The power of forums

It used to be that if you needed a problem solved you asked an expert. Got a problem with your TV – ring Sony. Can’t figure out how to use an app on your new mobile – ring Vodafone.

But the new media generation doesn’t do that. They use forums. And by doing so they engage with a worldwide network of people who may not be recognised as ‘experts’ in the field but will have a virtually unlimited amount of expertise which they are more than happy to share - and, best of all, for free!

Forums are the Web 2.0 version of chatting over the garden fence - but with a whole lot more neighbours. They are the platform for potentially millions of people worldwide with a common interest to engage with each other.

It is that sheer strength in numbers that gives forums the kind of power that should not be underestimated.

One manufacturer of a vitamin supplement infiltrated a Mumsnet forum discussion board as part of, what turned out to be, a misguided – and rather unsubtle - marketing campaign.

The mums rebelled on mass and a message thread with a rather uncomplimentary title featuring the company’s name was clicked on so often that it became Google’s number one search result.

Some companies however have got it right and harness the power of forums. Dell has enabled its website to allow users to set up their own discussion threads. It takes no obvious active role in the forums but thousands of people turn to those forums for answers to their computer problems. By becoming a facilitator, Dell is pitching itself as a helpful, transparent company offering added value at no cost to the user. And who wouldn’t go to a company like that with cold hard cash when their blue screen crisis turned out to be terminal?

Suzanne Ostler
PR account executive