5 Ways to Make Quora Work to Your Advantage

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LaptopThe era of social media, online communities, and self-publishing platforms has made it easier than ever for HR-tech companies to connect with their audiences. One site that’s rising in popularity with everyone from job seekers to company CEOs to your grandmother is community-fueled question-and-answer site Quora.

While question-and-answer websites aren’t anything new, Quora’s creative execution has turned the site into much more than your average Q&A platform. It’s gone far beyond typical crowdsourced answer websites by offering features — such as the ability to upvote good answers and display your bio next to each of your answers — that make it more than a standard search engine.

In fact, Quantcast estimates more than 775,000 people access Quora each month in the U.S. alone, which makes it a powerful marketing tool for HR-tech companies looking to gain exposure.

That being said, gaining exposure and managing your brand shouldn’t be your top goals when using Quora — just as they shouldn’t be your No. 1 priorities on social media. Instead, you should use Quora to share knowledge about your company and the human resources industry.  As Ash Satyanarayana, cofounder of FetchProfits, explains on Smart Hustle :

“However, hustling or selling is exactly what you shouldn’t be doing on Quora. Instead, aim to spread knowledge … Expertise allows you to to answer right. Right answers get you attention. Attention gets you hungry traffic. Hungry traffic leads to conversions.”

Companies can gain exposure by becoming industry experts on Quora — which is why Quora belongs in every marketer’s toolbox. Here are five ways HR-tech companies in particular can use Quora to gain exposure and attract everyone from great new hires to potential customers:

1. Build a Quora Page for Your Business

One simple way to gain business exposure on Quora is by creating a Quora page for your HR-tech company. Just as they can on Wikipedia, users on Quora can create pages or topics on just about anything.

To make a page for your business, start by searching for your company’s name in Quora. If your company name isn’t listed, Quora will suggest creating it as a topic. This option gives users the ability to name the topic, add a brief description, add a company logo, etc. Once the topic is good to go, you can request the Quora community to review the topic/company.

Not only does having a Quora page for your HR-tech company help others learn more about your product, but also it’s a great way to add positive reviews of your company to your presence on Quora.

2. Keep the Conversation Going

In order to establish yourself as an HR expert on Quora (and in general), it’s important that you follow the topics related to your business and industry. Topics range from general human resources, recruiting, and management topics to nailed-down topics on engineering recruiting, employee benefits, and job interviews.

One way HR-tech companies can benefit from using Quora is for market research. Find out what people are asking about within the industry in an effort to better cater to the needs and desires of your target audience. Market research has never been easier.

The more active you are on Quora, the bigger your following will become. Take time to read through various questions and answers, follow others within your industry, answer questions, and upvote answers you agree with.

3. Answer Questions With Authority

Being recognized as an industry expert is the leading incentive for businesses to be on Quora. Hey, if it’s good enough for Obama, right?

Obama

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have Obama-level authority. To establish authority on Quora, you have to answer questions with authority. So what makes for an upvote-worthy answer? Good, authoritative answers show the following:

  • Passion
  • Personality
  • Storytelling (with takeaways)
  • Evidence (e.g., stats, examples, etc.)

Most importantly, keep answers short and sweet. Say what you need to say to successfully answer the question and nothing more. Clear and succinct answers are more likely to be viewed, shared, and upvoted.

Another way to gain additional exposure for your HR-tech company is by answering questions you’ve already answered via blogs posts, articles, and the like. Repurpose that content by digging out questions you’ve answered in previous posts, finding similar questions on Quora, and answering those questions and linking back to the referenced blog post or article for more details.ATS

Not only does this help establish authority,but also it redirects Quora users to your blog, website, etc. Two birds, one stone.

4. Stay on Top of the Competition

In addition to market research, Quora provides the perfect platform for conducting competitor research. By following topics related to your business on Quora, it’s easy to stay on top of discussions surrounding your competitors, other brands within the human resources industry, partner companies, and more.

Not only does Quora give you a way to find out what others are asking (or answering) about the competition, but also it can give your business a competitive edge over HR-tech companies that aren’t on Quora — all the more reason to become an active member and industry expert on the site.

5. Analyze Your Content Stats

With so many tools available for measuring content-marketing success, creating content and hoping it delivers results is a thing of the past. The same goes for creating content on Quora. Quora’s free analytics allow you to analyze the content you put on the platform.

Use the analytics tool to discover your most successful content in terms of views, shares, and upvotes. Quora’s analytics tool also displays stats for the content you contribute. Most importantly, you can find out how readers are being led to your answers. Are they finding your content through your profile or business page? Tagged topics? Or maybe just random browsing?

In addition to learning how people come across your content, you can also find out who is viewing your content. Paired with Quora’s analytics, knowing the how and who of it can give you a better idea of which avenues garner the most coverage.

Have you used Quora to share industry or company-related knowledge? How have you benefited from using Quora?

By Heather Huhman