Essential to a B2B company is its digital presence. In fact, most businesses rely profoundly on their online presence to drive their lead generation and appointment setting efforts. This is to a point that they leverage various strategies and channels in order to bring home business prospects that can turn into sales leads.
One of many ways to an effective B2B lead generation experience online is forum posting.
Social media communities mainly exist on special forums, where participants engage in meaningful conversations on topics that matter to them. They want in on the items of the day or in other words, trends that they need to be a part of. Likewise, businesses in their respective domains should be able to listen to what their respective market is talking about in order to come up with effective plans for the future.
It is a given that forum posting can do a good job of broadcasting one’s brand effectively. But considering the democratized culture of online information sharing, marketers need to know that there’s a fine line separating fruitful discussions from striking a chord.
Sometimes, businesses can go as far as turning away potential clients because they do not follow certain rules in basic forum etiquette, the most important of which are:
Avoid ranting.
Perhaps, the most important item on this list to consider. An effective online presence is anchored on professionalism, which cannot be obtained when you insist on using a thread as a platform to attack other marketers or complain about strategies and systems that do not go so well with your goals.
Be rational.
In place of ranting, try to engage the problem rationally. Debates are typical in forums. In fact, they are the types of discussions that offer the most value to participants. Offering arguments that lack any rational basis whatsoever can be annoying, if not earn you a suspension or a lower reputation among your audience.
Be honest.
When engaging in arguments, you will need hard evidences to support your position in a discussion. Otherwise, by giving off unqualified information, you will run the risk of having people question your legitimacy as a solutions-provider.
Avoid advertising.
There is a time and place for advertising your products and services, so regularly spamming a thread with promotional material isn’t exactly the best demand generation idea to consider. Forum participation allows you to get in touch with your market directly, make them aware of your profile and ultimately direct them towards your sales pipeline.
