Today you will learn how to boost any forum's activity on a daily basis. You will use the following tactics in your own posts, on your own forum, and any forum you join because it not only helps the forum, it helps discussion in general. Nobody enjoys creating a new thread and receiving no replies. Even worst is if you write an in-depth reply and don't even recieve a response back from anyone. This fixes that.
Quoting
Quotes, on most modern forums, will notify the person you are quoting. This lets them know you've responded to them and is a great way to assure that they will come back to the thread to read your response. They may not always respond, but I guarantee there's a higher chance of them replying to you if you quote them than if you do not.
Quotes are not only good for showing other readers who you are actually responding to, but also continuing a discussion by getting the original poster back there! The 'Your Posts' link in the FP Quick Links is great, but many users don't have time to check on every thread. The Notifications drop down? That's a much better way to get people coming back. Use it wisely and quote people in as many posts as you can!
Direct Response
Many users write replies that reply to the original poster in general, but not other repliers. They may answer a question in the original thread, but that doesn't guarantee further discussion. Along with quoting, a great way to get more replies out of your fellow members is to ask an additional question, ask for clarification about someone's post, add on to what someone else said, or even offer a counter argument.
I am much more likely to respond to someone who says "Hey Ashley, I agree with you on.... but don't agree with you on ... here's why... By the way, what do you think about...." than someone who writes a general response to the original post such as "I like blah because blah is blah and blah."
Just as you look someone in the eyes when talking to someone in real life, use the Quote function and address other members with additional questions, clarifications and more!
Reputation
You may not think Reputation is that important, but it can be a great way to give someone kudos for a great post. If someone takes time to write a thread, or makes an eye opening reply, you can +Rep them. It might not immediately spark a new friendship, start a discussion or anything like that, but it will help the other member feel good about putting time into their post or efforts.
Reputation is a great system, similar to patting a friend on the back for doing a good job on something. Don't +Rep everyone you see, but make sure you give it out as much as you can when someone deserves it.
The 3 FP$ Tip is similar to Reputation and should be used whenever you come across a good post to notify the poster that you think they did a good job. It will encourage them to make more high quality posts.
Asking Specific Questions and Directing Members to Do Something
If you've ever been on YouTube and noticed people saying "if you liked this video, subscribe for more" you may have thought to yourself "that person is a loser asking for subs". Do you know why they do that? It works. People subscribe.
Users have to be reminded to do things. It's not because they are less intelligent than others, it's because this is the internet and attention spans are limited due to content. Make sure you ask specific questions and direct readers to reply. Ending a paragraph with "make sure you tell me why or why not you agree with my comments about the impact of youth groups on young adult education" is a much better way to remind people to respond than simply ending your paragraph and hoping people reply.
It may seem that people will always reply, but not everyone knows what to say. Asking a specific question directs them to respond in a certain way and will bring in more responses than leaving your thread questionless.
Linking in Your Posts
You should always try to include some links in your posts. Links can be used to bring additional information to the table without shoving it down every reader's throat. Sometimes you don't have to include every single piece of information, so links to other pages are great for that.
Links, as I just mentioned, can bring some depth to your post and make it more high quality than if you tried to explain a tough concept or discuss something you are not fully knowledgeable on.
Links are great for another reason though. Bringing attention to other forum threads! Look below to see a great example.
Thank you for reading my mini article about how to boost forum activity, tailored for Forum Promotion. I wanted to come up with some great and easy ways for members to not only improve their own posts, but spark further discussions on every forum they go to and help communities be more connected. I set out to write this thread after reading through some great feedback about Forum Promotion's current lack of posting activity. Make sure you visit that link and provide YOUR thoughts too! Remember to quote, ask questions, +Rep and +3FP tip for good posts and include links that can back up what you are saying!
[Edit]
Mandatory :cheer: yay for my 100th post.
Quoting
Quotes, on most modern forums, will notify the person you are quoting. This lets them know you've responded to them and is a great way to assure that they will come back to the thread to read your response. They may not always respond, but I guarantee there's a higher chance of them replying to you if you quote them than if you do not.
Quotes are not only good for showing other readers who you are actually responding to, but also continuing a discussion by getting the original poster back there! The 'Your Posts' link in the FP Quick Links is great, but many users don't have time to check on every thread. The Notifications drop down? That's a much better way to get people coming back. Use it wisely and quote people in as many posts as you can!
Direct Response
Many users write replies that reply to the original poster in general, but not other repliers. They may answer a question in the original thread, but that doesn't guarantee further discussion. Along with quoting, a great way to get more replies out of your fellow members is to ask an additional question, ask for clarification about someone's post, add on to what someone else said, or even offer a counter argument.
I am much more likely to respond to someone who says "Hey Ashley, I agree with you on.... but don't agree with you on ... here's why... By the way, what do you think about...." than someone who writes a general response to the original post such as "I like blah because blah is blah and blah."
Just as you look someone in the eyes when talking to someone in real life, use the Quote function and address other members with additional questions, clarifications and more!
Reputation
You may not think Reputation is that important, but it can be a great way to give someone kudos for a great post. If someone takes time to write a thread, or makes an eye opening reply, you can +Rep them. It might not immediately spark a new friendship, start a discussion or anything like that, but it will help the other member feel good about putting time into their post or efforts.
Reputation is a great system, similar to patting a friend on the back for doing a good job on something. Don't +Rep everyone you see, but make sure you give it out as much as you can when someone deserves it.
The 3 FP$ Tip is similar to Reputation and should be used whenever you come across a good post to notify the poster that you think they did a good job. It will encourage them to make more high quality posts.
Asking Specific Questions and Directing Members to Do Something
If you've ever been on YouTube and noticed people saying "if you liked this video, subscribe for more" you may have thought to yourself "that person is a loser asking for subs". Do you know why they do that? It works. People subscribe.
Users have to be reminded to do things. It's not because they are less intelligent than others, it's because this is the internet and attention spans are limited due to content. Make sure you ask specific questions and direct readers to reply. Ending a paragraph with "make sure you tell me why or why not you agree with my comments about the impact of youth groups on young adult education" is a much better way to remind people to respond than simply ending your paragraph and hoping people reply.
It may seem that people will always reply, but not everyone knows what to say. Asking a specific question directs them to respond in a certain way and will bring in more responses than leaving your thread questionless.
Linking in Your Posts
You should always try to include some links in your posts. Links can be used to bring additional information to the table without shoving it down every reader's throat. Sometimes you don't have to include every single piece of information, so links to other pages are great for that.
Links, as I just mentioned, can bring some depth to your post and make it more high quality than if you tried to explain a tough concept or discuss something you are not fully knowledgeable on.
Links are great for another reason though. Bringing attention to other forum threads! Look below to see a great example.
Thank you for reading my mini article about how to boost forum activity, tailored for Forum Promotion. I wanted to come up with some great and easy ways for members to not only improve their own posts, but spark further discussions on every forum they go to and help communities be more connected. I set out to write this thread after reading through some great feedback about Forum Promotion's current lack of posting activity. Make sure you visit that link and provide YOUR thoughts too! Remember to quote, ask questions, +Rep and +3FP tip for good posts and include links that can back up what you are saying!
[Edit]
Mandatory :cheer: yay for my 100th post.
