Do You Know the Difference Between a Blog and a Forum?

Many people use the words forum and blog interchangeably. While there are certainly a few similarities between the two portals, that which differentiates them are important to understand for your success in using them or marketing your own website with them.

Both involve communities of people who can leave comments which will be read by others. Certainly this is similar as well to other social media. From a marketing point of view, both forums and blogs have the ability to increase your customer retention if you are planning on using one or the other or even both on your own website, for example. Both can also serve to increase your SEO rankings as well.

What sets the two apart, however, is their actual purpose and function.

Generally speaking, the author posts information, an opinion or a commentary on the topic of his or her choosing in a blog. Readers of the blog may be able to leave their comments on what the author has posted. Think of a blog as attending a presentation. After the main speaker has completed his or her delivery, those in the audience may be allowed to ask questions or offer their own views. Your attendance at the presentation is your choice because of the subject matter.

The concept of a community forum, on the other hand, is to help people resolve a problem or issue with a product or a service. In a forum, anyone can start a new topic; and, other community members can respond with advice or suggestions. The goal is to solve the problem posed by the original author of that topic. This allows for a two-way conversation between the topic author and the other forum members. This is not unlike a group of people sitting around a kitchen table helping the host decide the best way to fix a leaking pipe for example.

Simply put, if you are the author of a blog, you have total control over the topics to be discussed. If you are a reader of that blog, you can comment on what the writer has said, but you cannot choose a new subject. In a forum, members can and do start new discussions at their own discretion.

Both blogs and community forums are valuable information sources in their own rights; but, if you are looking to get self-help online, the forum is probably the best way to go.

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Internet Marketing Forums - Using Forums To Establish Yourself As An Expert In Your Field

Forum marketing is a very effective way of getting your name and reputation established. The best way to find relevant forums is to type in your relevant word or phrase "+" the word "forum" in your browser. Then check out a few forums before deciding on the one or ones of most interest and relevance to you. You can also use the words "best" or "top" when searching for your forum to see what is rated the highest by other users.

There is such a thing as forum etiquette and it really pays to make sure you read up the forum rules and rules for posting before you are banned, accused of spamming or generally annoy regular users of the forum who use their forum as an effective communication tool for their niche or area of interest.

Once you are familiar with how the particular forum works, then I would recommend you just spend time there getting familiar with the forum dynamics, key players, main topics being discussed etc.

Then pick out some discussions you are interested in. If you can answer any questions without sounding promotional, then do so. Alternatively, you can comment on what someone wrote. If you disagree with a post, then do so, but keep it a fair comment and use your words constructively. This way you will not draw attention to yourself for all the wrong reasons. You may find others agreeing with you also and even build up a following this way. People who stand out for the right reasons do tend to get greater recognition.

Some forums do not allow links in the comments section and confine them to the biography of the user. If this is the case, then this is where someone can find your details if they want to find out more about you. If you are allowed to put links to your site at the end of your comment, then that is great.

Try to post comments on the most active threads and posts with the most views. This way more people see your comment. If you offer some relevant information or solution on your site, then anyone interested in learning more will be most likely to go over to your site and check things out. If they found the information useful, they may even recommend it to other forum users.

If I was to leave you with a last tip for successfully using forums, it would be to never try to sell anything on a forum. Be yourself without being promotional. When you are seen as a credible contributor to forums, more traffic will venture over to your blog or website.

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