When it comes to internet forums, I'm definitely a "lurker", as described in Chapter 6 of the Social Media Bible. I like to log on to various forums to see the comments, but I don't add my own. It's fascinating to see on-going discussions and arguments and watch actual friendships develop between active members. While I'm not interested in that kind of "cyber-life" for myself, I can see where it could be a valuable tool for building community.
As with many other forms of social media, one of the key elements is honesty and openness. It's important to win the trust of other forum members and not be doing a hard-sell right off the bat. In the article, "12 Keys To Successful Forum Marketing", (http://onlinebusiness.about.com/od/gettingtrafficmarketing/tp/forum-marketing.htm), author Gregory Go recommends using forums as way to provide helpful information.
"This is the key to successful forum marketing," Go writes. "Whenever anyone asks a question related to your products or services, dazzle them with incredibly useful answers. These situations are opportunities to demonstrate your expertise and to generate good will. Backup your advice with links to trusted sources, and respond to follow up questions quickly.Leave out your sales pitch in the beginning. Any hint of bias in your initial posts will erase all your hard work. By keeping your answers objective, the entire community will start thinking of you as a trusted expert. They will soon start asking you for your recommendations. When you get direct inquiries for recommendations you may then safely mention your business without appearing biased."
I do think there's still room for misuse of forum sites by businesses. I remember reading about companies that would hire people to pose as unbiased users of a product in order to provide rave reviews on forum sites. I often visit the site TripAdvisor.com before I take a vacation to check out reviews of hotels and resorts. But I'm always aware that glowing reviews could be coming from hotel employees, for example, especially of most of the other comments are not as positive.
One of the reasons I like the site, VRBO.com ), Vacation Rental By Owner, is that you can often contact the person by email or on the phone and actually talk to them. I get a better feeling from speaking directly to a property owner and asking questions. There are definitely limitations to using social media for advice on the purchase of a product.
Good advice from Gregory Go. I usually look for forums only after I have a problem, like with a product or something. I'm kind of an impulse buyer. But I do read the feedback on the trip sites, as well as feedback on Amazon and places like that. Especially when it's right handy when you're considering a purchase, absolutely you're going to look at it. You make some good points about the ethics of forums, how to make sure your forums aren't corrupted (either positively or negatively) is something PR people need to worry about and monitor.
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