Technology Marketing by Tatum MarketingJust another WordPress weblog

I’ve been talking about building a word-of-mouth link program and in this article I’ll take a closer look at places your potential buyers might hang out and what to do when  you find them.

Message Boards

Message boards are really old school; they predate blogs and other social networks. They began in the 1980s back in the beginnings of the internet, and they are still around and used by people to share information and socialize. Think of them as group blogs where one person makes a comment and others then respond to those comments. 

When you find a message board that attracts your target audience, start by creating an account with a link to your website. If the board lets members create custom signatures – a little text and maybe a graphic at the bottom of each message – go for it. That can be a plug for your website.

Once you are a member you need to participate. Read over the messages and comment on the topics being discussed.  If you have new information or questions of your own create your own posts. As people read your information they will discover you and your website. Warning: do not spam the board with advertising. At best it will be ignored. At worst it can create a negative impression of your business, as well as get you banned from the board. 

Yahoo & Google Groups

Like message boards, both Yahoo and Google have their own groups covering a wide range of topics. Find the topics which best suite your company and, just like on the message boards, go ahead and join in. 

Both Yahoo and Google limit the number of groups that you can join in one day, so it might take a week or more before you join all the groups you’ve picked out. Before joining any group make sure it is active. If no one has posted comments for over a month, then the group may not be worth your time. 

Yahoo Groups also has a place to post a permanent link in each group you belong to, once you are a member of the group. Like the message boards slowly comment and post information within these groups to build up a following and lead people to your site. 

Web directories

These are websites which are nothing more than a giant list of links with descriptions but they have the websites organized by subject matter. You should be able to request a spot in the directories without any problems. However, if the directory is not professionally run, the updating process may take a long time – so be patient.

Now do be careful because some web directories are nothing more than a scam. There are a great number of possible scams involving web directories and the most common one is insisting that you pay to have your link posted. Do not pay, no matter how low cost as you will not get a return on that investment and it could be a phishing expedition for your ID. 

There is an exception to this rule. It can be worth paying for a listing on a web directory that’s run by a membership organization such as the Better Business Bureau. With membership organizations there are benefits beyond the web listing that make them worthwhile. 

In the next article, I’ll look at social networks and blogs, online magazines, and email.

Technorati Tags: seo, word of mouth, link building