No, they’re not actually. But I have heard various wedding suppliers mentioning that recently. Not all that long ago, forums, chat rooms and groups were among the main online mediums to interact with people sharing similar interests. Considering that we now have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a plethora of others, forums still receive a considerable amount of traffic from people who wish to find answers to their questions or simply ‘hang out’ with people who have similar interests.
Wedding forums are no different. Smart wedding suppliers wishing to grow their business engage in an appropriate manner with potential customers on various wedding forums.
‘An appropriate manner’ is the key. There is definitely a balance in getting this right. It’s not an exact science though! Too much interaction becomes annoying for the brides and it can sometimes border on harassment. This is often true of the suppliers who constantly use the forums with a “pick me, pick me” attitude.
How much is too much? There isn’t an easy answer to this. Whatever feels right I suppose. If you are just announcing information about your business, then once a week would be appropriate. However, if you are interacting with the forum users in a casual, non-plugging way, then as often as you feel comfortable with. Always try to imagine how your posts will read to a potential customer.
Here are a few suggested pointers for engaging with brides and potential customers in wedding forums:
- There are many Irish wedding websites but only a mere handful of them contain busy wedding forums. You’ll quickly decide for yourself which wedding forums are busy by looking through the various threads and by checking the dates of last activity. Don’t waste your time posting into a black hole!
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- Firstly check if you have permission to post in the forums. With most (if not all) wedding websites, you’ll need to be a paying and registered advertiser before you can officially post your messages to the discussion forums. If you break this rule, your posts have a strong chance of being publically marked as spam by the brides on the site.
- Check which sub forums you are allowed to post to. Some sites only allow you to create new threads on special suppliers sub forums. Check the forum rules first before you dive in.
- Never ever register as a “fake bride”. Brides are not stupid. They’re all very well clued into this practice and if you are caught out posing as a bride to recommend your own business, it can do untold damage to your professional reputation. Deceptive measures such as registering and creating 50 “bride like” posts beforehand simply won’t work.
- Create a simple signature that includes your contact details and website. This should appear at the foot of every post you make. Also, don’t forget to update your profile if the particular forum allows it.
- Don’t bombard the forums by replying to every single thread that you see about your particular service category. Be subtle. Less is more.
- If a bride is looking for recommendations for a certain type of wedding service, this is not an invitation for you to jump in by telling her how great you are. It is however an opportunity for you to reply and ask her a few questions relating to her wedding. This then allows you to reply by giving her some impartial advice. A “pick me” attitude will more than likely make you sound very desperate. Being helpful and impartial to brides will take time and patience, but will eventually pay off. As a rule, you should only reply if your post will contribute to conversation.
- Be friendly. It’s ok to have a personality in an online environment. Try and have a bit of craic with the brides if appropriate. It won’t do any harm. Let me stress that it’s ok to have a personality, but always be careful when getting personal!
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- If stuck on what to write then don’t write. Yep, you’re better off creating new threads that will be of interest to the potential readers. Some examples are when you are running a competition, announcing new products/service, announcing a special offer etc.
- Don’t forget your forum etiquette. Don’t take sides in a heated discussion involving your subject/service area. As a wedding supplier, you are supposed to remain impartial. If a forum user is talking utter nonsense about your service area, then a clear concise and impartial response is appropriate. Take your time to carefully read through the thread before submitting your response. You may well find that the particular poster is simply misinformed. A polite and informative response will hopefully diffuse a potential heated discussion. In the past, suppliers have gotten this very wrong by replying to threads with an argumentative and defensive tone.
Hopefully these suggestions will help you engage more effectively in the wedding forums. If you agree or disagree, or wish to add additional pointers, then I’d love to hear your suggestions via the comments below.
The post Engaging with brides on wedding forums – are you doing it right? appeared first on Mrs2Be.