Thank Goodness for the internet. If I wasn't able to search for help with an issue I had with Moveable Type yesterday, I think I would have pulled my hair out. The help I received from Yahoo! technicians was minimal at best (Yahoo! hosts my personal blog), so I turned to the internet and came across a forum that provided me with the exact solution I needed.

Online communities are growing day by day and you can find a forum on just about any topic. For example, there are dozens of forums about Wordpress and probably just as many forums about Blogger. Customers helping each other with their problems certainly relieves some of the workload of the service reps who represent the company. Having an online forum creates an opportunity for a company to save money.

Companies that provide cell phone service or some type of tech service may want to look to Verizon as a template for online communities. Since Verizon's Community Forums were launched, they have brought in over 10 million page views. Verizon uses these forums as a way of gathering feedback to improve the company's product and service offerings. Another very popular forum is the Apple Discussions (of course!)

I still believe that it's essential for a company to have a blog...and I think that having an online forum is just as important. Think about all the time and money you'll save when you have a vibrant and active company forum where customers are helping other customers! It also helps when your company has a solid customer base with raving fans ;)

I came across this video of Patrick O'Keefe, author of Managing Online Forums: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Run Successful Community Discussion Boards, speaking at SXSWi 2008 where he shares some great tips on managing online communities...

Do you have any tips to share?

Source: Fox Business