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Why Commenting On Blogs Will Always Dominate Being Active on Twitter

Posted by Jeff Machado
  
  
  
  
  
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Blog commenting vs Twitter for Inbound MarketingThere are a lot of lonely blog posts out there. All during the day and night, people are updating their blogs with what they hope is valuable and useful content. They care enough about what they're doing to write it down. Yet, the sad truth is that many of these blog posts go unread. Or the ones that do get read are often ignored when it comes to receiving comments. At the same time these blog posts are going unloved, Twitter is buzzing by at lightning speeds.

Twitter might be moving fast but is it moving along genuinely? If all people are posting are Retweets to blogs that they're not commenting on, the value is decreased. It's time to look at blogs differently. Instead of seeing them as articles to be read, we need to start looking at them as experiences to participate in. If we're not willing to participate by leaving comments, we shouldn't be sharing these posts on Twitter at all.

Ryan Beale and I discussed this topic on the comments section of his excellent blog post, B2B Blogging | The Value Of B2B blogging, and I wanted to explore it even further here for you. 

Blog Commenting Is A Fantastic Conversation Starter

If you read 10 of the most popular Twitter advice articles for business owners, you probably have come across the adage that you "Must Add Value!". Yet, all this adding value has been clogging up our Twitter streams. Every post is becoming a Retweet of some 'valuable' content. I'm going to go ahead and call bluff on this one.

I don't go to Twitter to read valuable content. With social media monitoring tools like Trackur, I can easily find valuable content at a moment's notice. I go to Twitter to interact with people whose minds I want to get into more. I go there to exchange ideas, support those who I believe in, and make my whole world a smaller place. Adding value by focusing on Retweets puts up a wall between you and your followers.

Commenting on blogs, on the other hand, allow for streamlined dialogue on a focused topic. You don't have to worry about anyone telling you you're Tweeting too much and clogging up their Twitter stream. You can go back and forth and genuinely have a conversation with the blogger whose post you found compelling enough to comment on. Every blog post is an invitation to delve deeper into the topic while a Retweet is just a recognition that the topic exists.

Commenting on blogs is the difference between engaging with the great philosophers or just knowing their names.

A Great Stepping Stone To Twitter

I see tremendous value in Twitter. There are always naysayers of the service but I'm always the first one to jump in and share its benefits. This post shouldn't be even remotely skewed as Twitter bashing. All I'm saying is that your Twitter activity should come after you have already engaged with someone elsewhere.

Blog commenting is the perfect elsewhere. Whenever I find a blogger I find particularly interesting, I automatically add them to a special list on Tweetdeck. Every time they post something, I'll then be able to have a more meaningful dialogue with them than if I just found them on Twitter. Not only will I be able to follow what they're doing, they will also recognize me if I genuinely took the time to comment on their blog.

If I were to put the Twitter before the workhorse (blog commenting does take work!), it would take me a long time to find those who have something to say and are excited about interacting with others. By putting blog commenting first, I break through that barrier.

Blog Commenting Stops You From Giving Up

One of the reasons I see business owners giving up on Twitter so easily is that they are also facing the constant stream of "adding value" without any real interaction going on. Conversations have been replaced by a harried attempt to add value and Retweet the same blog posts that thousands of others are Retweeting.

By simply finding excellent blog posts, commenting on them, and then checking if the blogger is on Twitter, you can repeat this process as much as you'd like to start making Twitter less anonymous and more of an exciting forum to engage with people on a more genuine level.

What do you think? Are we too concerned about adding value on social media that we have forgotten what it means to interact? Why do we Retweet blog posts if we didn't even find them valuable enough to comment on? Leave your comments below.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/pullnotpush after leaving your comment.

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Comments

Great article! I agree with this 100%! There's nothing like writing a blog article only to have one single comment during it's lifespan... 
 
The main reasons why I like blog commenting a bit more than Twitter are: 
 
1. Fosters a relationship to the blogger by supporting his hard efforts 
 
2. You can have a more in depth conversation than the 140 tweets of Twitter 
 
3. Gives you a jumping point to interact with others through the topic of the blog post
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 2:58 PM by Andy Cook
Andy - Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting! You give me hope that authentic blog commenting is on its way back and will see a major resurgence.  
 
From the blogger's perspective, you really feel like someone is interested in what you have to say when they comment. It's so much better than just being 1 out of thousands.  
 
Anyone who comments on a blog I write sticks out in my mind and would be someone I would do business with if I was in need of their services.  
 
There's just so many benefits to commenting! It truly is an art form.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 3:10 PM by Jeff Machado
Great article! I could not agree more. I personally have been heavier on the Twitter for the last few months and not found that I have gotten as much out of it as I would have if I just had concentrated more on blogging and commenting on the blogs I do follow.  
Thanks Dan!
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 3:37 PM by Kendall
I was going to leave without leaving a comment but figured that would be bad blogger citizenry. 
 
The problem with explaining ANY of this to business owners who don't get it is that you can lead the horse to water but you can't force him to drink, nor can you convince him that the whitewater rapids (of Twitter) are the place to do so. In order to convince business owners that these tools are useful (be it blogging, SEO, Twitter, or whatever), they have to see the value. At least with Twitter you can sort of explain value - for blog comments, that's a bit harder to quantify. If business owners are only doing it because they have been told too many times that they must or fall behind, "value" doesn't really factor in. It isn't about being a good blogosphere citizen, it's simply about driving traffic. They don't see how comments can do that. 
 
So the rest question is, how do you explain the conversation when it really does feel like 98% noise and 2% value?
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 4:19 PM by Jr Deputy Accountant
Great article! I think both are worthy of my time, but each serves a separate purpose. Twitter is like small talk at a cocktail party. Blog dialoguing is more like going to dinner with someone. It's a connecting point rather than a recognition.  
 
In my opinion, the cocktail party is necessary to find those that you'd like to go to dinner with.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 4:24 PM by Chrystal
Great post. I tire of watching my twitter feed rehashing the same ideas over and over. I often assume many retweets happen just because of an interesting headline, and the twitter-er never even reads it.  
 
I agree that the real value is in participating in the discussion by commenting on blogs. Well said.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 4:26 PM by Dan Bischoff
Before I RT this, I thank you for posting this.  
. Engagement is IT.  
As a relative newbie to Twitter, I appreciate 
your take on this.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 4:33 PM by Barbara
Fantastic article that falls in line with what we have been preaching in social media for over 10 years. Oddly enough, I found this blogpost via a friends tweet - so that shows the synergy. Much like you point out, it's all about the real conversation: not just pushing a self-serving message. I think the comment marketing is the most underutilized activity in social activity and find it sad that people don't want to take the time to actually share some true conversation (though they will all claim that's what they are doing on Twitter and Facebook.) I have found so many useful pieces of information and made amazing connections with both the "key" people I need to connect with (journalists that cover my clients industry, influencers, decision makers, etc.) as well as just really great people that have become genuine friends in the offline world based on commenting on blogs. It's quite spectacular if you think about it. Fantastic post that I plan to tweet! Great job! 
 
Amanda Vega 
http://www.amandavega.com
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 4:37 PM by Amanda Vega
Thank you for writing an article that speaks what has been on the minds of so many bloggers for months. 
 
I did a quick Twitter mini-poll a few months ago on this subject. I asked followers: 
 
1. When you find a blog post worth sharing, do you comment on it? Before or after tweeting? Do you ever RT without reading post? 
 
2. As a blog owner, if you could only choose one, would you rather have your post TWEETED or COMMENTED on? 
 
The general feeling was that retweeting a post without reading was based on whether they trusted the authority of the author. Few admitted to tweeting without commenting, but the facts show differently. 
 
10 out of 13 people said they would choose a comment on their blog over having it tweeted. 
 
Commenting on blogs is like shaking someone's outreached hand. Would you walk away without shaking it? 
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 4:38 PM by Coree Silvera
Great job of guilting me into commenting! =)
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:04 PM by Chris Baumli
RT'ing allows someone to say 'me too' without committing the faux pas which is "me too". RT'ing is the same as emailing it or sharing it or posting it on Facbeook.  
 
RT'ing allows lurkers, which make up 90% of the people on the internet, to get more involved. 
 
RT still shows respect for my content. One comment from a random individual does not move my content forward.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:12 PM by Caryn Rose
Interesting idea, thank you for sharing it. 
One major difference between blogs and Tweets is the size. Tweets are short and condensed while blog posts and often also comments on blogs elaborate on topics on a fairly high level of detail. When you mention that a lot of interesting blog entries are not read at all this is probably also due to the fact that there are too many of them. Too much information. Too long. Great infromation, yes, but too much and hidden behind too many other information. 
It's often not a question of being willing to take the effort to comment on blog posts - it is also about having the resources to do so. 
Twitter is condensed and convenient. It's so simple to add an input instantly. Yes, it's superficial, but most people prefer getting a basic idea with 5% of the effort over getting the full idea with 100% of the effort. 
Your post raises two questions: Will we ever be fed up with only getting a basic idea? I hope so. 
And: What will happen then? Will we go back to reading and commenting on blog posts? That may depend on how we are steered towards interesting posts, what information filters will be in place. If no improvement will come from this side, the resources issue may be too big.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:13 PM by Johannes
Good point that commenting on a blog can spark a conversation, whereas a Twitter re-tweet probably will not. I always feel like watching the Twitter stream is kind of like watching the crawler on the bottom of CNN/Fox/MSNBC--you get the highlights, but no depth. Trying to find that depth, the true value in content, is what's important.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:16 PM by Nancy Murphy
Thanks for such valuable insight into the mutual benefits of commenting. 
Hopefully more people will engage directly when they read blogs.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:19 PM by Muggsy Mutombo
Great article! I'm relatively new to Twitter and blog writing, but I've been commenting on blogs for a while now. I certainly agree with this article because I feel like I've been able to establish myself as a thought leader in my field through my blog commenting.  
 
I haven't really figured out Twitter yet. The comment above about it being equivalent to drinking from whitewater rapids really struck home, but more than that, I just don't understand why some people spend all their time with retweets and posting links to articles, which, yes, they may not have even read.  
 
Thanks for the article. It's helped me to put my experience in context and understand all this a little better.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:56 PM by Allison A. Bailes III
Funny, but I noticed a link to your post in my Twitter stream where it was a RT of a RT.  
 
 
 
I agree that there's much talk about having to constantly add value on Twitter (and on all other channels). I guess that's what compells some users to set up automatic updates, such as twitterfeed.  
 
 
 
Some RT or hit Tweet This button just to "fill the daily tweeting quota".
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 6:40 PM by Yelena
Awesome article! I think it is tough to be genuine with blog comments on Twitter since it is such an overloaded micro blog. However, if you know someone took the time to read your article and comment, that means something. It is even better if you are able to respond and start a conversation about your topic. This in turn creates a mini community for your brand.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 7:06 PM by Kristin Dziadul
We retweet to pass on, broadcast...which doesnt always mean that as an individual user or a company, we are in a position to make a written statement.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 7:55 PM by gae
I totally agree. Commenting on blog posts is like writing a letter to the editor, you are giving your opinion in a thoughtful way which is difficult to accomplish on Twitter. Using both in conjunction in a more meaningful way helps companies and individuals have a better online experience.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 8:35 PM by Nadine Boisnier
I'm not a prolific blog commenter, but thanks to this post I just commented on another blog's post - and now this one. Great points, but remember: retweeting can also add value when comments are made and conversation is generated. That's why I still dislike the new twitter.com retweet feature and always try to RT the old way with a comment. It's not a linear conversation like on blog comments but it gets conversation started and spreads the word. If the RT comments are valuable to the tweeter's audience it keeps the conversation going on Twitter and drives more people into the blog to comment/add more value.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 9:04 PM by Dana Wagner
great article...i am still trying to figure the whole twitter thing out and I'm already totally annoyed with my feed because it's largely comprised of RT's that tell me nothing about the person who is posting them. I'm on twitter to gain information, yes, but also to learn more about the people and groups I follow - what they like, where they shop, that kind of stuff. It's helpful from a business and a social perspective.
Posted @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 9:12 PM by kate
Great post and juicy comments also. 
 
I try to comment on interesting posts as often as I can. The problem often is that post + comments are quite long, so I print them for a later reading. I may even take notes to use when commenting. But then, sometimes, overwork doesn’t allow me to write, and for when I find a few spare minutes, then I feel maybe it has lost its live moment and decide not to publish them. I have quite a few unedited drafts (I recycle them for later writings or talks...). 
 
 
 
As for engaging relationships, I’d disagree with the idea that blogs are more suitable than Twitter. Both are valuable “network-builders”. For me, at least, Twitter has become not only the best source of professional info but also as a precious platform for networking: it’s now quite common when at Conferences you meet people you follow or are following you and with whom you have shared ideas, RTs, etc., to have a strong feeling you are old friends. 
 
For blogs that have plenty of engaged commentors it can also be the case, but I’m afraid many many blogs are not that lucky and although they may receive many reads, they get sparce comments.  
 
 
 
Conxa 
 
@innova2 
 
Posted @ Wednesday, March 31, 2010 6:36 AM by Conxa Rodà
This is a great way to guilt people into commenting on your post! Just kidding :) Point well taken. RTing is engagement for the lazy man. It's great to pass on someone's ideas but more important to challenge and build on them, which is hard to thoughtfully do in fewer than 140 characters.
Posted @ Wednesday, March 31, 2010 9:15 AM by Dan Levy
Great Article, Jeff! Thanks very much for including my article on B2B Blogging | The Value of B2B Blogging! I really appreciate it. 
 
RB
Posted @ Wednesday, March 31, 2010 9:25 AM by Ryan Beale
When I first started on Twitter, I was trying to get as many followers as possible. Later, I realized that it was the interactions that were so important. Nobody pays attention unless you're engaging with each other, which is why I've now started on an aggressive "culling" process to eliminate following people with whom I'm not engaged. (Unless, they are thought leaders that I'm trying to monitor.) 
 
I couldn't agree more with Coree. I would much rather have one comment on my blog than three re-tweets of my blog article. 
 
 
Excellent post, Jeff! You always get me thinking. :) 
 
@JohnScottSmith
Posted @ Wednesday, March 31, 2010 9:56 AM by John Scott Smith
I think you're absolutely right on this one. For that very reason, bloggers need to also make sure that it's as easy as possible for others to comment on their blogs. Nothing's more frustrating than wanting to comment, but having to jump through hoops to do so. 
 
PullNotPush.com, for example, has a very, very easy to use commenting system. Great job, guys!
Posted @ Wednesday, March 31, 2010 1:17 PM by Tim Priebe
Thanks. You justify what I've been doing. I am to comment on 5 blogs a night. I am a prolific blogger and I appreciate comments, so I know that others appreciate the comments I add. Besides, comments live for a very long time. 
 
Jeff Ogden, President 
Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" 
http://www.findnewcustomers.net
Posted @ Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:19 AM by Jeff Ogden
Dan, another excellent article. I bet we're all commenting on this one! This makes perfect sense and I am starting today to follow your advice. Thanks!
Posted @ Wednesday, April 07, 2010 1:16 PM by Debbie Page
I agree that we bloggers and tweeters do not leave enough comments on articles of interest and I am guilty of that myself.  
 
Getting involved and communication 
is a great way to get ideas for writing your own blogs. 
 
Kenneth Young
Posted @ Tuesday, May 11, 2010 2:27 PM by Kenneth Young
Comments have been closed for this article.