Social forums, especially those where businesses have the opportunity to get involved with answering questions is a popular way to network. LinkedIn is one of the best social media sites that offers groups and opportunities to offer expert knowledge in a way to strengthen social proof and become better known to potential new clients and customers. How your business conducts itself on these forums will have a direct affect on your business reputation, so you want to make sure this is managed effectively and with the best interest of your professional image in mind.
Forget answering questions if you are going to come off as advertising or marketing your own brand, that will immediately turn off your audience. Instead, approach forums as an expert in the field of your products and services and what those offerings do to solve problems for other businesses you hope to sell to. Answer questions thoughtfully as a leader while also offering qualitative and quantitative support in your answers as well in order to offer an attractive image to your business. People will naturally look further into your business when they are impressed with how you respond as a representative of your brand.
When you focus on relevant posts and offer answers or comments that are well thought out, it will serve you much better than chiming in and sounding as if the only reason you are making a comment is to get your business name out there. In this regard, quality over quantity will give you a much better chance of establishing your business as a great resource for potential new business. You will see the proof in this when others begin to contact your business with inquiries outside of the forums.
Remembering the social conventions and etiquette in real world networking events and applying them while engaged with a forum will go a long way in helping your business attain the professional image that will attract the best attention from those also engaged in the forum. With this in mind, remember to acknowledge other’s in the thread, especially if your post comes in third or fourth. Validating someone else’s opinions will look as if you took the time to thoughtfully read through everything and even if it is a competitor, creating the goodwill is an important practice.
Along with taking time to review the forums to help increase your B2B social media marketing success, ask some of your own questions that are relevant to your industry. When you create an environment that others will want to engage in, instead of just always being the expert, your business will look more approachable. Asking what others think of current events affecting your industry is always a popular way to get people talking while still keeping an expert image for your business.
