I currently run a decent sized forum ~300K posts/7k members and one of the biggest challenges I face is gaining exposure. We invest in SEO, but this is limited by our content, which is generally geared by our members. We have a lot of members come to the site and say they had now idea it existed until they stumbled across it in a search or whatever. My question is, what are some good ways to get a lot of exposure? We have spent some money in the past on Facebook advertising and Boosting Posts, which does gain exposure, but I'm not sure how well it converts to visits. I have been debating spending a large sum on boosting facebook posts, to see what happens, but am worried this is simply a waste and will only generate likes, not visits. So what are some of your favorite ways to gain exposure for your sites?
I would focus on SEO. I believe that paid advertising is a waste unless you sell your own product. SEO is limited by content, advertising is limited by budget. Both are limited.
Figure out where your target audience already is (on other blogs, forums etc) ad then get your adverts or content in front of them. You have to market to them somehow. You can't just hope they'll find you by magic.
But that is what people expect... Why do you think millions of domains are bought, and dropped each year? Someone saw some scheme, and thought he/she was going to setup a blog/ forum/money site and had dreams that it would hit big in 30 days or less... all while they sat on the couch watching tv, and eatting curly fries from jacks.... Because that is how the world works, right?