Participate in the Community to Make Your Marketing Credible

As part of the series of blog posts about why it’s important to make your marketing credible and how you can do it, I wanted to look at online communities as they become increasingly important in the age of social media. These communities can range from the conversations that take place on popular blogs to discussion forums to more extensive platforms built on tools like Ning.

It's no secret that prospects trust what their peers and/or friends say most of all. What has changed is that these tools now exist where they can more easily have a conversation with people of similar interests. You need to find the relevant communities where these conversations are taking place and then listen and participate in a helpful way.

One place I would start to look for a community is in the blogs that are written around topics of interest to you and your market. For one, the conversations in the comment sections of various blogs can form the basis of a community onto itself. And, bloggers will more often than not be involved in or be founders of a community and they will mention it from time to time. I know this is how I've found a couple of marketing communities of which I am a member (Third Tribe Marketing and ProBlogger).

You may also want to check industry organizations similar to the ones I talked about previously as they will have communities built into or around them. There are also organizations for certain job functions that should be explored too. And, while you may hate to do it, you should also check your competitors to see which communities they participate in or if they started one. In industries where there is no focused community, you could start one and invite other companies to join you as well.

Once you have found the right community, you need to realize there is a certain etiquette about how you can and should participate in a community and that's why listening first is so important. You can't, for example, go into the community and try to sell your product. That's not what it's about and that won't help you make your marketing more credible.

Once you understand the players, dynamics and the topics of a particular community from listening, then you need to jump in and participate. You need to be helpful and share your expertise. Help other members solve their problems and offer value whenever your contribute. That's how you will become known and respected in your community

You do need to realize there is a certain commitment here (and I speak from experience as I have not contributed to my communities like I should). Individuals and companies that join a community just to use the logo or link to the website are not going to be respected. You need to be involved as I do believe that you will get out of it what you put into it.

In the past, communities were limited by geography but the Internet and social media make it easy to create communities that span the globe. Communities are now formed by people of similar interests, everywhere. If these interests match your own, then join, listen, learn and give back. That type of involvement will benefit you, your start-up and your marketing by making it more credible.

Comments

[Hot-air balloons]

interesting what you got goin on here. could you share a few pointers maybe? im sturggling to get my blog even off the ground. you have my email if you don't want to post it here for everyone to see