As readers become more involved with the blogs they frequent, a new form of communication is becoming prevalent – interactive blogging. There are a few ways to look at this and determine whether or not this form of interaction is right for your corporate blog and your readers. When used properly, interactive blogging can be a huge weapon in your arsenal towards building better relationships with your customers, but it can be a double edged sword.

First, let’s look at the most common form of interactive blogging, using your posts to answer reader questions. This commonly occurs when you have someone leave you a question in the comments section of your blog, frequently asking for more information on a certain topic. Now, if one person asks this question there is always a chance that there are more people that want to know the same thing.

You can use these comments to determine what your readers really want to know. If it’s a good question, consider writing a blog post that will answer it. If not, you can keep focusing your energies on your regular posts. However, it is a good idea to let your reader’s dictate what you will be writing about – at least to some extent – since this can help you develop a stronger reader following.

The second form of interactive blogging takes your comments section to a whole new level. This is where you encourage your readers to contribute on a regular basis and the comments section may even start to look a bit like a message board. This is another powerful tool that can benefit corporate blog owners.

First, you’ll be getting the benefit of having your readers return throughout the day to keep tabs on the ongoing conversation. You can also set up an RSS feed for your comments to make this easier. Second, you’ll be increasing the amount of page views you have as well as the opportunity to attract new readers through word of mouth advertising, and through search engine indexing.

Interactive blogging does have a catch though, as we mentioned above. If you can keep tabs on your readers and avoid having flame wars, or nasty comments, it can work quite well. However, if you let it get out of hand, you’re only asking for trouble. On one side, you’ll have readers that will wonder where you stand on the issue if you don’t take care of a problem, and on the other hand, if you take quick action and delete problem comments, you may be cast as against freedom of speech.

The easiest way to take advantage of interactive blogging is simply to set some ground rules, make them clear, and then stick to them. If your readers know right off the bat what they can and cannot do with your interactive blogging elements, there will be a lot less confusion and a lot more interacting going on. Try it for a week and see how your corporate blog changes.

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Originally posted 2008-11-07 05:35:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Every week, new corporate blogs spring into existence, but many are doomed to fail from the start. How can you be assured that your blog is going to be a success? Follow in the footsteps of the leaders and learn from their mistakes! There are three main secrets to successful corporate blogging, that any business owner can implement. They are easy to follow and you’ll be able to start seeing the benefits right away.

1. Be Original.

This can be broken down into three main sub categories: Design, Content and Promotion. Let’s look at the first one, design. There are thousands upon thousands of free themes out there for most blogging platforms. That doesn’t mean that you should be using one. When you’re running a corporate blog, you don’t want to have the same theme as some crazy teenager that’s a little bit emo and a whole lot desperate. It gives the wrong impression. Spend the money to have a theme designed for you that is original.

Next, let’s look at content. Sure, it’s easy to lift content or use snippets of other articles that have already been published. But why would anyone want to read that? You’ve got to put yourself in your reader’s shoes. You may be busy and a blog post may be the last thing on your mind, but you’ve got to take that time to write an original post. It will pay off. Lastly, promotion. You’ve got to find an original way to get your site noticed. This means using social networking, PPC ads and having a great campaign that will get the attention of readers.

2. Be Prolific.

The best blogs are the ones that publish every day, and in many cases, more than once a day. Frequent publishing has many benefits. First, you’re giving your readers an excuse to come back more than once and to visit every single day. Second, you’re building more opportunities for search engine indexing. The best corporate bloggers take the time to really knuckle down and commit to producing lots of original content every single day. It does pay off.

3. Be social.

Today’s online world is social and if you’re not taking part, you’re missing out. Encourage comments on your blog, talk to your readers, not at them. There are many little ways that you can be social on your blog. We’re not saying drop that veneer of professionalism, but you’ve got to find a way to reach out to them. Remember their names, use social networking sites, leave comments on other blogs. These are just a few ways that you can be social and increase your readership.

If you’re not comfortable commenting on another blog, mention one of their more interesting posts. Chances are they’ll be thankful for the publicity and they’ll return the favor. This is an easy way to build up your blog’s readership and make some great contacts in the blogging world. Corporate blogging is a great tool, especially when it is utilized the right way.

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Originally posted 2008-09-01 05:04:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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