Alan DraperAs free Internet marketing tools for small business (or any business) goes, Quora is simply better than LinkedIn.
Internet marketers, small business, bloggers, entrepreneurs and startups all need one thing from the Internet – plenty of highly engaged traffic.
But reaching out and grabbing a share of the online marketplace is not an easy task – as I’m sure many of you reading this know.
Internet marketing, content & social influence
Building trust and authority as absolutely vital for businesses looking to drive traffic, build social influence and maximize conversions.
High quality content is the most efficient way to do this, plus it also provides a steady, sustained flow of targeted organic traffic from search engines. But creating high quality content is a job suited to media companies and publishers – not small, medium or even large businesses whose core focus is elsewhere.
If you’re interested in improving your content, I recommend you read the following articles on small business blogging, SEO & content marketing:
- Sales funnel marketing strategy for bloggers
- Top 10 online marketing tools & services for 2012 – 2013
- How to promote your blog with social influence
- How to use the Internet as a profitable tool for business
To compound the problem, finding suitable channels to deliver content (assuming it is of good quality) is equally as difficult.
That’s why Internet marketing and business people like you and me, need an easy to use platform that can showcase your skills and knowledge quickly and effectively.
LinkedIn does a good job – that’s why it is successful – Quora does it better.
Here’s why…
What makes Quora the most effective free Internet marketing tool
Its worth noting that, for direct comparison purposes, we should really be talking about LinkedIn Answers vs. Quora. And, while we’re on the subject, what about Answers.com or Yahoo Answers?
However, the reason I think that comparing LinkedIn as a whole to Quora is valid is because most businesses have a finite amount of time and resources they can dedicate to Internet marketing and networking.
Often it comes down to a choice of one or the other. Naturally, you have to go with the one that generates the most return for the amount you put in – regardless of how, what, why or when you actually use the platform.
As for Quora’s direct competitors in the answers market (i.e. Yahoo & Answers), Quora simply has superior interface design that makes it quicker and easier to use – and therefore more efficient at getting marketing results.
Here’s some other great features…
Focus
Quora, unlike LinkedIn, focuses on getting expertise and information online and available to everyone. There are some social features that are unobtrusive and easy to use, but other than that it’s about getting information or providing it.
Simplicity
In a nutshell, you’ll be answering and asking highly relevant questions in your niche on Quora, before you’ve even been approved for a group membership on LinkedIn – let alone explored all the other options available on LinkedIn.
Design
Quora is designed as a platform to get and share information. So is Answers. But Quora is quicker and easier to understand. In the time it took for me not to work out how to find more questions in a specific topic on Answers, I was already engaging with a number of people on Quora.
Culture
LinkedIn questions are hard work. Often they are multi-part questions that are complex to intuit, let alone answer properly. Half the time they are nonsensical.
Quota questions seem to be snappier. Punchier. Much easier to respond to. Quora users, on average, seem to better understand that questions (no matter how complex the topic) need to asked well.
Speed
This is important because speed is a critical factor when you need to get as much value out of your time online as possible.
If Quora makes it easy for you to answer ten questions well, in the time it takes to find and answer 3 similar questions on another platform, it is safe to say that you are getting over 3 times as much value out of your time (all other things being equal).
Ok, so it may seem I’m coming across a bit harsh on LinkedIn. I actually like LinkedIn, and use it regularly. Call this loyal dissent.
What are your thoughts on how to get the most value out of your time in online marketing? Do you think that Quora is a good platform for building authority, trust and, therefore, social influence and engagement?
Share your thoughts in the comments or join me on your favorite social media to get more great ideas and advice about online marketing and business.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Alan Draper.
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I agree with you. I just started using quora and its awesome. You can leverage both Quora and Linkedin for maximum effect. People on Quora are usually on Linkedin so you can connect and benefit from both communities.
I still remain to be a member of Quora and also been connected with LinkedIn. It’s pretty good to have the endurance in both of these networks, as we’re able to get with the expertise feedback. It’s more likely to be in Quora than preferring with LinkedIn, that still remains to be more active and spontaneous discussions goes on. Pretty cool with each networks:-)
Thanks.