exellent ad for her business. The fashion company got free ad too of course.

Picasso:
He was a marketing genious. He invited a lot of people to his parties where the wine flew free. But he sold paintings ...

[ctabuk]

Oh I so agree with the pair of you - totally and completely.

Social networking is the way forward. I use the Stumbleupon toolbar - it's excellent and del.icio.us and facebook.

But Janeth this quote of yours
'I supported my web design business for over 2 years by using nothing but forums. But the problem with forums is from time to time you run across a moderator that does not have a clue what is going on and makes post out of the blue that brings threads off topic and causes problems in the very forum that he is suppose to be moderating. And it’s not just the moderators it happens with forum members as well. When there is an exchange of information going on people are learning from each other and that is a valuable tool when trying to make a living online.

It is of value to both the forum and the forum members for moderators to understand that they are not gods. There job is to keep out spam and try and keep the forum going. Not hinder its growth by making off topic post.'


Spot on - next time it happens - PM me or Jawn or any other Moderator here at WPW. Our unpaid job is to serve. Rep points awarded - after all only that what the rep point system is here for.

[janeth]

Originally Posted by ctabuk

Spot on - next time it happens - PM me or Jawn or any other Moderator here at WPW.

Your were the one doing it. Don't you know?