You can get more from forum marketing than what you probably think. If you learn what these advantages are you will have a better business in the end. If you have not been marketing in forums then you might have missed some good business opportunities. They are so blatantly clear that anyone could have missed them.
It is assumed that you want to learn about forum marketing. Do not hang out in forums that do not like marketing. You'll find lots of forums that don't want any marketing or business related activities in them. The forum owner probably wouldn't have a problem with selling you ad space, if he is pushing ads. You will have to figure out which ones say marketing is okay and the ones that say it is not. But, it won't be hard to find a good one because the net has loads of them. There are several golden rules with forum marketing, and one of them is to give value and be helpful. This will provide valuable info to someone who really needs it. People might not like you for many reasons. One good example is if you come across that you're a real know-it-all. But it is based upon how you act in the forums. You probably are an expertise in your field, but this might make others think that you are a show off. If other form members are not that receptive towards you, then it will not be too good for you. If its bad enough, then it won't matter how much of an expert you are because people will basically think negatively of you.
You will have to be a laid back type of authority. When you go to the forums, you will form relationships with many people. Some people will Look At This always come off as arrogant. There are also those who like to constantly gripe about things. A majority of member will ignore these people, which will make them drop out of sight. These are the unwritten rules of social and forum etiquette and they're very real. So, decide what is the most important to link you. You will have to make a few tweaks if you want to succeed with forum marketing.
So, understand that social marketing and forum marketing are somewhat alike. And it's no surprise that forum marketing is a form of social marketing. They are both tied into relationship marketing, which you should learn about.