TMCnet Online Community News

Why It's Important to Host Competitor News on Your Online Community

We at TMCnet often get requests from Online Community sponsors to remove and prevent competitor news from being published to their communities, and in the interest of our customers and all those who may host Online Communities, we’re here to dispel the notion that your competitors’ news is bad news.

To make an analogy, ‘competitor news’ is to your ‘Online Community’ as ‘going to jail for’ is to ‘a celebrity’s popularity.’ Of course, you don’t want your Online Community to be thought of in the league of Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen, and it won’t be, as long as you keep the content relevant. But, to the point, all news is good news.

As a thought leader in your industry, you want to host all the solid, read-worthy news of the industry, so get used to the fact that your competitors might be publishing some interesting news items just like you. After all, they are your competitors for a reason, right? Your discretion as to the quality of the news will ultimately be what puts your Online Community in the top spot.

Scott Bouchard, web director for TMCnet, stated, “You can’t avoid competitor news, and you can’t stop potential customers from seeing it.  However, what you can do with a TMC (News - Alert) Online Community is gain a level of control by surrounding that news with your branding and messaging.  There’s no better way to take advantage of your competition and simultaneously diminish the effectiveness of its releases.”

So when a member of your readership is checking out an article about one of your competitors on your Online Community, they see your brand as the host of quality industry content, putting your brand in a position of thought leadership. And isn’t that the main goal of your Online Community in the first place?

To discuss further, please contact a member of your dedicated TMCnet team.

About TMCnet Online Communities

TMCnet Online Communities are news-generated, content-rich portals that position your company as the leading “go-to resource” for your industry group. TMC has been building Online Communities for over 10 years, and continues to be the market leader at developing these successful sites for our customers.  To learn more about the TMCnet Online Community program, please contact Anna Ritchie [email protected] or call 203-852-6800 x 107. You can also visit us online at http://www.tmcnet.com/community.

Juliana Kenny graduated from the University of Connecticut with a double degree in English and French. After managing a small company for two years, she joined TMC as a Web Editor for TMCnet. Juliana currently focuses on the call center and CRM industries, but she also writes about cloud telephony and network gear including softswitches.