Engaging with your followers – a lot of you out there know what this means, but for those still not as experienced with social media, this might be a little confusing.
Remember, communication is not a one-way street. It never was and never will be. You can have a website, a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook account, a Youtube account, and more, and even have some followers. You can even search engine optimize your site as much as you want (a lot of people actually overdo it). You could set up all the tools to your site and social networks, but that is only a portion of the social media game.
You have to engage.
Engage – talk with people, interact, let people know you are interested in them and not all about yourself all the time. People love to talk. You- yes you who reads this blog post… you like to talk too. It may not be as much as others, but certainly when you meet someone and start exchanging information like about yourself, interests, and more.
You still can share your blog posts and product information, but if you take 15 to 30 minutes in a day to make the effort to engage with others, it might prove fruitful. You might make a sale. You might even increase your site’s traffic.
It will take talking on Facebook, Twitter, or commenting on other blogs.
And just so I am not sounding so preachy, I am going to give you a few links to places you might consider engaging with others:
- Blog Engage
- MyBlogGuest
- Facebook Fan Page of Kimberly Castlberry
- Facebook Fan Page of Nile Flores
- The Blogging MasterMind Comment Tribe
These few links are just a few tasty morsels to tackle and hopefully help get your engages with people that are actually interested in connecting with others. Of course, I would hope that you would come here to Blondish.net and look up whatever interest you want and leave a comment. I would love to help you or engage with you in any way possible. (Of course, if you have some other wonderful places I have not mentioned – I like to let you fill in some blanks too…lol – then please share.)
What advice do you have for people who are still not making the connection on what engaging with your followers is all about?
Thanks for the link love … will make use of the above sites
My recent post Hard Drives – Choosing the Right One
Hope they help. 😀
Nile, aloha. You are so right that it is important to engage. People have to get in the habit and realize that commenting, posting and tweeting is just like talking. The more familiar they become with doing it, the easier it becomes for them.
Great list of places for engagement. Thx so much. Best wishes for a terrific Sunday. Aloha. Janet
P.S. Speaking of engaging, have you read Guy Kawasaki's latest bok "Enchantment?" Personally, I think it should be required reading for everyone.
My recent post Network Marketing—A to Z 9 In a Series of Fun Facts- Figures & Tips by Janet Callaway The Natural Networker
I have not read Guy Kawasaki 's book. I do follow him on twitter for the links his account shares, but he usually leaves his sharing to his team of people these days.
Hi Nile,
I think connecting with other bloggers is a big key to success for anyone running a blog. It's important to interact both on your own site as well as off site. Your unique voice will add value to other people's blogs and their community. If you leave an insightful comment, people may be inclined to come back to your website and read about what you have to say.
My recent post How to Promote Your Job Board
I agree wholeheartedly with this. Some of the bloggers out there that keep asking me how they can get more traffic- I ask "What do you do to promote your site? Is engaging with people online, including your followers part of it?"
You would be surprised still the amount of people that reply, "Oh, I need to start engaging."
Yah, I think sometimes people make engaging harder than it needs to be. It's really just getting to know other people and discussing different points of view. It can be a learning experience and even give you a few ideas for content.
My recent post The Power of Branding- Apple Sues over Amazon App Store Name
Hi Nile,
Excellent post, and very timely for me, as I just wrote a similar article.
Building relationships and engaging with people is what internet marketing is all about. But, like you say, it can't be all one-sided. To quote Dale Carnegie, "To be interesting, you have to be interested.'
Are you not getting enough comments or views on your blog? Visit other blogs and make comments. This is truly karma at its most visible. I find that the more I comment and truly become interested in what other blogs are saying, I find more people making fantastic comments on my blog, and becoming more interested in what I'm saying.
In short, if you don't give, you won't get. It really is that simple.
What an awesome, thought-provoking post. Thank you so much for sharing!
Gregory
My recent post Building Business Relationships – The Key to MLM Success
The only issue is that just relying on commenting will not always bring in someone to your own blog. It has to be a valuable comment and obviously not all bloggers are going to return comments, especially blog owners who have community blog sites (unfortunate, but I have come to expect it due to their availability to get outside of their usual blog circle.
However, yes… "if you don't give, you won't get" … at least for those bloggers who are wanting to build a great readership and possibly great relationships with their readers, that this is something I also believe in.
I see this alot on Twitter where you go to someone's profile and only see them broadcasting and promoting their links and NO interaction. This is a fail. I have always engaged with people online and in my comments and it's been a great way to meet new people and network online. And it's not only important for us to engage but companies and brands should also engage online. I find I tend to utilize brands that know how to engage online more than ones that don't.
My recent post The Importance of Your Employee Newsletter- Do Not Delete
A lot of people still have no idea what engaging really is. As explained, I found out from clients that they watched videos even from top social media consultants and still have no clue what it means. While they are pumping out their own posts, quotes and such, they are not reaching out to others.
The number 1 thing I tell my clients – "I would like to see you engage more with readers and your followers."
Hi Nile,
As a new blogger, I have realized that it's all about engaging. Before I got started for me blogging meant writing posts after posts. That's it. Now I realize that it also includes reading other blogs and sharing your thoughts and comments. I find this the best part of blogging as it's an opportunity to establish relationships. I am part of a blog challenge and the Blogging Mastermind Tribe. I also joined another blogging group on Facebook and another on Linked In. I have a fantastic experience and recommend all new bloggers to join a group.
My recent post Lighten Up And Smile
You are quite right, Nile. Engaging with other people online plays a huge role in increasing the chances of bringing a business to success. I wouldn't be enjoying the SERP ranking I am now having for some of my keywords if I had not decided to come out of my shell and started forum posting and blog commenting. And, if you will ask me to share the people besides you who have helped me a lot on this journey, you can find some of them here: http://www.ariherzog.com, http://www.dannybrown.me, http://www.imjustsharing.com, http://www.keepupwiththeweb.com, http://www.liveyourlove.com, http://www.liveyourlove.com and http://www.m4bmarketing.com, among others.
Thank you Nile!
We are currently just getting started with integrating social media into our overall business mareting and these tips come at perfect time for us!
My recent post Whittier to Anchorage and Anchorage to Whittier Transportation
Hey Niles, I love to engage with people so that's the easy part for me 🙂 I just need to find more time to be MORE engaging like I really want to.!
My recent post Google’s Wonder Wheel- A Keyword and Niche Finder Gem!
Engaging with followers seems so obvious when you read about it, but it's actually hard to do! I am always so focused on what information I'm putting out there, instead of taking time to actively appreciate content from others. I mean, I'm reading their blogs and articles, but need to take more time to give them credit, link, comment and RT. Thanks for the reminders.
I found your blog through google search. Great SEO work. Whilst i am learning seo myself I have found the information on your blog post helpful that has increased my passino to learn more. Once again, a great post 🙂 thanks.