Given the obvious benefits of Q&A engagement, why not develop your own site? There are a multitude of platforms available for developing your own Q&A site in a cost-effective way. OSQA and Askbot offer open source tools for developers to build-upon; and SaaS companies like Answerbase and Qhub offer a good-to-go cloud-based platform.

To get your site up-and-running, it’s essential to:

• Boost visibility by making your site as search friendly as possible.
• Use existing Q&A sites to promote your new one.
• Incentivise user contributions with rewards and increased recognition.
• Start with ‘editorial seeding’ – using your own team to ask, answer and share questions.
• Specialise, and focus your site around a niche industry.