FORUMS AND GROWING ROBUST COMMUNITIES WITH THEM
Users are looking for new ways to connect with communities of like-minded individuals in spaces that aren’t centered around social media. For the first time in what seems like decades, the age of “group chat” has returned in the form of - you guessed it: forums. Join us for a brief dive into the world of forums, where to find one, and what it takes to manage a successful online community hosted by your business.
Platforms we recommend:
Originally built for the gaming community to offer voice chat capabilities, Discord is an increasingly popular platform used for building communities and engaging with others virtually. Discord offers opportunities for users to join multiple servers and alternate between each one with ease. Users can also engage with one another via direct message if so desired. Within each server, channels can be established that are dedicated to specific topics, communities, and friend groups that relate to the brand or server host. Private channels are available for mods and server owners to engage with outside of the community. Additionally, voice and video channels can be used by server owners, should you wish to host a stream or video call. You can also easily integrate with third-party applications that notify users of happenings, should you host a twitch channel or other content that your users can engage with outside of the channel.
Slack is another popular platform used to grow forum-based communities. Slack was built for the workplace originally, with startups and the tech community in mind. Much like Discord, Slack comes with the ability to organize multiple channels based on topic focus and integrates well with third-party applications. Users are also able to join other Slack servers from a single access point.
Unlike Slack and Discord, LinkedIn operates more like Facebook than these other chat-based forums. Owned by Facebook, LinkedIn serves as a platform for working professionals looking to engage and network with fellow professionals and companies. LinkedIn offers groups much like Facebook, that focus on specific topics or brands. Here is where users can post, promote and share content that relates to said group, most often using it to segue into their own business ventures. Unlike the aforementioned platforms, it’s a welcome practice for users to take any opportunity within reason to promote your business, other than in congratulating others on their accomplishments and anniversaries, of course.
Boundaries and Best Practices
Create Forum Rules and Expectations
As is common in creating any communal space, it’s important to establish forum rules and expectations for your member users. These set the tone for conversations your users plan to have, including the use of language and prohibition of specific topics or behaviors that would make the space unsafe for users in some way. We recommend setting rules like prohibiting hate speech, self-promotion unless the channel or thread is deemed as such, and use of foul language if your space operates where users may be uncomfortable by the use of such language.
Set Accountability Game Plan
Sometimes, forums scale to a point where admins are required to maintain and monitor the community for discrepancies, listen to aired grievances and sometimes remove users from the conversation if they’ve violated the community rules. When you approach this point, it’s important to delegate a few admins to take care of these responsibilities so that your team can focus on higher-level items as your community grows and flourishes on its own.
Types of Spaces To Create
Once a forum is chosen and rules are established, it’s time to lay the groundwork and facilitate conversations. Let’s talk about ways to get and keep the conversation going.
Discussion
Discussions are great ways for users to share their perspectives and personal experiences with one another as it relates to the discussion prompt. It’s a great first step to take as forum moderators looking for engagement from the community on topics that might help better inform marketing research around buyer behavior and beliefs.
Feedback
While it may not always produce the most desired results, creating space for users to provide feedback on products, services, or new ventures fostered by your business opens a new door to understanding what your customers think of your business. While some brands may offer testing spaces in-person, a forum helps reduce those costs and, in turn, environmental impacts by moving those efforts to the virtual side. Perhaps within these forums lie niche groups of your “influencers” or customers that are sought out within your base for their opinion on your brand’s happenings.
Q&A
Q&A sessions are a popular way to engage with users, whether it be product-related or a cross-promotion with another brand or personal figure. Reddit is a popular platform where the “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) model was popularized. In this format, users are able to engage with a popular or famous figure and ask questions about that individual or the element they are trying to promote. As a brand, one could host opportunities to give users space to ask questions about your business. Be reminded that this space *is* transparent, and could be used to ask harder-to-answer questions.
Final Recommendations
Be Consistent
Your forums are an extension of your marketing campaigns and strategic planning, and therefore a plan should be constructed that outlines your existing marketing efforts. Meaning, if you’ve mapped a newsletter campaign to be released on social media, try opening a discussion platform seeking feedback on the kind of topics your users would like to see in these newsletters. This will support a more unified message from your brand to your community.
Be Patient, It’s A New Thing.
Though forums aren’t necessarily a thing of the past, they’ve made a resurgence in popularity, and this time to be used specifically as a social marketing tool. It will take time for your users to acclimate to the new space. Make sure to accompany the launch of your forum with a well-thought-out campaign that reminds users of the new space, as well as a few tips on how to get started. The more hand-holding you can provide in the beginning, the better.
Test and Retest Before Launch
Each forum-hosting platform offers their own special features and tools that make community engagement easier, or harder. Prior to launching your platform, make sure to test and re-test the features with a small beta group made up of team members and perhaps a small group of loyal customers or supporters.
Conclusion
Creating a forum for your customers seeking community is a great way to connect, interact and engage in ways that are personal and transparent. Within these forums, loyal customers are made. Spend time testing different platforms to see which works best for your brand and your audience demographic. With an intentional platform paired with a thought-out plan, it’s our assured hope that your new forum will launch successfully. If you’re looking for assistance to add this functionality to your business, request a project, and let’s get the conversation started.
