Should companies participate in forums/blogs?

Yes! but doesnt seem like they ever will.

Samer

Samer said:

Yes! but doesnt seem like they ever will.

Samer

Click to expand...

I certainly wish more became engaged. I appreciate the ones that do engage. It's not always easy engaging, but it is productive.

I voted Yes - it's fine as long as they participate.

Too much of promotion might not be acceptable to a number of people on forums though.

I agree with the view @UmerK that they should participate but always be wary of over-promotion. I suspect the issue re promotion some cite is that different people view the line in different places. This is how I see it....

I welcome company involvement (voted yes).

I do understand and accept that they will feel positive about what they offer, and share that. This is fine as long as they do not misrepresent offerings from other companies.

It would be even better if more companies were involved in NamePros. One reason is they can let us know of changes that impact investors. For example, Sedo extended by a year no minimum commissions, and although they are active on NamePros I bet many missed the announcement.

I think the best model is when a third party (not a company) starts a thread on a topic such as what are the best landing pages and each company share with us the positive aspects of their offering.

I like bargains and totally accept being told about good limited time deals.

Not all will be able to or want to do this, but it is nice that some are trying to build companies with ideas based on interaction with NamePros members.

Bob

Yes...if they want to grow their businesses and keep current customers happy. But what do I know...started my first real business at 15 (made money selling candy, pencils, etc in the 3rd grade).

edit: LOL, I crack me up. The above reads like I was 15 in the third grade...okay, so I was a little slow as a child!?!?!?!

Mister Funsky said:

.started my first real business at 15 (made money selling candy, pencils, etc in the 3rd grade)

Click to expand...

Why wait so long? I think I was selling berries and vegetables at the roadside starting at age 8 or 9. Hard to imagine the different world back then living up in a rural area.

Seriously, thanks for sharing. I agree interaction can be a critical component of success. Epik have clearly gone all-in with interaction here. Some other companies, like DAN/Undeveloped have a long record of interacting frequently here. And of course Joe does a stellar job of responding within the parameters he needs to operate, as do the reps from many other companies.

I think we can encourage companies to be more active by in our interactions suggest it to them, and when they do provide a detailed response to thank them.

Bob

Internet.Domains said:

Is participation, in blogs and forums, from companies offering products/services a good thing or bad thing?

Do you like to see companies, whether it's the CEO/President or a staff member, engaged in topics on forums/blogs.

Do you consider it spam or do you consider it educational and helpful?

Does it help the industry, as a whole, when companies are transparent?

Do you know of any other industries where the CEO or staff representatives engage with their customers in forums or blogs?

Is it good or bad for companies to engage with customers or potential customers through forums/blogs?

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Yes, there is never enough promotion and private companies on the forums .. we need more and more

If they can obey the forum rules, just like every other member, then sure.

There is a line between discussion and promotion that needs to be balanced though.
Not every thread is an opportunity to promote your products/services.

Brad

I'd LOVE for more domain-related CEOs to become active on this forum!

I'd be able to tell the CEO of the many bugs, errors, and general problems I encounter at Go Daddy, Sedo, Afternic, NameCheap, for example AND have them contact me directly to get more info, and even fix the problem, themselves!!........ one can keep wishing though, right?

It is just fine with me if companies and / or their reps participate in Forums as long as they are
following the same rules and regulations as everybody else ( the common folk ) are obligated to follow.

And do believe that the company CEO or other reps always be so identified as same in their avatar so the rank and file know that person's employment and their obvious potential vested interests in their comments.

Remember too, that a CEO and / or rep may post something that may be or may interpreted to be harmful to the company or misrepresent the policies and practices of the company to the readership.

Forums overall benefit when the principles of companies whose goods/services are the basis of the Forum are part of the Forum.

I would love if more companies/registrars would get actively involved on NP.

It doesn't have to be the CEO or anyone important. It takes skills to handle forum users. I doubt there are many CEOs who master the skills needed.

They are missing out on a big opportunity imo. The bigger registrars have webcare teams, social media teams. Don't see what the holdup is in engaging with the biggest domain community. Just appoint someone with the right social skills and enable him/her to make calls that may not always be regular protocol.

You will be profiting from it by building that personal connection instead of remaining a faceless organization.

bmugford said:

If they can obey the forum rules, just like every other member, then sure.

There is a line between discussion and promotion that needs to be balanced though.
Not every thread is an opportunity to promote your products/services.

Brad

Click to expand...

Hi
I totally agree what Brad said,
as it is the essence of that argument, which is most likely the rationale behind this thread.

but the question of...."should they participate", I think that's up to them

I think there is enough representation from services that I need info from
and it's great when they contribute, but I don't want that rep constantly trying to sell me:stuff.

imo...

I have more confidence and trust in the companies that participate in forums. Their involvement creates social proof for them, while demonstrating their respective levels of expertise. I find most of their posts not only informative, but educational as well.

They have to be as always someone making total baseless claims against companies.

voted "yes"

While the domain industry at large (wholesale + retail customers) is massive, the supply-side of the house is pretty small, so we (GoDaddy) have a great opportunity to reach out directly to folks who have issues. @Joe Styler and I represent GoDaddy here and on twitter, at conferences, and really anywhere else we think our customers may be. If we didn't find it valuable, we wouldn't keep doing it.