In writing on most commented NP (here), I came across the Social Savvy Geek website, which offers advice on how to draw people to your messages in social media: use words that will cause people to comment on your stuff and to read it in the first place.
Have you been looking for ways to increase conversations on your content? There are plenty of ways to do that, including asking questions and participating in the conversation that develops in response. But how do you get that conversation started in the first place?
A smart way to increase the likelihood of spontaneous commenting is to include words that inspire people to put in their 2¢. Placing relevant words that are often commented on in the proper context can give your comments a boost. I recommend using them judiciously, since not all comments are positive ones, and you will want to create a positive buzz and not a firestorm of criticism. Some of the following words work best in conjunction with an offer or campaign; giveaway is only really effective if there is something being given away, after all.
And what are the top 10 most commented-on words?
1. Giveaway. 2. Recap. 3. Review. 4. Jobs. 5. Recruiting. 6. Events. 7. Gift. 8. Money. 9. Interview. 10. Comments.
In graphical form, with a source for these claims:
Or you could focus on the most viewed words (here):
1. Insights. 2. Analysis. 3. Answers. 4. Questions. 5. Advice. 6. Review. 7. Why. 8. Product. 9. Top. 10. Best.
Notice that there’s almost no overlap between the two lists.
I clearly am not advertising my products, services, and persona effectively. Only one occurrence of giveaway on this blog, and none of insights. Better on recap, and splendid on analysis, though. I suppose I should be recruiting top comments by offering (or asking for) money or some other gift.
April 15, 2011 at 11:15 pm |
I’m really glad that you liked the article! Thanks for sharing it and especially for giving me credit for writing it. Much appreciated! Feel free to stop by any time- your blog is great. 🙂
April 16, 2011 at 2:17 pm |
I tried to be careful not to accept the marketing proposals at face value, but to retain some (ironic) distance. There are two issues: the methodology that gave rise to the data presented (which is complex enough that I couldn’t spend the day or two it would have taken to try to figure it out), and the efficacy of the advice that results from this data (marketing proposals almost never come with reliable tests of their effects).
So I am a lot more agnostic than I might have appeared to be.