Ways to get people off social media and onto forums?

[Katrina]

What are some ways that you can get your friends and family off social media and back onto forums?

One thing I'd suggest is let them know that today is Global Forum Day. Maybe they totally forgot about forums?

 

[greenhost.cloud]

Perhaps making forums resemble social media more closely would be a beneficial approach, something akin to Reddit, which has gained significant traction. Typically, users turn to forums out of necessity, they’re less likely to search for a hobby forum on Google spontaneously.

 

[Katrina]

Perhaps making forums resemble social media more closely would be a beneficial approach, something akin to Reddit, which has gained significant traction. Typically, users turn to forums out of necessity, they’re less likely to search for a hobby forum on Google spontaneously.

When I do searches, I do a Google search and then generally will choose a forum that has an answer because I trust real people instead of the bots that show up now on social media. Even Reviews have been infiltrated by bots and paid reviewers, so I can't always trust those either. But forum people, they're pretty reliable.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I've been trying to do this for years. It took my parents years to join Facebook, the only reason why is because my dad was looking for a new car. Both were hesitant at first because of privacy issues. Sadly people are set in their ways. Until Zuckerberg starts charging to use his platform, I don't think my family will leave Facebook. Though I do recommend maybe trying out Discourse or NodeBB and integrating your community into the Fediverse via Activity Pub. I really hope other forum software will eventually integrate this into their software. There's lots of people who like alternative platforms, and you could possibly educate your family members on Facebook or other social media platforms about alternative options.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I have a Facebook page with 25,000 followers. It's based around my hiking and outdoor brand.

I occasionally use it to promote my hiking and biking forums. I typically gain new members each time.

But I only do it every so often for a few different reasons:

(1) Facebook's algorithm is designed to keep people on Facebook. The more people who stay on FB will see their ads and they'll make more money.

(2) I have a community and brand on FB and am actively earning revenue from them with ads, performance bonuses, and content performance.

(3) Social media people are typically different than forum people

At the end of the day, social media can be useful in promoting your forum, or better yet, your blog. However, too much external promotion will get your, your content, and your page ranked down where less people see your stuff. Taking people away from FB goes against what FB is trying to do.

So, if you promote on FB or any social platform at that (because they're all the same in this regard), do it little at a time.

I do a 90/10 strategy. 90% native content and 10% promotional. That's what has gotten me so big on Facebook and other platforms, too.

 

[cpvr]

The key is to interact with users on social media without dropping links right away. Focus on building real connections , befriend users and engage with them first.



The more you network and connect with your audience on social platforms, the easier it becomes to naturally draw users back to your forum.



Try searching for the word “forums” on different social media platforms and see what people are talking about. Jump into those conversations and engage meaningfully.



This is hands-down the best approach and honestly, the only one that still works effectively. You can also chime in on related discussions on Reddit, Quora, or Facebook, offer valuable answers, and then plug your forum when it makes sense.



Every social platform has its own algorithm. Facebook, for example, is heavily based on engagement. You’ll need to rack up likes, reactions, and comments just to gain visibility.



If you’re open to spending a bit, you can also boost posts on Facebook to increase exposure and drive clicks to your forum.



Tumblr is another option. It doesn’t rely on a strict algorithm like Facebook, so you can often promote more freely. There’s also a strong creator community there, which is ideal for promoting a forum.


Also, don’t underestimate the power of memes. If you blend them with your forum link the right way, they can really pull attention.

 

[Nomad]

You can't bring people, who are already happy with social media, into your forums. How can you convince people, who are into broadcasting content, to join forum where they have to write content?

 

[Kennysplash]

It is really a tough one to be honest. There is endless scrolling on social media, and that is what keeps most people hooked.

We don’t have that in forums.

 

[cpvr]

It is really a tough one to be honest. There is endless scrolling on social media, and that is what keeps most people hooked.

We don’t have that in forums.

It's tough, but if you're able to connect with users on social media and befriend them, it's a lot easier to do so.

Instead of dropping links, actively engage with them. They'll more than likely support you and share your links around then. It's how you get a loyal support system brewing on social media and drive users onto your forum.

It's all about the networking effect. It's the same thing that we do on forums, but on social media.

 

[uptrendfinancialsignal]

One of the ways to get people to use the forum more may be to develop content that are exclusive and cannot be easily reproduced on social media. Forums are more detailed, that could be utilised as an edge over social media.

 

[Senkusha]

I've been trying to do this for years. It took my parents years to join Facebook, the only reason why is because my dad was looking for a new car. Both were hesitant at first because of privacy issues. Sadly people are set in their ways. Until Zuckerberg starts charging to use his platform, I don't think my family will leave Facebook. ...

I left Facebook because of all the stupid ads. Being bombarded by ads is a rather unpleasant experience.

...

(1) Facebook's algorithm is designed to keep people on Facebook. The more people who stay on FB will see their ads and they'll make more money.

...

(3) Social media people are typically different than forum people

I've been looking into the Social Media platform algorithms, and they use some sort of Dopamine induction trick. Every added interaction produces a tiny bit of this feel good stuff in your head. Us forum admins need to figure out how we can replicate this.

At the end of the day, social media can be useful in promoting your forum, or better yet, your blog. However, too much external promotion will get your, your content, and your page ranked down where less people see your stuff. Taking people away from FB goes against what FB is trying to do.

So, if you promote on FB or any social platform at that (because they're all the same in this regard), do it little at a time.

I do a 90/10 strategy. 90% native content and 10% promotional. That's what has gotten me so big on Facebook and other platforms, too.

I'll have to employ this tactic, and this could explain why anything I post doesn't seem to get any attention. My post feed is literally nothing but forum updates! LOL

The key is to interact with users on social media without dropping links right away. Focus on building real connections , befriend users and engage with them first.

The more you network and connect with your audience on social platforms, the easier it becomes to naturally draw users back to your forum.

I totally agree with this organic approach. It's not really spamming if your forum comes up naturally in conversation. I've done this a few times, but I haven't really gained any traction with it. But then again, my old site was rather hideous to look at.

Try searching for the word “forums” on different social media platforms and see what people are talking about. Jump into those conversations and engage meaningfully.

This is hands-down the best approach and honestly, the only one that still works effectively. You can also chime in on related discussions on Reddit, Quora, or Facebook, offer valuable answers, and then plug your forum when it makes sense.

Doing this also makes you appear like you know your stuff, like you're an expert or guru or something. Somebody to be trusted. A good thing, indeed!

Every social platform has its own algorithm. Facebook, for example, is heavily based on engagement. You’ll need to rack up likes, reactions, and comments just to gain visibility.

If you’re open to spending a bit, you can also boost posts on Facebook to increase exposure and drive clicks to your forum.

As much as I hate engaging with Facebook because of all the ads, I may have to bite the bullet on this one and plug my nose while diving in there. There are some pretty decent communities of people there to tap into.

Tumblr is another option. It doesn’t rely on a strict algorithm like Facebook, so you can often promote more freely. There’s also a strong creator community there, which is ideal for promoting a forum.

Tumblr is something of a strange beast I don't get. It's a blog site, so how do you advertise around there?

Also, don’t underestimate the power of memes. If you blend them with your forum link the right way, they can really pull attention.

I'd like to talk about this more. Memes aren't a strong suit of mine. Like they go over my head most of the time. How do you combine the idea of a meme with your forum?

It is really a tough one to be honest. There is endless scrolling on social media, and that is what keeps most people hooked.

We don’t have that in forums.

We don't have endless scrolling, but what we do have is quick search and categorization. Strengths we can use to attract other people to our forums.

 

[Maya]

You can attract social media users by offering deeper discussions, exclusive content, and a focused community vibe that social platforms lack. Promote your forum with teaser posts, polls, or mini-guides linking to threads.