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Develop Control Through Your Use of Add/Edit Managers
Valuable and informative, but like all other interactive media platforms, forums do also need to be professionally managed. Using a free message board to attract comment and interest provides a powerful hook for customers and others, allowing them to know their voices can be heard, feelings and opinions accounted for. Do make sure that nothing is viewed there that can cause people to be offended or turn prospects away from your internet forum or even your business itself.
Consider a System to Effectively Manage Members
It’s worth considering having the opportunity to both encourage anonymous posts and comments, and to encourage people to sign up to your message boards as members. With the latter, whenever they take advantage of an opportunity to post a new comment, these are likely to have more weight, suggesting their use of, or at least interest in, your products or services. Of course, having more information can also allow you to interact with them in other ways.
Decide Whether to Lock the Forum to Members Only
Another opportunity provided by this terrific Livecity package. Your forum website, or part of it, could have restricted access, allowing more confidential comment to be posted – for example where academic research might be a topic for consideration. Free boards can be open to all, while others can be restricted to a select group. This gives you the opportunity to market the latter as an extra service or opportunity with an invitation that is only extended to certain people, especially groups who enjoy the idea of exclusivity.
Make Sure You Set the Forum Rules
Forum moderators are often unpopular people, contributors feel they are being prevented from being as outspoken as they want to be. However, even a free online forum or discussion board needs to be subject to certain standards of behavior. Remember, this is for your company, not simply a casual grouping. Therefore, any controversy reflects back on you. Setting and enforcing sensible rules, monitoring each message board topic, allows reasonable people to enjoy the opportunity – and they will always understand that some others can easily ruin it for all.
Delve Into Your Forum Statistics
Finding out who is visiting and why turns your forum into a valuable marketing tool. So, beyond what is actually posted on your forum, are the statistics which allow you to find out more about both subjects and contributors. This information may then inform changes to the way your business operates, and these might well be reflected by the chance to make amendments across your website. Forums help let you know what you do well, need to improve in, and don’t currently do that people want you to. Great marketing news!
Take the Time to Manage Threads
As well as your online, perhaps private, message board as a whole, take time to regularly manage and assess the threads that appear within it. This is like keeping up-to-date with what is "trending" on the key internet social media sites. Free message boards online are still like those that used to appear on real walls. Discover what people feel is important enough to pin up! Then use this information, direct it as you can, and turn such posts into powerful marketing opportunities, thanks to this superb Livecity package.
