How to grow a forum in 2021

[AJH]

I can remember back in the early 2000s when forums were THE big thing. phpBB was huge.

But now we have social media like Facebook, Twitter, Gettr, and now Trump's Truth Social coming out.

I still think forums are here to stay. With that, I have a Christian, faith-based forum. What tips or advice would you give to help grow it in 2021?

I am doing my best and making sure I am active on it myself but I also am trying to stay active on several other forums as well. Looking forward to hearing some tips!! Thank you!

 

[Fait]

These days it can be hard but I would suggest advertising on other forums where it’s allowed.

Having the same issue myself.

 

[Shole]

Well forums are mostly going down in visits, but you still have some genres where forums are popular (advertising, SEO, internet related things, etc). The thing is can you make a forum that will give your visitors what they need fast?

 

[AJH]

Good points.
I'm hoping my forum can! 🙂

Do you know of any other forums that allow for promoting/marketing?

 

[Fait]

Well forums are mostly going down in visits, but you still have some genres where forums are popular (advertising, SEO, internet related things, etc). The thing is can you make a forum that will give your visitors what they need fast?

Do you think gaming forums can survive?

A part of me loves forums over modern social media another part is that I think it never be active, I should of kept the site I had in 2009.

 

[Deleted member 49125]

I'm Team Forum & don't care for social media myself; too biased & impersonal.
Your questions are what we've asked ourselves as well. One thing I learned is it's up to us admins to create threads & keep conversations going on our forums. So many people create a forum & expect people to just join.
Doing Affiliate exchanges as well as Post exchanges are beneficial. We also have Posting Packages to help create extra activity.
ForumPromotion is the only one I know of for Promoting.
Hopefully more will pipe in with what works for them.

 

[Fait]

I'm Team Forum & don't care for social media myself; too biased & impersonal.
Your questions are what we've asked ourselves as well. One thing I learned is it's up to us admins to create threads & keep conversations going on our forums. So many people create a forum & expect people to just join.
Doing Affiliate exchanges as well as Post exchanges are beneficial. We also have Posting Packages to help create extra activity.
ForumPromotion is the only one I know of for Promoting.
Hopefully more will pipe in with what works for them.

Can agree with that, I use them in case my forum goes down and I need to keep people updated on things like that but besides that I don’t care much about them and could easily delete all my social accounts.

Back in 2010 there was a few like Advertise Hotspot I remember but not sure what happened to them.

 

[nicodak]

@aaronhall : I am not sure I understand your choice of dark theme for your forum. I am not particularly a believer but when I think of spirituality I imagine something bright, which lights the way, I can also imagine the blue sky with white clouds but in any case I do not expect to see gray and black tones...

I don't know if this dark style is relevant, I think you should think about this.
We have an expression in France, I guess it exists elsewhere but we say: you won't have twice the opportunity to make a good first impression !

You have to hook your visitors at first glance, and when you arrive on your site it looks more like a gamers forum than a spirituality/christian forum.
In my humble opinion.

 

[scooter]

Unfortunately, it is difficult to advertise on the Internet without a somewhat sizable budget. It is possible to try targeted ads on, say, Facebook, which is more reasonable in price and is likely aimed at your demographic, which is going to be a bit older.

One advantage you have that most of us do not is the church and other Christian resources, such as Christian book stores or even radio stations. This of course would be your target audience and would react well to a new social resource for Christians. Making materials such as cards or fliers, or in the case of radio, recorded spots, might be an attainable first step.

 

[Sharon]

I think we are all asking this same question @aaronhall so thank you for vocalizing it for us. 😉 I agree that social media such as Facebook, Instagram, etc is extremely popular nowadays however, in my opinion, people's attention span on those platforms are extremely short. They're designed for users to quickly scroll through content and they're designed this way to put ads in front of folks (that's how they make money).

Sure the similar concept happens with forums but for me, I find that it's a slower interaction between members. People take their time posting their ideas because generally they understand that their thoughts will remain in view to the public for an extend amount of time. Sure we can edit our posts and even delete them if we wish however... in most cases we posts and years later those same thoughts could very well still be relevant.

So to answer your question, I believe it's VITAL for us forum owners to ensure that we are providing useful or at the very least entertaining content for our current and future members. If we strive to keep our content relevant and give our members the personal attention that they crave then that would help build a closer community ultimately keeping everyone engaged.

 

[Fait]

I think we are all asking this same question @aaronhall so thank you for vocalizing it for us. 😉 I agree that social media such as Facebook, Instagram, etc is extremely popular nowadays however, in my opinion, people's attention span on those platforms are extremely short. They're designed for users to quickly scroll through content and they're designed this way to put ads in front of folks (that's how they make money).

Sure the similar concept happens with forums but for me, I find that it's a slower interaction between members. People take their time posting their ideas because generally they understand that their thoughts will remain in view to the public for an extend amount of time. Sure we can edit our posts and even delete them if we wish however... in most cases we posts and years later those same thoughts could very well still be relevant.

So to answer your question, I believe it's VITAL for us forum owners to ensure that we are providing useful or at the very least entertaining content for our current and future members. If we strive to keep our content relevant and give our members the personal attention that they crave then that would help build a closer community ultimately keeping everyone engaged.

You’re very on point, times have changed and unlike the past people mainly come to forums to help others or to get information on a certain subject, so as long as the content is always fresh you can slowly get an active user base.

 

[AJH]

@aaronhall : I am not sure I understand your choice of dark theme for your forum. I am not particularly a believer but when I think of spirituality I imagine something bright, which lights the way, I can also imagine the blue sky with white clouds but in any case I do not expect to see gray and black tones...

I don't know if this dark style is relevant, I think you should think about this.
We have an expression in France, I guess it exists elsewhere but we say: you won't have twice the opportunity to make a good first impression !

You have to hook your visitors at first glance, and when you arrive on your site it looks more like a gamers forum than a spirituality/christian forum.
In my humble opinion.

Thanks for your feedback! I agree about the darker theme.
I made it a lighter theme now. What are your thoughts?

I do think forums today require a lot more work than in the past. People use social media for quick connections, news, etc...and forums def need to have a focus, I think. I am glad I found this site. Super helpful! Thank you all for chiming in!

 

[Shole]

Do you think gaming forums can survive?

A part of me loves forums over modern social media another part is that I think it never be active, I should of kept the site I had in 2009.

They could if they offer some info or something about games that is helpful 😀

 

[Fait]

They could if they offer some info or something about games that is helpful 😀

i noticed that people on forums like going to forums and people on social media dislike the forum idea, But being on other forums have helped me a little bit.

 

[AJH]

i noticed that people on forums like going to forums and people on social media dislike the forum idea, But being on other forums have helped me a little bit.

haha I have noticed that...I use both. But I def like forums better because they are not owned by Big Tech.

 

[Fait]

haha I have noticed that...I use both. But I def like forums better because they are not owned by Big Tech.

Big Tech makes its owners corrupt and I do too!

 

[Nomad]

I launched my forum earlier this year. Previously, I had tried to fun forums a couple of times and I had to shut down due to inactivity. But this time I am really serious.

 

[Pinky]

I think signature posting works quite well but you have to be in the right niche for your forum usually.

 

[Deleted member 57615]

It will take a lot of work and patience nowadays.

 

[Dan The Man]

It will take a lot of work and patience nowadays.

Not to mention, LUCK. It's very competitive with Reddit, Facebook groups, Facebook messenger, Twitter, Discord, Tapatalk, etc, but doesn't mean it can't be done.