Information Resources, Wikis and Answer Sharing Websites
Many Internet users rely on Websites that have content submitted by a community. These collaborative information resources and answer sharing Websites are now a large part of the Web users' experience. These types of Social Media Marketing Websites are incredibly influential and popular. They allow you to directly communicate with and educate an interested and engaged audience. As bookmarking Websites help with link building, these kinds of Websites are good for traffic building.
One must carefully navigate through the content and opportunities that come with these types of Social Media Websites. It is important to understand the different communities and respect the consumers who use and develop these types of Websites.
Wikis
A Wiki is a Web page or group of pages set up to allow those with access the chance to add or change the content of the page. This technology is one form of collaborative resource and is often used for personal, educational, and business purposes. Many Wiki communities are private, with access codes or passwords given by the creator of the page. There are well known Wikis, like Wikipedia. But there are many more Wikis, from generalized to industry specific.
Wikis are an easy tool to set up and offer a variety of applications. They are often used by organizations as an internal tool for collaboration and documentation.
- In House:
- To Do Lists
- Project Management
- Work Logs
- Track Invoices
- Plan Goals
- Contact Lists
- Cheap and Easy "Intranet"
- Organize team agendas or meeting notes
- With clients/the public:
- Collaborative Projects
- Documentation of Work
- Update Schedules
- Eliminate Long Email Chains
- Publish FAQs
- Publish Checklists
- Publish Articles
- Brainstorm
- Publish Operation Manuals
People can create personal Wikis to save ideas, appointments and files online. You can keep your to-do lists or shopping lists and share it with the rest of your family. In an educational setting, Wikis are often set up to aid in distance learning, or to create an online collaborative classroom. In the workplace, Wikis aid in project management and often decrease the use of email.
Some examples of Wikis include:
- Wikipedia - an Encyclopedic Wiki with public access
- WikiAnswers - a Wiki that focuses on general knowledge where questions are answered
- Wiktionary - a multi lingual reference Wiki, set up like a dictionary
- Wikiquote - collection of quotations from notable people and creative works
A Wiki can not only be valuable by allowing your team to create a collaborative online work space, Wikis are also used for Social Media Marketing. Wikis can be used to inform and educate your consumers.
When you have a well put together, educational presence on Wikis, you will be promoting your brand in an effective, intelligent way. By becoming experts on different Wikis, much the way you establish yourself on forums and other Social Media Websites; you are creating brand recognition and positively promoting yourself as an expert to a larger audience.
A Wiki is a prime example of a public access collaborative resource. Many people are searching, reading, and updating the information on these sites, making them an extremely up to date and interactive way to reach your target audience. These vast resources often cover a huge number of topics. In much the same way that you can use Blogs and forums to your advantage, you can reach prospective consumers on Wikis.
Wikipedia
Though there are a huge variety of Wikis online, and even more waiting to be created, the most popular Wiki out there is Wikipedia. The English version of this Website alone has over 3 million articles and on those pages, there have been over 260 million edits by users since Wikipedia was set up. Wikipedia is considered an encyclopedic Wiki, with a huge general knowledge base. Wikipedia has over 8 million registered users, with far more people reading the information on their pages without registering. A third party, Internet data collection service estimated that the overall audience worldwide in July 2008 was 244 million unique visitors, which is more than 25% of the total Internet audience in one month.
Answer Sharing Websites
In the same way that Wikis are collaborative information resources, Answer Sharing Websites are also public, collective resources. Yahoo Answers is one of the main Question and Answer services on the Web that has been developed for the purpose of providing community contributed content.
Answer sharing Websites allow people to ask questions, and share their expertise with other users. Your company has become successful because you've developed a team of experts in different areas. Answer sharing Websites allow experts in all areas to share their information with those who need some help.
Users are able to search Answers Sharing Websites and find topics related to their questions. If none of the previous questions answer their question, they can then ask their own question and it will be posted. Other users will have access to the question and answer it to the best of their ability. As a knowledgeable member of your industry, you can search for questions relating to your business, and then offer your own advice and opinions on previously submitted questions.
How can you be successful?
These Websites are full of amazing opportunities for you to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, thereby increasing the credibility of your company and enhancing your public perception. It takes dedication and an understanding of these types of Websites to truly succeed.
There are many tips that the professionals at E-Power Marketing have come across over the years in dealing with this type of Social Media. One of the most important things to keep in mind is to make careful contributions. Use these collaborative Websites as a way to inform the public of your expertise and what your company has to offer. Do not try to sell your brand or products on these Websites. You will never be successful if you push your company onto the users. Instead, these Websites allow you to build brand recognition and trust.
As with all the other Social Media Websites, one of the most important points to keep in mind is to avoid spamming these Websites. You will do nothing but directly harm your company's reputation if you use these Websites incorrectly.
The Answer is E-Power Marketing
E-Power Marketing has a team of individuals who know the ins and outs of collaborative information Websites. With your help, we can illustrate your company's proficiency to the masses with our tried and true methods of utilizing the collaborative content Websites discussed here. Our team knows how to constructively and purposefully participate on these Social Media Websites, and can bring profitable results and enhanced public awareness to your company. Let E-Power share your expertise online.
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