NeoMetallix
Reputable
Social media has taken a huge chunk of traffic from other traditional websites and forums, how do you convince people to join a forum when they can discuss things in a very centralized location?
I started my forum in 2006. Back then I knew what I needed to do. I picked a subject that I was passionate about first of all. I saw there were hundreds if not thousands of other forums with the same subject but one thing I noticed was they all either a) used boring default designs and just plastered a logo at the top b) used a generic custom theme anyone could use or c) used an eye searing custom theme. None of them really were built around the subject thematically either(going beyond design). So I set out to make one that had a custom made, professional design and themed it as much as possible around the subject.
This worked back then, this was what was lacking and by 2007 we were getting over 100 posts a day. By 2008 several hundreds. 2009 over a thousand and our peak year in 2011 1500-2000 posts a day. But 2012 showed signs of slow down but not huge at first. By December, though, it was clearly going down quick. This was when smartphones and Social Media really was taking over. By 2013 things tanked. We kept going on with a few loyal members but those thousands of other forums were completely dead. Now there are only a few forums in our subject that are still active (a few that are very active). You can argue that the subject matter has lost popularity but I don’t think so, there are still huge communities on Facebook and Twitter.
Which brings me back to my original question, how do you build a successful forum when people are perfectly content on getting news and discussing things on social media? All of the things I was taught back then and have learned through experience don’t seem to apply these days.
If anyone has tips I’m all ears!
I started my forum in 2006. Back then I knew what I needed to do. I picked a subject that I was passionate about first of all. I saw there were hundreds if not thousands of other forums with the same subject but one thing I noticed was they all either a) used boring default designs and just plastered a logo at the top b) used a generic custom theme anyone could use or c) used an eye searing custom theme. None of them really were built around the subject thematically either(going beyond design). So I set out to make one that had a custom made, professional design and themed it as much as possible around the subject.
This worked back then, this was what was lacking and by 2007 we were getting over 100 posts a day. By 2008 several hundreds. 2009 over a thousand and our peak year in 2011 1500-2000 posts a day. But 2012 showed signs of slow down but not huge at first. By December, though, it was clearly going down quick. This was when smartphones and Social Media really was taking over. By 2013 things tanked. We kept going on with a few loyal members but those thousands of other forums were completely dead. Now there are only a few forums in our subject that are still active (a few that are very active). You can argue that the subject matter has lost popularity but I don’t think so, there are still huge communities on Facebook and Twitter.
Which brings me back to my original question, how do you build a successful forum when people are perfectly content on getting news and discussing things on social media? All of the things I was taught back then and have learned through experience don’t seem to apply these days.
If anyone has tips I’m all ears!
