Unless you have been avoiding your RSS or Twitter feed in the past week, by now you must have heard of Quora, a website where people ask and answer questions in real time about anything and everything. It aims to “grow and grow until almost everything that anyone wants to know is available in the system”. Now, what can another Q&A website do for your marketing strategy? A lot.
Founded in 2009 but opened to the public in June 2010, Quora has gained a lot of attention in the past few weeks, especially on Twitter.
Quora is not just another Q&A website. If we compare it to Yahoo!Answers for instance, on Quora, you can edit someone’s question, by adding a description, adding/deleting tags, etc.
Here’s a brief introduction of the platform on video.
So, I am on Quora, now what?
There are a few things you can do:
1. Follow the topic “Getting started on Quora”: it will give you some advice to get you started, the rules you must follow when answering a question and so on.
2. Link your Twitter and Facebook account to your Quora account: Quora is very well integrated with other social media websites and if you link your accounts together, your questions will reach a great number of people.
3. Browse questions you could answer: if your domain of expertise is PPC, you can start by searching for questions relating to Google Adwords or Paid Search. The keyword suggestions tool is very useful to search for additional questions. Once you have found a question you can answer, read the previous answer(s) and if you feel you can contribute, answer as clearly and thoroughly as possible. Then, share it on Twitter or Facebook.
4. Complete your bio for each topic you follow: this will give people reasons to trust you and you can establish yourself as an expert. If you put a link in your bio, it is a great way, from a SEO perspective, to get more traffic to your website or blog.
5. More importantly, be ready to be challenged and accept criticism: some of the participants will be well-known bloggers, writers and experts in your field. Quora is a great way to share knowledge and to help your brand grow.
Quora may not get the traffic of Facebook Questions for now, but it is bound to become very popular in the next few months. Still not convinced? Ask a question on Quora, Yahoo!Answers or Facebook and compare the quality of the answers you get!
In sum, if you integrate Quora to your social media strategy, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in an area. If you provide insightful answers, people will connect with you on Facebook and/or follow you on Twitter. When Quora gains momentum, Google will index its questions and answers, and if your answer is popular, you will build brand awareness and may even secure some leads in the process! So jump on the Quora bandwagon before your main competitor does…