We spend a lot of editorial space in this blog talking about promoting your personal brand by building your digital footprint. The more breadcrumbs you can scatter across the web that point back to your personal branding documents – your blog, LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, online CV, or whatever you are using to promote your brand – the more likely you will be found. One of the best strategies is commenting on blogs about topics related to your expertise. If you can add to the conversation by commenting, you increase your digital footprint.
Of course, blog commenting can be time consuming. As you are surfing the web you could run across a blog entry on any topic that is interesting, insightful, and already well-commented. What can you add to the conversation? You can add your two cents, or you can spread the word. When you lack inspiration, here are some ideas as to how to contribute to the comment conversation without overtaxing yourself (with thanks to Keisha Easley who posted the original article on Social Media Today):
- Make a note and come back later. If you have nothing to say in the moment, bookmark the blog site and think about it so you can come back later. When inspiration strikes, you can come back and post your insights.
- When in doubt, tweet it (or Facebook it, or post it to LinkedIn). One of the great things about using social media sites is they thrive on the exchange of ideas, even when those ideas aren’t your own. You can use interesting blog entries to post to your Twitter stream, Facebook page, or to your LinkedIn contacts and groups. If the content is related to your personal brand it has potential value to your followers.
- Comment on the comments. Blogs are part of the larger online conversation, and comments feed the conversation, so commenting on the commentary just adds more insight. Read what others have to say and feel free to expound or disagree. However, repeating what someone else says in different words doesn’t add much to the conversation. It’s better to provide a contrary or expert viewpoint to demonstrate your own expertise.
- Poke around the blog. If you run across an interesting entry but have nothing to say, chances are there are similar blog posts at the same location that might inspire something. Explore a little and see if you find another blog post that promotes a reaction.
- Been there, done that. Providing personal experience or an anecdote is a good way to add to the conversation and promote your brand. It helps if you have some spicy details or something unusual to share to make it memorable.
- Try humor. One way to be memorable is to be funny. It’s okay to make a fool out of yourself if you have something clever to add. Just don’t force it and don’t be off-color or offensive.
- Great post! Okay, you can say that but it won’t add to the conversation and you may be perceived as a spammer. Better to demonstrate that you were paying attention and add to the conversation – “I really liked what you had to say about…”
So step up and offer an opinion. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain when it comes to building your digital footprint.
