Using Quora for effective marketing
Quora is one of the largest social question and answer platforms in the world with over 200 million unique visitors each month. What is particularly impressive is its ability to reliably deliver content that users are genuinely interested in, particularly if someone has asked a question that they’d love to know the answer to theirselves.
The potential a channel with such huge ‘pull factor’ offers to smart marketers who want to get their content in front of an already targeted audience sounds just too good to be true! So, what opportunities are there for content marketers? Emma Easter, digital marketing consultant at eWavelength, outlines reasons why you should consider using Quora as part of your content strategy.
Drive organic traffic
Quora answers are included in Google search results. Answer a question (remembering to use relevant keywords) and there’s the theoretical potential for your answer to land on page 1 of the Google search results. Whilst an obvious attempt by a brand to promote itself may get ‘downvoted’, reducing the chance that it gets seen by other site users, it is common to see blogs reposted or even recrafted as answers when the content is highly relevant to the question asked, thereby creating another backlink to your website or website content. Popular posts are viewed thousands of times, and this in turn will help drive traffic back to your site as some readers will end up clicking through to your site.
Boost brand awareness
Quora presents an opportunity for brands to extend their reach by engaging with users who ask questions related to their products, services or industry. Give high quality responses to questions, and brands can begin to build their reputation as a credible authority within that industry. Once users begin to trust a brand, they’ll respond more positively to attempts to provide more information about a product or service.
Generate content ideas
Quora is a great tool for content creators and marketers who are looking for new ideas for their next piece of content. Research topics to see what questions people are asking, and what answers are being provided. Where you identify common themes, notice which posts have the most ‘upvotes’, and use this as your inspiration for writing content which lots of people will (hopefully) want to read. Perhaps you already have your idea? Search around the topic, and it may help you decide on a direction or new angle you might not otherwise have thought of.
Repurpose your content
Quora can give your helpful but tired content a second lease of life. With a bit of tweaking, you can reformulate your blogs into ready-made, high quality answers to questions on that topic, which add value to the community as a whole. You can also set up a Quora Blogs page to share your blog content with an already interested and engaged audience, boosting your online visibility still further.
Manage reputation
Quora gives brands the ability to respond directly to any individual asking questions about products, services or the business in general. Answering the question gives you an opportunity to create a positive experience for that person and a good impression for everyone else reading the answer; and what better way to generate goodwill than to have the question answered by the CEO his or herself?
Start listening
Quora allows brands to find out what people are asking about their industry. By following specific topics, or searching topics by keyword, companies can gain insight into the wants and needs of the people who they hope will buy their product or service, as well as identify potential competitors. By searching for competitors directly, brands can also discover what people are saying about their competitors. Put together, there is potential here to discover information which can then be useful when planning your marketing strategy.
Convert new customers
With some users reporting conversion rates of over 11%, Quora demonstrates it has significant potential for helping potential customers move through the marketing funnel organically. One of the clever aspects is how it allows users to target themselves based on what they're already interested in; in turn, they are more likely to engage with your brand.
"Our conversion rate from Quora is higher than organic search or social media". Brad Ervin, founder of Hippie Butter
If your brand needs a little more help, Quora now has a pay-per-click advertising function which allows advertisers to select topics in which their ads should appear. By selecting topics rather than demographics you are getting your message in front of people who are already interested in topics relevant to your business, and therefore have potential to convert to customers.
Quora is far more than just another question and answer site, but an opportunity to drive traffic, demonstrate thought leadership, and deliver great customer service while building reputation. If you're in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or the UAE, drop me a line to talk about how we can add Quora to your social media portfolio today.
eWavelength is a marketing consultancy based in Abu Dhabi and London offering support with strategic marketing and social media, driving customers, digital marketing training and website and mobile design. For more information on and to find out how the eWavelength team can help you grow your business in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the UAE, please contact Emma Easter.