Quora is a collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by its users. The major advantage it has over other Q&A sites it has become very popular among industry pros, especially in Silicon Valley, as a knowledge source and a reputation builder. Retailers can utilize Quora in two main ways: To receive professional answers for their questions, and to answer questions to build their own reputation as an expert in their field.

How it’s Done

Starting your own company is tough, and can be fraught with obstacles that you don’t know how to deal with. Professional help for these problems can be quite expensive. Using Quora creates the opportunity to ask any question you may have and have it answered by industry experts. Make sure your question is tagged with relevant keywords and placed under a relevant topic so that it’s easy to determine its subject matter and be found by experts looking to answer questions related to it. Quora also enables you to show-off your expertise in your specific industry. This allows you to create a reputation for yourself as an authority in your field, giving customers better reason to trust you and the products you sell. If you can demonstrate yourself as a resource online, customers will be much more willing to come in-store to ask your opinion on their problems and allow you to provide a solution. This closes the loop between online content and offline conversion.

A Few Helpful Hints

Make sure your question is in the format of an actual question, not I need to know where I can buy socks in Vancouver. Utilize tags to target your question towards the group you wish to answer the question Check the answers section of your questions often, as answerers may ask questions about your question in order to provide more concise answers.

Bottom Line for Local Business

Quora allows retailers to enter into industry discussions in a place where it is suitable to both provide advice and ask for it. This is a growing community of experts, so getting on-board in its still-early days will demonstrate your ability at being a thought-leader. Check out Wishpond to be seen on Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Mobile: www.wishpond.com/merchant