“New Media” is changing the way that marketers and advertisers reach their target audiences and it changes the way that we interact online. New Media is “social”: social networking, social bookmarking, social news, blogging, wikis… In this new social age communicating with consumers has suddenly become a two-way street. It’s about people talking; it’s all about conversation.

New media’s use of commenting does something that the traditional media can’t do very well; allow users to provide feedback openly, publicly and in real time. Let’s face it, a letter to the editor just isn’t immediate enough for us any more now that we can post a comment. 

There are good reasons why you should start commenting on the blogs you read; here are some of them.

Reasons you should Comment:

1. Links that drive traffic to your site: Commenting on other blogs allows you to post a link back to your site.  This can drive related traffic back to your blog/website.
2. Build Personal/Brand Credibility: You can build credibilty for your name as an industry leader.  People will start to pay attention to your tweets on twitter,  your blog posts, and  the comment you post on blogs as you create a name for yourself, as you become known in your niche area as an expert.
3. Give Feedback: Commenting allows you to give feedback to another blogger. When you find a blog post helpful, thank the author. It’s just a nice thing to do.
4. Join in the conversation.  Add value to what the blogger has said and future post readers will benefit from your comment.

Blogging Comment Protocol:

We’ve looked at the why now let’s look at some widely accepted blogging commenting how to’s. 

When writing your own blog posts:

1. When you write a blog post end your post by inviting comments.  Ask a question that will encourage their response.
2. When someone comments, return the favour.  Follow the link back to their site, check out what they have been blogging about and add a comment on a post that interests you.
3. When you write a post acknowledge the inspiration for your post, and link back to the original author.  I read “5 reasons why you should comment on blog posts” when I wrote this.  It is common practice to read other blogger’s posts on the same topic when you are writing your posts, be sure to give credit where it is due. When the original author receives a trackback or a pingback (notification from the blogging system that you have linked to them) they will check you out and hopefully comment thanking you for the link. 
4. When someone trackbacks or pings linking to your blog post, check out their post and comment thanking them.
5. You can moderate your visitors’ comments via the Comments menu in the wp-admin backend. When you moderate a comment you can fix typos but be sure not to change the intent of the remarks. 
6. You have a number of options that you can set to control Comments appearing on your WordPress blog.  These are adjusted in the wp-admin under > Settings > Discussion.

When commenting on someone else’s blog:

1. Make sure that your comments add value to the post and to join in the discussion in a positive and constructive way.  This will make the blogger more likely to read and comment on your blog in return.  If you make a good point you will give their readers a reason to check out your blog as well.
2. Respect other commenters.  Bloggers don’t want their blog to be hijacked by rude comments and their fallout.
3. Show your face… Get a gravatar so that when you comment on a blog your own image shows beside your comment. Gravatars are great to build your brand presence.

Now the next time you read a blog, try and comment, go ahead, you can start by leaving a comment here for me!

You may also be interested in these related posts:

1. When is the Best Time to Publish a Post?
2. WP-admin Lesson 2: Writing Your first Post
3. Avoid Duplicate Content on your Blog
4. Using Post Thumbnails in WP 2.9
5. The WordPress Advantage