Forum marketing has recently been talked about as a type of free, natural, viral marketing. But because so many viral marketers go to forums to promote their products or services, their actions and attitudes have the opposite effect of what they want.
Forums aren't meant to be used as marketplaces, but when they are, the actions of viral marketers are rude and will only make other members and marketers angry. Plus, moderators can close them from the site with the click of a button.
For this kind of marketing to work, there needs to be a certain amount of commitment, responsibility, and respect. The first thing you have to do is care about the main topic of the forums. Not only does that mean being active on the forum, but it also means getting along well with other members and moderators and taking an interest in helping other people. Of course, it also means following all the rules that are already in place. By doing that, you can build a good reputation, and since people naturally want to work with people they trust, this will lead to more business.
This type of viral marketing has already been abused, so many forums have recently made strict rules to protect their members from abusive or overly aggressive viral marketers. One forum won't let a member have a.sig file until they've made 100 valid posts, and another has banned all ads from.sig files.
Viral Marketers need to understand that the point of a forum is to share ideas about a certain subject. It isn't there to sell or promote anything. By staying on topic and posting questions and answers, a marketer's reputation will grow, which will naturally increase the chance of sales.
There are some things you need to do in order to use forums to do viral marketing well.
Do Your Homework: You need to do some research before you join any forum.
As a viral marketer becomes a regular member, they will hopefully get a good name, and people who are interested in their product will come to them without them having to say a word about their promotion.
