Do you think post exchanges are effective?

[MrDawn]

Do you think doing post exchanges are an effective means to bring activity to a forum? Why or why not?

 

[Henrywrites]

I think so. These exchanges remain one of those ways that you can get to exchange content with other forum owners. Forum owners that have similar interest of increasing activities on their forums can always key into this initiative.

 

[Bluezone777]

Not really as it is what affects the atmosphere of your forum that will affect activity in said board and some random person strolling in and making X amount of posts over a short time only to disappear forever or at least until someone hires them again isn't going to do it. This person you are doing exchanges with doesn't want to be there because if they did then they would just be there posting without you having to do anything for them. If you are having trouble finding people who want to be there then you should ask yourself just why you are bothering running a board that you can't find people who actually want to be there outside of what they can get from you for their benefit.

 

[Cory]

I like topic exchanges more than post exchanges so there is new content for members to engage in. I think post exchanges themself can be a hit or miss depending on the type of content posted and how interested users are in responding to the content and if it gains their interest.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

At the beginning, it helps add content. I also like the idea of supporting one another.

But in the long run you want a community that can almost run on auto-pilot without your direct intervention. With my established community, I could disappear for 6 months and come back and everyone would still be having a good time and there would be new faces I don't know. On my new pet project, if I wasn't there posting, it would die, lol. Community building takes a lot of time and effort though.

 

[McConnaughay]

It depends. Usually not. A lot of times, these post exchanges or thread exchanges are Users who post simply to fulfill a quota. This usually results in low-quality posting. I know in prior experiences with Forum Promotion, the posts were half-assed and lazy. It's workmanlike and largely does little to nothing to stimulate activity. The fact is, the posts are usually so lacking in identity / effort, that it would be no different than if you created your own fake username and made posts to stimulate discussion yourself.

At the same time, I have had times when I would do "active/active" exchanges with users and the results were satisfactory.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Not really as it is what affects the atmosphere of your forum that will affect activity in said board and some random person strolling in and making X amount of posts over a short time only to disappear forever or at least until someone hires them again isn't going to do it. This person you are doing exchanges with doesn't want to be there because if they did then they would just be there posting without you having to do anything for them. If you are having trouble finding people who want to be there then you should ask yourself just why you are bothering running a board that you can't find people who actually want to be there outside of what they can get from you for their benefit.

Depends though. Members like @Shortie often get paid to post but if there’re a great community vibe and great content, they stay for free after the paid contract expires.

 

[Smokey]

Sure, they can help spark some activity on a quiet forum for sure as long as both parties complete their end of the exchange. There were post exchange sites/programs like Postloop back in the day that worked very well for this sort of thing. It's a shame no one has brought back something similar.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Sure, they can help spark some activity on a quiet forum for sure as long as both parties complete their end of the exchange. There were post exchange sites/programs like Postloop back in the day that worked very well for this sort of thing. It's a shame no one has brought back something similar.

You can purchase packages from ForumPromotion and Admin-Junkies though.

 

[Nebulous]

I like topic exchanges more than post exchanges so there is new content for members to engage in. I think post exchanges themself can be a hit or miss depending on the type of content posted and how interested users are in responding to the content and if it gains their interest.

Agreed. Thats usually the only exchange I'll take part in. Exchanging new threads on each others forums.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

I like topic exchanges more than post exchanges so there is new content for members to engage in. I think post exchanges themself can be a hit or miss depending on the type of content posted and how interested users are in responding to the content and if it gains their interest.

I’m the opposite of you and @Nebulous . I think it’s harder to find good conversation than to find good content. Engaging natural flowing conversation is what builds a community IMO. Otherwise it’s just a website to me.

 

[KO896]

I’m the opposite of you and @Nebulous . I think it’s harder to find good conversation than to find good content. Engaging natural flowing conversation is what builds a community IMO. Otherwise it’s just a website to me.

I really agree with this. I like being a part of forums where members ask each other questions and actually want to know the answers. Having a forum of just opinions and no interaction is dull.

 

[Shortie]

I feel post-exchanges can help spark activity when that is low and done in moderation they can really help a forum.

I wouldn't say relying on them solely is a good idea though and would definitely only use them whilst I was trying to bring traffic onto the forum.

 

[Nebulous]

I’m the opposite of you and @Nebulous . I think it’s harder to find good conversation than to find good content. Engaging natural flowing conversation is what builds a community IMO. Otherwise it’s just a website to me.

Well thread exchanges are simply for the regulars who do engage with each other to have some fresh new topics to reply to.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Well thread exchanges are simply for the regulars who do engage with each other to have some fresh new topics to reply to.

Yeah i’m referering more to new forums