ARTICLE
An insurgence of viral marketers to forums across the net has become something of an epidemic. Marketing in forums is done because of its cost-effectiveness among other things, yet many non-marketer forum members are beginning to get fed up.
The use of forums for marketing products, new websites, and other assorted items becomes quite annoying to users with a desire to use the forum for its intended purpose. Forum members who have been around and have established clout with other members and moderators feel a bit more than slighted than casual forum users, however their distaste is becoming more apparent as the epidemic ensues.
Many sites are increasing the amount of moderators to monitor the forums in an effort to stop these viral marketers. It is quite apparent that a forum member’s intention is to market products or services when they do so while never having posted on the forum in the past. This makes less savvy viral marketers easy targets for the forum police (moderators).
Although most viral marketers on forums are easy to spot, some understand that their intentions must be masked in order to stay a member of a particular forum. It is becoming common for marketers to open up multiple accounts on a specific site, and engage in dialog between what appears to be two separate members. This allows the marketers number of posts to be increased, therefore making it less likely for moderators to notice their presence.
Another tactic that these marketers use is to blend in for a while before bringing up their product or service to sell. The marketer will periodically visit a site and engage in conversations on various topics, all the while seeming genuinely interested in the discussion. This is extra beneficial if the marketer actually has an interest in the topics discussed. It will make others think that the marketer is a normal member, and any thought that their purpose is to sell something will be banished by suspecting moderators and fellow members.
Forums also help tremendously in niche marketing. For instance, if the marketer is spread the word about their new and different yoga mat, a yoga or wellness forum would be the perfect target. Additionally, since the yoga mat marketer most likely has an interest in yoga himself or herself, they will not only learn more about the activity, but more about how the target market thinks.
So, if you want to effectively market in forums, be sure to keep it low-key and build a positive reputation before you try to sell anything. After a while, ease into the sales pitch, and the rest will follow.
