What are Forums?

A Forum consists a collection of areas in which users can post topics for discussion, or reply to topics that already exist. All forums are divided into a series of Categories, specific forums and in some cases subforums.

An example of a forum is Honda Tech, a forum for Honda enthusiasts. This forum has categories consisting of model specific forums, technical forums, Sponsor Marketplace and two member forums. Within each of these categories, there are foums that deal with specific topics, such as forums for each specific car model, and technical issues like Welding/Fabrication, drag racing and stereo / audio systems.

There are forums on the internet for all manner of topics, from politics to humour, religion to intellectual debate. In the main, though, most forums tend to have a slant towards tech related topics like computer games, hardware, software and programming.

Benefits of a Forum

Forums can serve a business in a variety of ways. For a company, a forum is a great way to communicate with existing and potential customers, to offer support and help, as well as address potentially damaging negative press. Forums also add "stickiness", that is a reason to return.

From an SEO perspective, additional content almost always produces additional search traffic. Content is King is almost a mantra in Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and a forum with significant content will drive large volumes of traffic. As content can be very expensive to develop via traditional means, the volumes of content generated by a successful forum can be very cost effective.

Virtually all business types can benefit from forums in some way. In particular, industries that sell services that have post-sale support as a concern, such as software vendors and Health care practitioners, can benefit the most from setting up a forum.

A great example of a company that uses a forum as a primary means of customer communication and marketing is Opera. As the makers of the third or fourth most popular browser, behind Mozilla, IE and Netscape, and as the only one that charges for its software, Opera has used its forums as everything from a marketing tool, to a bug reporting and question asking resource, as well as first point of customer contact.

Another benefit of forums is that, due to the informal style of writing, the types of searches forums are found for are usually very different to those generated by traditional website copy. Forum content also tends to include lots of spelling mistakes, poor grammar and heavy use of adjectives, all of which are positives as far as SEO is concerned, but not necessarily the sort of copywriting that a business can, or should, be involved in.

Forums also offer great viral marketing potential. Rumours and innuendo are forum fodder, and leaking information or stories via forums can led to huge returns. As the cost of such campaigns is negligible, using forums to promote a product or service can be very effective, so long as the forums rules on ettiquette are followed.

To Set Up or Support

Forums can be a great tool for generating customers and maximising customer loyalty and branding, but in many instances, the work required to keep them running is more than the expected returns. In such cases, it may make more sense to support established industry forums, either directly, via sponsorship, or via an authorised presence.

As an example of the later, Google employees frequent a number of Search related forums, with a specific identity representing different areas of their business. Google has GoogleGuy to speak for Google's free, crawler based index, AdWordsRep offering perspective on Google's AdWords program and GmailRep discussing Google's new free email service. This strategy has been so succesful that other Search Engines have followed Google's lead, with Yahoo and Ask Jeeves also having representatives.

Having a presence on repected industry forums is a good proposition for all concerned. A business gets to discuss relevant issues and build consumer confidence while remaining arms length from the problems associated with running a forum, users have a means to communicate with businesses directly without having to visit multiple forums and the presence of industry reps validates the forum in users eyes, helping those running the forum to generate members and stay afloat.

In some cases their will be no relevant forum for a business to join. In cases where there is, providing representatives may be the best course of action.

Setting Up a Forum

Should a business choose to set up a forum, there are several major issues to consider:

Software Selection

The cost of forum software varies from free, open source products (like phpBB) upto a few hundred dollars. The greatest cost for a forum is likely to be hosting, as forums use quite a lot of server resources, and if they grow large enough, often require their own server, if not a few.

Ensuring that the software selected is Search Engine friendly is an absolute must in maximising the investments ROI. Most every piece of forum software on the market can be made search engine friendly, but unfortunately very few come that way "out of the box".

A quick run down of the major players offering forum software includes:

Moderation

The tone to take in forums is vital in their success. Many times, posts in forums are direct attacks on the product or service offerred. How a company handles such threads is crucial to a forum's survival.

A company forum that has no negative comments, and practices heavy censorship, will end up an empty forum that serves no useful purpose. A forum that has no moderation is equally likely to suffer such a fate. Finding a happy balance between the two is important.

A specific example of excellent moderation, in the face of open hostility, is this thread on the Opera forum. Haavard, an Opera employee, responds by addressing specific concerns about the product, while avoiding both responding to or censoring what are quite pointed comments, some of which are racially motivated.

For any site planning to set up a forum, A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy is a must read. This article outlines many points that are vital to the health of a forum, and the tools required to ensure the forums are maintained, productive and useful.

Example Forums

A great example of an Australian business using forums effectively is The Vogue Australia Forums. These forums are incredibly active, with over 500,000 posts, which ranks it amongst the largest on the internet.

10 April 2005