Online communities “very valuable”

Firms looking to ramp-up their marketing campaigns are being urged to consider the use of online communities, which are said to be “very valuable” by one industry expert.

Such online spaces can be a trusted intermediate between advertisers and community users, explained Ben Heald, chief executive officer of Sift at the Intellect Annual Regent Conference 2009.

A successful community requires two things, he commented.

“It needs maintaining - it needs fertilising, pruning and planning.

“Secondly a good online network or community has sap - it’s growing itself. It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s growing.”

Last year saw the number of firms using social networking sites in their online marketing campaigns double, from seven to 15 per cent, according to a survey by BT Tradespace.

However, although the majority of companies are aware of the benefits of online marketing, nearly half do not have their own website and 22 per cent do no marketing at all.