How To Turn Comments and Tweets Into Ice Breakers & Conversation Shakers: A True Story…

You bet! And I’m not talking theory here; I have a true story to back me up…

Start With The End In Mind! Why are You Blog Commenting in The First Place?

More and more, I am getting to realize the importance of setting S.M.A.R.T. social goals as a prerequisite to taking any action. Certainly, blog comments and tweets are no exception.

If getting backlinks to your website is your one-and-only blog commenting goal, then writing a one-line-thank-you comment will do the job (perhaps not! since Google Panda is breaking traditional SEO rules! )

However, if you wish to build a relationship with the author, your blog comment must be a conversation shaker…

Commenting Ice Breaker Tip 1: Add Value to The Original Post

Blog commenting is a great opportunity to showcase your expertise by offering additional tips or new insights. A word of caution here: make sure the information you are sharing is relevant to the original post.

The beauty of this approach is that in addition to attracting targeted traffic to your site from other readers, you will arouse the author’s curiosity to find out more about you.

Lately, I had the pleasure of reading this SME article written by Charlene Kingston (@SocialMediaDIY):

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As you see, the way Garious commented added value to the original post and sparked a conversation.

Commenting Ice Breaker Tip 2: End Your Comment With a Relevant Question

Again, relevancy here is a keyword. Nothing ignites a conversation more than a well thought out question. Here’s a good example:

I followed this tip when I commented on this article by search engine people (@SEnginePeople)

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This is exactly what I mean by finishing with a relevant question. It’s a great way to guarantee that people will reply back to you.

Tweeting Ice Breaker Tip 1: Don’t Wait Till The Ice Melts….Act Fast!

After you have taken the time to write a conversation-stimulating comment, you need to stay memorable to the author by following them on Twitter and tweeting about their post in a way that will grab their attention…

Tweeting Ice Breaker Tip 2: Use The Author’s Twitter Name In Your Tweet

Some people take the easy route of retweeting the post as is from the original site. I prefer to customize and rewrite my tweet so that it would include the author’s Twitter account name. This way, I will ensure that they will take notice of my tweet.

Although this was the first time Garious interacted with Charlene, she followed us back on Twitter instantly.  Now that we started a conversation, our task is easier. We just need to keep it going by sharing and commenting on more of her work and leveraging some awesome Twitter treasures.

I will keep you posted on how the newly born relationship between Garious and Charlene will unfold…stay tuned for that!

( As for Search Engine People, I was honored to regularly guest post for Garious there since last May, but the example I presented above was my first interaction with the post writer: Nicole Poulin.)

I bet you have your own ice breaking and conversation shaking tips. Please do share them with us. Let’s get this virtual party started!