The future of my forum

[AndreaMarucci]

Hi everyone,
Like many other forums, mine is heavily affected by competition from instant messaging systems and social networks. I'm therefore trying to figure out how to make it more immediate and easy to use, so that people will use it as they did in the past.

I think the problem lies in its lack of immediacy and ease of use. Many people don't understand how to use it right away, and obviously WhatsApp and Facebook are much simpler and more immediate. However, the forum has many advantages that these platforms don't have.

Does anyone with more experience have any interesting ideas?

 

[Alvin63]

I think "finding" the forum is one main key. If people come across it they may want to join to ask questions. It depends on the topic. When I first set up I paid for google ads for a few months until it got growing a bit - meaning it came at the top of google straight away via an ad. With a lot of effort over backlinking it was at the top of google naturally within a few months. That is where my traffic comes from.

Creating articles and linking those means they also come up on various google searches, and lead to your site.

I was advised - keep posting every day and posting interesting content.

 

[AndreaMarucci]

I'm not searching for traffic since my forum is reserved for the members of my motorbike group but I'm searching for a way to make the user keep participating in the forum life and post something in an easier way

 

[Dragonfruit]

It's not just that, speak to gen-zs, I've spoken to many. They view 'Forums' as a boomer thing. It's not as simple as making your board easier to use, even going so far as develop it's own app to compete with Discord.

The issue is it's not part of the next generation's trend. My communities do have many gen-z registrations because of the niche, and there's information/resources they won't get from those other platforms.

But they've been vocal that had they been available on those other places, they wouldn't even have registered.

 

[Alvin63]

Monthly photo competitions?

 

[Alvin63]

I have all generations on mine - the nature of the topic is that there isn't really anything as good on social media for the specific topic (although Facebook groups are the main competition). Many younger ones, due to the nature of the topic and some of them probably don't even know what a forum is - they just see it as the right place to go for the topic.

 

[AndreaMarucci]

Mine are all over 40 or, better, 50, so are not native digital and I think it's only matter to have something simpler and more immediate to use. Many don't even know what a forum is.

 

[ES Dev Team]

Check how our forum is setup. We do DIY ebikes.
I greatly simplified how Xenforo worked by removing a lot of unnecessary stuff and reworking a part of the navigation.
Our forum population skews older but the youngs also like it because it resembles social media or reddit a bit better.

 

[Digital Doctor]

You could try an app (Cost $100/month).

Xenforo Mobile Apps

Native Mobile Apps For Xenforo Based Communities

www.tryforumly.com

 

[Alvin63]

Mine are all over 40 or, better, 50, so are not native digital and I think it's only matter to have something simpler and more immediate to use. Many don't even know what a forum is.

I have a monthly caption competition (the winner chooses and provides the next caption photo and gets a bump up the title ladder), and a monthly photo competition (the winning photo goes on the home page for a month). Maybe start some debate topic posts and historical articles.

 

[80sDude]

Hi everyone,
Like many other forums, mine is heavily affected by competition from instant messaging systems and social networks. I'm therefore trying to figure out how to make it more immediate and easy to use, so that people will use it as they did in the past.

I think the problem lies in its lack of immediacy and ease of use. Many people don't understand how to use it right away, and obviously WhatsApp and Facebook are much simpler and more immediate. However, the forum has many advantages that these platforms don't have.

Does anyone with more experience have any interesting ideas?

I noticed that people would register on my forum and then never come back so I thought to myself what if it's because they felt lost which makes perfect sense. Unless you have experience navigating forums it could feel overwhelming. So a few days ago I created a notice for brand new registered members that pops up on the screen after they registered. It lists links to forum discussion sections and how to use the forum and what not. Well the last 3 users out 5 that registered since I've put it up actually posted and not just once. Try that approach and see. Maybe it was pure coincidence maybe it was because of the notice. Time will tell but I think it's definitely worth a shot.

 

[PumpinIron]

You know how I got loads of members? I went to other VericalSuck forums for the same topic and I spent months and months sending the same PM to each member on the board letting them know there was a better forum out there.

It didn't take long, people started coming left-and-right once they realized my forum wasn't some craphole that had been bought up by VerticalSuck and then ruined.

Just a thought! They've ruined so many once good forum that guys such as myself (that grew up with forums) deserve much better. I'll never stop loving forums. I hate social media.

 

[Seeker-Smith]

Hi everyone,
Like many other forums, mine is heavily affected by competition from instant messaging systems and social networks. I'm therefore trying to figure out how to make it more immediate and easy to use, so that people will use it as they did in the past.

I think the problem lies in its lack of immediacy and ease of use. Many people don't understand how to use it right away, and obviously WhatsApp and Facebook are much simpler and more immediate. However, the forum has many advantages that these platforms don't have.

Does anyone with more experience have any interesting ideas?

Im designing a motorcycle group ride scheduling system. We should chat.