Quora is a strange one, GLAD WORKS friends, but the buzz is that it’s turning into the new LinkedIn! Popularity is soaring and there are certainly a few ways you can maximize it’s potential for your business. But first, let’s explain Quora. 

Quora is a social website. It’s a collection of questions and answers that are created, edited, and organized by the people who use the site. The goal is to have each question page be the best possible resource for someone who wants to know the answer to that particular question. On Quora you will find high-level executives, journalists, hobbyists, industry insiders, every day people, and entrepreneurs just like you. They’re all passionate about what they do and they’re eager to be the big cheese and answer the question du jour in the best possible way. These answers get voted on and pushed to the top of the pile of various answers to any given question.

Some of the questions are silly. Like this one:  “If I say I’m a feminist will hot women want to date me?” But in general, Quora culture is not about The Silly. People there are usually looking to ask and answer serious questions. This is not to say that people are boring on Quora. It’s just not a place for absurdity. People treat Quora sort of like a cache of all the best answers to all the research they do online.

In short, you go to Quora to either obtain or impart knowledge, and YOU, dear reader, can be a part of it all.

And when you become an expert, you get all the wine and chocolate you want when you get to heaven.

Not really, but you do get something that can be equally as awesome and we will describe all of that for you today.

Get to know some awesome people:

A great way to get yourself noticed on Quora is to answer questions for people. Eventually, they’ll “like” one of your answers or comment on it. At that point, you can send the person a direct message and be all “Hey! I’m awesome, you’re awesome, we should be friends!”  While you don’t want to just sidle up to people on Quora and start in with your sales pitch, if you are patient and you build a relationship with them first, it’s an amazing way to connect with people—whether they’re potential customers or colleagues, or people you look up to and can learn from.

Be a rock star:

We all know that self-promotion is a no-no, but nobody said you can’t be a total rock star on Quora and really show off your expertise. That’s what it’s all about! So when you go on there, look through the questions related to your particular area of interest and pick one that you think you have a really killer response to. Again, this is not an opportunity to tell everyone about how you’re the smartest smarty-pants ever. It’s your chance to provide the best, most reliable information to the Quora community. You build your business by being helpful and trustworthy.

Know what questions to ask:

Questions are just as important as answers on Quora. There is definitely a spirit of competitiveness in how Quora works that encourages people to not only answer questions the best, but also ask the best questions too. If you want to attract feedback from interesting people who know a lot about really important stuff, you have to ask an awesome question. If you ask, they will come.

Build a presence:

The only way to do this is to use your real name and the name of your business. Make sure your profile is completely filled out. On Quora, you want to follow colleagues, thought leaders, competitors and anyone else who is making a contribution that’s worth reading and thinking about. Be sure that you’re not just following questions, but actually getting in there and being a part of the community.

From a marketing perspective, Quora is mainly about building relationships by establishing yourself as an authority in your field. Clearly, this happens over time as you keep asking and answering intelligent and relevant questions. What’s really cool about Quora is that the subject matter is incredibly focused which allows for some pretty tight relationships to form. These relationships translate into valuable business contacts and, ultimately, sales.