Here’s how Quora can increase your business reach

If you don’t already know, Quora is a website that allows its users to pose questions and get responses to absolutely anything. They provide a vast collection of topics for discussion and included in this, thankfully, is business. The site attracts top level executives, entrepreneurs, and journalists so you can be sure to get the exposure you need and establish yourself as a professional in your industry. There are a few things to keep in mind, however, if you want to optimise this platform to your use.

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Who and what to follow

Follow all the topics that are even remotely related to your business. For instance, if you’re in the food industry, Quora will suggest related topics such as organic food, fast food, processed food, etc. These are windows of opportunity that you can jump into whether you want to answer questions, ask them, or just find people to follow. The more topics you follow, the better your reach will be.

Be on the lookout for potential customers by analysing the kind of questions that are being asked. This will give you more than a peek into customer requirements that you can apply to your business model. Knowing your customers and their requirements only helps you serve them better, thereby, giving your business a good chance of survival in the market.

Follow the experts in your business or even those in the same boat as you. Quora is great place for networking if it’s used right. If you’re looking to get in touch with anyone in particular, follow them and the topics that they follow, and then answer questions in those topics to make yourself visible. If you’re lucky (and if your expertise shows) they will notice (by liking, commenting or following), and you can get in touch with them. This is the sneaky way, and if it doesn’t work, you can also always get directly in touch with them.

Follow your competition. This is a good way of measuring your knowledge of your business and your place in the market. Get a feel of how well (or bad) your competition’s doing, how much they know, and how they’re interacting with their customers. You can then make your moves accordingly.

How to showcase your expertise

Set up a profile that shouts ‘impressive’. The efforts going into creating your Quora profile must be no less than that for your LinkedIn profile. No matter how active and visible you make you interactions, it comes of no use if you lead people to a cold trail that is a bad profile. Your profile will also display the number of questions you’ve answered and the number of followers you have. These are trophies that you can proudly display so work to get those numbers.

Make your answers informative and keep them precise because that is exactly what people are here for. Your answers amount to that crucial first impression so it goes without saying that it needs to be good. It is only when you convince people of your expertise and professionalism that they will follow you – and each person that follows you increases your visibility. Also, a good answer gets upvotes, thereby increasing visibility. While you’re zealously answering away, it helps to keep an eye out for unanswered questions with a high number of followers to swoop in on.

Create a blog. Quora, very sensibly, allows you another chance at showing off. Maintain a blog with information that your customers can’t find anywhere else. Your blog is also a chance to show how interesting you or your business is, since your answers needs to have a more professional tone.

What helps

Seek advice yourself. Not only is this a way to learn, but it is also a great way to build your network. You will find more experts and peers to follow and get advice from. Keep in mind, however, that your questions need to be as effective as your answers. Communicating your query lucidly is important because it a way to gather more followers for you post. Would you follow a post that you don’t understand?

What doesn’t

Overtly promoting your business is a big no-no because it is crass and unimpressive. ‘No harm done’ won’t apply to this case because a bad impression lasts and can therefore hurt your brand name. The only way to promote your business on Quora is by helping its community. Frankly, there is no better way.

Quora may be just one of the social media platforms there is that help business promotions but it is effective because it survives on direct communication – and there’s no better way to get ‘social’ than by direct interactions. So hone those communication skills and get started!