According to their website, Quora is “a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited and organized by everyone who uses it.” In other words, it’s the perfect platform for both the give and the take of quality thought leadership.
Overall, the key to success on Quora is to be genuine: provide meaningful answers, ask thoughtful questions, and support high quality answers through the voting system. To get the most out of your Quora profile and build your own reputation as a thought leader, employ the four techniques below.
1. Perform content marketing recon
We hear again and again that one of the biggest hurdles in content marketing is identifying topics to write about. Because Quora is a place where people ask specific questions about a wide variety of topics, it’s also an ideal resource for researching exactly what your audience wants to know.
Head to Quora and type your subject of expertise into the search box. Select a topic and start browsing for questions that you can answer thoroughly in a blog post, video, or whatever your content of choice may be. Once you develop this content, it’s acceptable to share it on the orignal question thread – but be sure to do more than drop a link. Since some users won’t want to navigate outside of the platform, adding a thorough summary of your content, and why you posted it, is common courtesy.
2. Conduct informal audience surveys
Quora is a great place to collect qualitative data – the “why” and “how” questions that would otherwise cost exorbitant amounts of money to research. If these questions haven’t been asked yet on Quora, it’s easy enought to ask them yourself – just make sure that they are thoughtful and constructive for everyone.
The question below asks what people want from their Cloud provider. With several thoughtful answers, the page quickly becomes a valuable resource for product improvement – something that would otherwise have been left to costly research or assumptions.
3. Find quality sources for content
If you’re working on an in-depth piece, Quora can be a great place to collect secondary sources or industry commentary. Start out by searching for the topic you’re covering. If a relevant question doesn’t exist yet, write your own and use Quora’s credit system to ask qualified individuals to answer. Quora will recommend a number of individuals who have answered questions similar to yours, but you can always do your own research to attract ideal sources, and even big industry names.
4. Provide your own thought leadership
Last but not least is the opportunity to share your own knowledge and experience. Again, search by topic to find relevant questions. Read any preexisting answers to ensure that you have something new to add to the conversation. Like any knowledge market, Quora users are quick to call bullshit – so leave that thinly veiled marketing ploy out. If you have a link that truly helpful in the context, add it. If it’s a stretch, leave it out.
How do you use Quora for thought leadership? Share your strategies and a link to your Quora profile below.
