The Value of Commenting and What NOT to Do
Comments are a vital part of participation here on ActiveRain, or any social media site for that matter, and a key to building relationships.
WHY COMMENT?
So what is the point of commenting (and no, we are not talking about the points here on AR, but more on that later)?
Commenting on someone’s post is a way to add to the conversation about the topic at hand. It can be a way to clarify what was said in the post with a personal example or by sharing a personal experience, or to add other relevant information that might be of interest to others.
Commenting is also a way to express a different opinion on a particular subject, which is part of the huge value of the network, since real estate (i.e., the way it is practiced, market conditions, laws and regulations, etc.) can vary widely, as do opinions.
In some cases the comment thread can end up being more educational than the post itself because of the varying opinions and experiences shared. When there are lots of comments the thread becomes a sort of online conversation, sometimes taking place in real time, between the commenter and the writer, or even among a number of people who are actively commenting.
Participating in the community by commenting is also a way to establish and grow relationships, especially when you are new, and with others who have recently joined AR and are just getting their blogging feet wet. People will get to know you and like you (more on that issue below), and want to read more.
Commenting can provide encouragement when the writer might not be feeling confident, emotional support in times of need, and education on a myriad of topics when writers are asking for help or advice.
Commenting is often flattering to the writer. I suspect most people enjoy getting comments (well, that depends on the nature of the comment). Is that a good reason for you to comment? Depends on your perspective I suppose. I doubt anyone wants to spend all their time commenting just to make others feel good, but when someone has had no comments this could be a good reason to comment, or when there is a personal relationship. And bloggers will often respond to your comment by heading over to a post you wrote and commenting on it.
RECIPROCATING COMMENTS
An important part of participation is responding to comments left on your post. People will appreciate that you read their comment and responded in some way. When there are lots of comments it can be challenging to respond to them all individually, and perhaps impossible, but you should at least make the effort. People notice this!
Another way to reciprocate is to go one step further and comment on a post that a commenter has recently written. You might learn something new and perhaps discover someone else to follow.
HOW NOT TO COMMENT
There seem to be a number of different styles of commenting here on AR, some of which are, quite frankly, annoying and inappropriate.
First there is the copy and paste type of comment. You know…we’ve all seen them, where there is a short comment that says nothing having to do with the post and the identical comment appears on multiple other posts.
There are two issues here. Cutting and pasting the same comment over and over seems rather lazy, and clearly focused purely on gaining 25 points for commenting without any effort. You could max out your allowed comment points for a day in just a few minutes, so perhaps that’s why a few people do it. But are you participating? Fostering a relationship? Encouraging the writer, or others, to want to know you? Nah, hardly! Just the opposite in fact.
A similar issue, perhaps not a cut and paste, is a comment that has nothing to do with the post, where it appears the commenter never read the article at all. Why bother? I think I would rather not have the comment, but that’s just me. But, hey, you get 6 points when someone comments that way, no matter how insipid it might be, right? And they get 25 points just for minimal effort.
Spam commenting is another annoyance, especially comments from members as opposed to outside spammers…you can tell the difference.
Spam commenting, when someone is advertising their services or products, is probably done innocently, with the commenter perhaps not realizing it’s offensive when they say “hey look at me?” in their comment on YOUR post and then provide a website link or all their contact information.
The neat thing is that if someone is interested in knowing more about you, the commenter, all they have to do is click on your name to go to your profile – there’s no need to say “please check out my website” or something similar. So don’t do this – people don’t like it and it’s discouraged in the AR Guidelines.
Another thing to avoid doing when commenting is being argumentative, combative, or rude…just like you probably wouldn’t in real life. It’s fine to disagree, in fact that is normally respected and often desired, but there are ways to do this that won’t be offensive. No name calling, or implying someone is stupid or that they don’t know what they are talking about, or harassment or malicious commentary.
And even if you don't mean your comment to be like this, perhaps it will come across that way - reread it before posting. Sometimes your emotions in the heat of the moment may take you places you didn't intend to go.
Unfortunately, this stuff happens sometimes and I dare say it’s a pretty quick way to give other members, and possibly consumers, a bad impression. And AR members WILL talk about it. If your goal IS to offend, annoy, antagonize, or something similar, have at it. You will likely get plenty of responses! And if it gets bad enough you may be excused from the room.
I said earlier that commenting can establish and build relationships, and that’s a big advantage of being in the community. But commenting, if done as above, can also tear down relationships, or prevent them from even getting started. Who wants that?
Commenting in the AR community has tremendous value, for you and for members who receive and read your comments. It can and will lead to referrals, and consumers who get to know you here will be inclined to get in touch if they like what they see.
Sure, you can garner some pretty significant points by commenting, and that’s certainly an incentive, but they may not mean much if you sully your reputation by misbehaving and no one wants to have anything to do with you.
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