by Daria Steigman on January 24, 2012
Want to know the fastest way to shut down conversation on your blog?
Moderate comments.
(And if you’re going to hold comments, you should at minimum have a process for getting them approved quickly.)
Case in point: I followed a link to a terrific blog post the other day. Good information, well-written, and well presented. I left a comment, and then tweeted out the link to my community.
What happened next? Nothing.
“Nothing” is not a good response.
My comment never appeared. Nor did any other comments–which means either no one else tried to respond or their comments ended up in comment limbo as well. So what do you think the chances are that I become a regular reader? Put that business on my radar screen?
Silence isn’t always golden.
First contact can be the start of a beautiful friendship. Don’t squander it by shutting down a conversation before it even begins.
Photo by Katie Tegtmeyer (Flickr).
Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!
Tagged as:
blogging,
Blogs,
community,
Conversation,
Social Media
by Daria Steigman on August 9, 2011
Love it, hate it, or deny it exists, personal branding is a hot topic. And it’s going to be THE topic today for #sm122, a weekly tweet chat around the business of social media.
Join me at 12 noon EST as I host a conversation around personal branding. We’ll explore:
1. Personal branding — good idea or bad idea?
2. Can a personal brand coexist within a corporate ecosystem? Can your stars be stars and keep your brand intact?
3. Is it okay for companies to ban their employees from blogging?
4. Should companies have a succession plan around star employees?
Before diving in, I recommend reading Jonny Bentwood’s excellent post on Forrester’s decision last year to ban its staff from having personal blogs.
Looking forward to the conversation. And, as always, feel free to leave your two cents in the comments below.
UPDATE: The transcript of the tweet chat is posted here.
Photo by J.D. Hancock (Flickr).
Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!
Tagged as:
blogging,
branding,
Jonny Bentwood,
Social Media,
Strategy,
tweetchat,
workforce
by Daria Steigman on July 19, 2011
My target audience isn’t marketers. It’s businesses.
There’s nothing wrong with marketing blogs. Or PR blogs. Or blogs about kittens.
But too many business bloggers are really just writing for themselves.
What challenges do your clients, customers, and/or prospects face? Are you helping them move forward today?
If you’re blogging about kittens, I hope you have a pet store, or sell pet supplies, or at least have a business model with some passing reference to furry little feline creatures. Otherwise you have a hobby blog and not a business blog.
Photo by Eran Finkle (Flickr).
Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!
Tagged as:
blogging,
Blogs,
Business,
marketing
by Daria Steigman on March 15, 2011
During a recent MarketingProfs Webinar on managing your online reputation, C.B. Whittemore said that “negative stuff isn’t all evil.” She cited a study that found that 64% of people trust social media more when there are both positive and negative comments.
This makes sense. I’m more likely to value reviews when there’s a mix of good and bad. First, the mix gives me context. Second, I have some faith that the company didn’t just flood the channel with its own evangelists.
So why are so many companies afraid of negative comments on their Facebook page, on a blog post, or in other social outposts?
Here are four reasons to embrace negative comments:
- Negative comments can alert you to a problem (real or perceived) that you might not know you have. Embrace the learning opportunity.
- Negative comments give you a chance to explain or clarify your position. For example, say 50 people are carping on Facebook that you won’t extend a promotion. What would happen if you said “sorry you missed this one” and offered them a code to sign up and get advance notice about your company’s next promotion?
- Transparency builds trust. It’s okay to disagree with a customer, a client, or a prospect. We’re not clones.
- A concerted campaign of negativity can energize your evangelists to come to your defense. (First, of course, people have to trust you.)
When I was president of my condo board, there were a couple of co-owners who didn’t like to take no for an answer. They’d call me up and state their case. I’d listen, and then politely explain why what they wanted wasn’t feasible. Then they’d come to the public meeting and ask the same question. My response: “As I told you when you called me earlier…”
If this were online, would anything have changed? I don’t think so.
Photo by Stefan Cloo (Flickr).
Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!
Tagged as:
blogging,
CB Whittemore,
Facebook,
MarketingProfs,
Social Media
by Daria Steigman on March 14, 2011
Check out the latest data on business blogging from Hubspot’s State of Inbound Marketing report: 65 percent of respondents say that they publish a company blog.
Before you get too excited, two things to keep in mind:
- Adoption of blogging as a business tool only grew four percent from 2010 to 2011.
- These are likely mostly larger companies and/or Web-savvy smaller ones. Why? Because the latest State of Small Business Report finds that only 8 percent of respondents use blogs–and only 19 percent said that they update their Web site “at least once a week.”
In other words, the companies that understand what a blog can do for your business (thought leadership, lead generation, etc.) are doing it. The rest: not so much. While the data suggests that having a blog is a competitive differentiator for any business, it’s especially true if you’re a small business.
A colleague of mine said the other day:
“I think blogs are almost like business cards used to be.”
What say you?
Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!
Tagged as:
blogging,
Blogs,
Business,
Business Cards,
Hubspot,
Social Media,
State of Small Business Report
