In the past several years, many different question and answer sites have cropped up across the web, promising to provide users with information and details about subjects that interest them. From Yahoo Answers to ChaCha, these sites regularly field requests from users across the globe, with other users providing feedback that could potentially prove useful. Quora is a relatively new startup that explores the same model, except this startup could potentially have serious ramifications for marketers who choose to use it to increase their sphere of influence and establish themselves as experts in a particular field.

Understanding the Basics of Quora

Quora is a community that relies upon its users to build up the knowledge base currently in place, editing and modifying content as new information becomes available. The idea behind such principles is to prevent the site from becoming overrun with content that is not valuable, which is a problem that many other question and answer sites have experienced. By allowing users to monitor content and make certain it meets a particular standard, Quora keeps itself apart from its competition.

How Quora Differs from the Crowd

With a crowded field of question and answer sites already prolific on the Internet, Quora begs the question: why is this site better than the rest? Firstly, Quora is built on real identities. In stark contrast to other sites that use usernames that hide the identity of the users asking and answering questions, Quora is aimed at real life individuals who can expertly respond to questions. This lends to the content matter being much more high brow than some of the questions posted on other web destinations, and allows experts to more easily connect with questions that they may be well-suited for answering.

Using Quora for Marketing

All of the fundamentals of Quora are good and well for casual web users, but how does this site factor into marketing on the web? In fact, Quora can be a powerful way to make an impact online. Because Quora is built on real users, information that can be provided in a particular strand can serve as a valuable tool for building one’s online expertise and influence. Furthermore, because the real name is linked to the response, contributing to Quora could potentially have an impact on other ventures online that are tied to the same individuals name.

Community Feedback

One of the most powerful things about Quora is that the users interact in a manner that encourages rewarding those who have demonstrated a particular expertise. This is what makes Quora a powerful marketing resource. If someone shares valuable information on Quora, they can rise to the top of the heap of experts waiting to respond to questions asked on the service. Of course, this leads to a better user experience for those who pose questions, but it can also have beneficial results for the expert responding. It can also help lead others in the community to external sites or content that the expert is responsible for creating. Ultimately, Quora is just one small piece in the giant puzzle that is online marketing. It seems to have a promising future as a way for web users to gather useful information, while also allowing individuals to establish themselves as experts in a given field. In a connected world where becoming an influential person within a particular industry can be incredibly challenging, Quora provides users with the opportunity to do just that in an easy manner. This could make it a great marketing tool, when it comes to generating buzz about a key individual that makes a company tick.

Frederick is a blogger, tech geek and a member of mac-how community.