Full disclosure—I’m a marketer. I also enjoy reading through Quora posts. I’ve been subscribed to Quora for as long as I can remember and I enjoy answering questions about my travels, interests and hobbies, as much as I do questions about content marketing and strategy.

Does this little pastime of mine reap any benefits? Yes. Whenever I give my honest opinion or offer my thoughts into a topic, I’m familiar with, I often find myself starting great conversations with others who share the same passion for marketing. It’s always refreshing and interesting to have people with the same interests trade insight and tips into a familiar topic. It’s not uncommon for these people to begin checking out my website and signing up for my newsletters either, which is great.

So in a nutshell, yes—Quora can be used to promote your business. Especially now that the platform has 190 million monthly users, a 100 million jump from a year ago. But only if you are willing to take the time to translate your thoughts into something useful, relevant, and comprehensive for other like-minded Quora readers out there.

To that end, here are my tips for making the most out of Quora to promote your company:

1. Always find new ideas to talk about

Quora is a crowd-sourced platform that welcomes answers from different perspectives. The most popular answers are typically given with a unique insight into a common problem. Whatever your topic of expertise is, be sure that you give a unique spin to it. Otherwise, your answer will get drowned out by the others.

2. Be conscious of your communication skills

While it is largely considered an informal communications platform, if you intend to answer on behalf of your company, make sure the quality of your answer is reflective of your business. Quora can help you build a network or win new businesses simply by sharing your unique ideas. A few typos here and there or a run-on thought could reflect badly on your ability to deliver quality work.

3. Open the lines of communication

Follow people that you think are worth following. Ask questions, create conversations, and engage in discussion. You’d be surprised at how many people are out there just waiting for someone to exchange ideas with.

4. Be honest about your intentions

I think the easiest way to build your network on Quora is to answer questions that you can confidently answer. It’s a great platform to share your expertise and skills. That said, if your expertise is hinged on being a marketer, be honest if you actually are. Don’t approach it simply as a way for self-promotion. Always prioritize sharing of information.

5. Ask questions yourself

I have to admit, I quite like to answer questions on Quora. I enjoy laying my thoughts down and sharing what I know and what I think. In turn, I look forward to reading others’ opinions and their own insight into what I wrote. But don’t forget, Quora also lets you ask questions of your own. Take advantage of this and spur interesting conversations about topics relevant to your business. You’re more than likely to encourage others to answer it and start building your own network.

As always—and in the spirit of keeping the communication lines open—do leave me a message below, or get in touch with me at Leadspanda if you have any questions, or if you want to share more ideas about how you can promote your business on Quora.