By Emma Hamilton
Should you really invest money and energy trying to compete with teen online uber-playgrounds like MySpace and Facebook, or user-generated superstores Ebay and Amazon? For most of us, the answer is almost certainly not – but that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from hosting a forum or managing an online community.
Don’t ignore the voices
The reality is, there’s probably already an opinionated community chatting away behind your back about things related to your products, services, or, if you’re big enough, your brand. In the online world, everything is fair game for comment.
Should you be flattered? Maybe. Even if you’re not, you can reap the benefits by listening to what they’re saying and interacting with them.
Think of it this way: if positive things are being said about you, you can build on your success. If there’s negativity being expressed, isn’t it better to know exactly why and by whom? If they’ve misinterpreted something, you can set them straight. And if you really have got something wrong, you can react to it.
Don't believe the horror stories
OK, say you are willing to dip a tentative toe into the world of social networking – you might start with a simple company blog, offering some useful information and asking for feedback.
Sooner or later someone may say something you don’t like, so you make a knee-jerk reaction and start censoring things. After all, you’ve heard horror stories about online uprisings causing havoc and creating a media storm.
But freedom of speech is a fickle mistress – people won’t take kindly to you getting too busy with the virtual Tip-ex. So, as hard as it may seem, when you feel like your control is slipping away try not to slam on the breaks.
Relax and let your community grow
The key to running a successful forum or community is to relax. A community can be a genuinely effective tool but only if you go with the flow and are seen to be genuinely listening to people.
You’ve given yourself the power to cut out the media and talk directly to the man on the street. Clearly, if you start trying to manipulate their thoughts, opinions or behaviours online to suit your own ends, you’ll have a mutiny on your hands.
Power to the people
So, what the new media enthusiasts are saying isn’t all that far off the mark. Giving your customers airtime can prove an invaluable asset to your business.
Without too much digging you’re getting information straight from the horse’s mouth about your target audience, your place in the market and even what people think of you. An on-tap panel of experts - it’s the kind of tool marketers fantasise about.
But of course, nothing is that easy. There are a number of pitfalls community and forum managers can fall into. Read other articles in our online community knowledge series to learn more.
Read the next in the series: how to find and access a useful online community >