How do you keep your forum active?

[Pond Life]

7. Send weekly newsletters about the new activities

I hope there's a way your members can opt out. Any forum sending me unsolicited weekly emails with no opt-out would be reported for spamming.

[Nully]

I see others than me have users gone to Facebook
Many of my users write to me in Fb (my private page) or post interesting threads in Fb, no more in my forum.
Of course, in Fb they can show themselves to their "friends"
I don't know how I could keep my forum active.
Even if I should decide to pay some people, I don't know where to find these people

[Lumpy Burgertushie]

close your facebook page then they will have to come to the board to have a conversation.

or, you could make some posts to your fb page that are on a subject that is very interesting to your board members and just post a little bit of a teaser. tell them to go to your board for the rest of the story.

have a contest for posts on the board, promote the contest on facebook.

keep the board more interesting than your facebook page.

you can't really have a conversation or discussion between many people on facebook like you can in a bulletin board/discussion board like phpbb.
remind people that posting pictures etc. is just as easy on the board as it is in facebook.


robert

[Nully]

On my Fb I don't write interesting things, posts are like "it's raining in Paris" or a picture during hollidays.
I keep Fb for contacts with my family and real friends. Users registered in my forum write on their own fb page and on my "wall".

[travel]

Interesting themes, nice staff, newsletters, discreet advertisement (competing boards).

[Holger]

Yes, it is all about content, topicality and relevance!
Content posted on crapbook cannot be searched by non-FB-members, that is where the forums can outpace FB.
Provide downloads that are not available anywhere else.
Watermark everything so that it cannot be reused elsewhere without showing your URL.

Dont use FB to promote your forum. It will just result in those brainless and useless Likes by your millions of "freinds".

[AztecEngineer]

How do you post on another board advertising your board without stepping on any toes?

[Lumpy Burgertushie]

if allowed, you put a link to your board in your sig file at the other boards. you make relevant helpful posts. you answer questions if you really know the answers. anytime you can link to something relevant on your board , do so if allowed.

just be helpful on other boards and word will get around and people will want to see more of what you have to say.

robert

[PhoenixComputerTech]

One way which some consider cheating is creating multiple fake accounts and creating discussions between yourself to show its active. Or have friends help you out and do the same. Keep your forum interesting and with many good topics to talk about.

Advertise your website and work on some nice SEO. Do anything you can to bring traffic to your site. Social media is your best friend in a situation like this.

[Holger]

Social media is your best friend in a situation like this.

Nope, I disagree.
Once in social media, always in social media. If you go that route the forum will never lift off.

[Volksdevil]

Revisiting this because things certainly haven't improved.

Feel like just deleting the lot! Massive! amounts of information and statistics...There just doesn't seem to be any interest in collated information anymore.

Throw away society. Everybody wants to:
Ask a question.
Get it answered.
Job done, stuff helping anybody else or sharing, collating info.

It just disappears into the boring blue and white wilderness of faceCrook.

[Holger]

Hmmm, sad to hear this!

I have not noticed that mentality in my community yet.
In society in general yes, but not in my community.

[</Solidjeuh>]

*snip*

[roshanrakesh]

Initislly I paid some users to post and discuss on the forum. Eventually, everyone caught up.

[incredibleasia]

It is an old topic but still let me ask again the same question. In the times of Instagram and FB groups forums became much less popular and active and of course it makes me sad. Some of members even think that it is not a good idea to keep a forum now-a-days, it is better to start FB group instead. What do you think about it? Are there some ways which can keep a forum active? What can be added to the site? Any suggestions would be appreciated.