Internet Business Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses

Everyone hates spam, especially message board readers. But you can still utilize message boards to appropriately spread your message and brand.

The benefits are clear. Forums usually have an established community and strong pages within their niche. Tapping into this mini-market could help your brand immensely. Here are some tips to consider.

1. Don’t spam. If you start putting links to your website all around a forum, you’ll be frowned upon and probably banned. That’s not the way to build positive brand recognition. Just remember: if it feels like spam, it probably is.

2. Choose a good username. If you run Susie’s Flower Shop, don’t make your username “coolguy25.” The best bet is to make your username your company name or your own real name. Try “flower_susie” or “susie’s_shop.” Creativity is fine, but you want people to associate the username with your goods or service.

3. Use your avatar. Most forums allow users to have a small picture by their username. This is your avatar. It appears next to every post you make. Edit your user profile, and make your avatar be your company logo. Nobody will complain about that, and people might even get curious and check out your site.

4. Signatures are your friend. You can probably setup a “signature” in the forum, which will appear below every post you make. Do NOT fill it with links (see tip #1). Instead, choose one or two good links and add a few words, describing what they are. Other users might like having additional information about you or your company. But be sure to label the links appropriately.

5. Post links when on topic. You can post relevant links from time to time. The keyword is relevant. If a thread is ongoing, and something on your site would be useful to the discussion, post a link with a short description. If you’d like to start a new thread about something on your site, be sure it is appropriate and put it in the correct forum. And remember that moderation is important.

6. Contribute to the community. Don’t just stop by the forum to post links about your business. Help other users solve their problems. Provide quality responses to posts that have nothing to do with your business. If you truly are a member of the community, a few marketing plugs here and there will be well-received.

Have you had success marketing through a message board? What tips or guidelines did you follow? Let us know in the comments.