Why Care About More Comments? Drive Outcomes, Not KPIs
July 20, 2010 
Author 
In Daniel Hindin over at blog Spin Sucks recently answered a reader question from Kara Vanskike. The question was as follows:
“Our blog has been up and running for about a year and a half. We know it’s being read through analytics and in person comments, but we really struggle to get people to comment on the posts.”
Daniel went on to provide a response in the form of tips. Unfortunately in the post (and even in the comments) no one bothers to address the fact this is the wrong question to ask in the first place. The tips presented are fine but the wrong consulting for Kara even if she did ask the question.
Let’s give Kara an honest response that might hurt a bit, but will help her blogging efforts long term. Also Kara is not the only one of you to ask the “how do I get more blog comments” question, so this is for many of you.
Blog comments are a KPI, or key performance indicator of a blog. Most businesses don’t keep a blog with the objective to generate more comments on the blog. Comments are great and generate warm fuzzies, but looking to drive them is not the right approach. They aren’t an outcome metric of a blog (although they may influence your outcomes).
What is an outcome metric of blogging? A real world objective that is your desired return from blogging. It could be more organic inquiries, speaking opportunities, advertising revenue, pull PR, but it is a tangible outcome you want your efforts to result in. It’s something that should be understood by your CEO in addition to your marketing team. There shouldn’t have to be any education to explain why this is good.
Comments could be an outcome for certain types of businesses. Maybe you’re Floor 64, and your product is an insight community where you actually derive revenue from discussion. They’re really unique though. That’s not the case here.
What is the blog in question? It’s for Taylor Studios, an interpretive planning, exhibit design, and fabrication firm. Their client list includes an array of venues including museums, nature centers, visitor centers, zoos, universities, and corporate lobbies.
My 5 second analysis is blog comments aren’t likely to do much for their business. The real reason they are blogging (speculating here) is to build awareness for their firm and to gain additional inquiries (and ultimately clients) from blogging. All on board? Great.
So they are asking about why they don’t have more comments? This part is going to hurt just a little bit. They have posts like this:
Gives a new meaning to what Seth Godin lovingly refers to as Cat Blogs, right? They have ongoing posts asking readers to name their cats. Maybe there is a tie in to their business, or somehow this supports their content strategy (perhaps the cats are rescued from an animal shelter and that’s one of the organization’s causes – if so, great, but where is the context?). I’m not against having fun with blogging but I think posts like this have to logically support your ongoing thesis and make sense within the context of the rest of your content. You need to think like a strategist and gain the executive perspective on your content.
Not to be totally negative, Taylor also has great content on their blog too. Betty Brennan, President shares some interesting thoughts on why she fears incentives – something I found compelling as I’m also a fan of Dan Pink and agree with purpose and passion ahead of profits.
After a quick skim through a few back pages of content, they have a mix of design, inspirational and “about us” content. It actually tells the story of an interesting and creative company. Their content overall is very readable and, bonus, they are consistent. But one and a half years of blogging and only 1-2K people per month? Yikes – their niche is much larger than that!
If I were in charge of their blog marketing, I wouldn’t worry about comments. Those will come. The real focus should be the opportunity staring them in the face. They have a backlog of content already — they should put it to work for them.
I’d start by:
- Social media audit of the blog (no subscribe CTAs for RSS/email?)
- Search engine optimization audit of the blog (posts need better title tags, URL structure should be keyword driven, etc.)
- Developing a promotional plan for content (and build connections with the rest of the niche so their content actually spreads)
- Really thinking through a sharp editorial calendar — their niche and company are so interesting, they should be able to attract far more attention than they do
- Define objectives and KPIs for blogging (and create explicit and implied calls to action for the objective in a way that doesn’t disrupt the content)
If done properly, that would help their blog take off, achieve comments and ultimately help accomplish a true business objective from blogging.
Not to downplay comments, they certainly act as a signal of social proof and can be a factor in making your blog successful. But they are an organic byproduct of doing everything else right.
Daniel Hindin replied | Jul 21, 2010 (2 comments)
Hi, Adam. Well, here’s a comment for you. :-) I respect the opinions you’ve shared above, and there’s no doubt you give some solid advice to Kara and her team in terms of an overall content marketing strategy. They could benefit greatly from reading this, and I’ll make them aware of it if they aren’t already.
My title at Arment Dietrich and our blog, Spin Sucks, is Community Manager. It’s my job to, well, manage the community. We have other employees at our company who devise comprehensive digital marketing plans, and those are the people who would give similar advice to what you laid out above.
I’m well aware of the difference between KPIs versus outcomes, and there are certainly actions Taylor Studios can take to get on board with that. But Kara asked me a simple question, and I took it at face value.
That said, as a community manager I would never discount the value of forming a living, breathing community around a blog. There is more value in comments than you’re assuming. When new visitors to a blog see 30 or 40 comments or more, they’re far more likely to stick around and see what the fuss is about.
Think of it this way: If you’re looking for a place to eat dinner in a city you’re visiting for the first time, you’re much more likely to stop at the restaurant with a short wait than you are at the one with no customers.
Beyond that, we don’t look at comments as window dressing. The large amount of frequent commenters on our blog are extremely intelligent and savvy in their own right. Their comments aren’t a number that we wear as a badge of honor, but rather additional though-provoking content that other readers can benefit from.
There’s something to be said for not believing that you have all the answers, Adam. I know I don’t have them. I may have some, but, as you can see from the comments I received on my post, my readers have much to add to the conversation.
The conversation will continue. We put a great amount of effort into initiating it every day. I hope you’ll come around again soon and participate in the give-and-take that we and our readers value so much.
Adam Singer replied | Jul 21, 2010 (597 comments)
I don’t disagree comments aren’t valuable Daniel, I noted they serve as social proofing (which is extremely powerful). And you’re right, there is a difference between a community manager a consultant. But, as a community manager specifically for a PR agency’s blog, doesn’t it make sense to also think like a consultant?
Daniel Hindin replied | Jul 21, 2010 (2 comments)
Like I said, Adam, I took the question at face value and answered it in a straight-forward way. You chose to take it in a different direction, and that’s great, too. There’s value in both of our approaches, and I’m sure other people could come up with another angle and another. That’s the beauty of comments and conversation. I think it’s important to note, however, that it’s not necessary to be critical of one valid point in order to make another.
Adam Singer replied | Jul 21, 2010 (597 comments)
Fair enough :)
Kara Vanskike replied | Jul 21, 2010 (1 comment)
Thanks for your insight. I will begin implementing some of your tips as I am implementing tips I’ve gotten from Dan and some of the Spin Sucks readers.
At Taylor Studios, each department has a list of objectives and goals they strive to meet each year. The number of comments on our blog is not one of mine, however. As Dan mentioned, I’d like to build our community and engage more with our readers. That’s what drove my question to him in the first place. I realize there are other measurements that are more telling than the number of comments we receive.
As you pointed out, our cat blog doesn’t really fit with everything else we discuss. However, it does speak to our culture. I agree, posts like this, don’t belong on our blog so going forward, this content will stay on our Facebook page.
Social networking is only one aspect of my job, therefore I’m not able to devote 100% of my time to it. I am making it more of a priority, however. I still feel like a fish out of water though, so I appreciate your suggestions. Keep reading. We’ll keep improving.
Adam Singer replied | Jul 21, 2010 (597 comments)
Thanks for being a sport about the post Kara and not taking it the wrong way (sometimes people take feedback negatively, and I’m glad you didn’t – was just my subjective take on the situation). Good luck with the blog and feel free to ping me with questions anytime!
Tamar Weinberg replied | Jul 22, 2010 (7 comments)
“Developing a promotional plan for content (and build connections with the rest of the niche so their content actually spreads)”
That is the key, really. If you’re not marketing your content, you might as well not be writing any content at all. If the niche is so big, there are bound to be people who are interested in it who just haven’t found out about it yet!
Josh Braaten replied | Jul 23, 2010 (32 comments)
I usually agree with you on most things, Adam, but I’m not sure today will be one of those days:
1) You dismissively hint at social proof in your closing statement. I think it’s more important than what you suggest. New readers that see comments are more likely to read the post they’ve landed on through search or social media if they see enough reasons to stick around.
2) Search efforts are bolstered by content that remains fresh. Comments are great for this. A comment here or there isn’t going to make or break your SEO efforts but the less you have to ACTIVELY do the better.
3) Comments are a directional metrics, not an outcome metric, as you suggest. But if your readership isn’t that hot, the first place you should look for ideas on how to improve your content are the blog posts that actually promote engagement.
Two different schools of thought. You call comments a byproduct. I think they’re more of a step along the way.
Christina replied | Jul 25, 2010 (1 comment)
Very well said. More like saying do not worry too much about traffic though it’s important, in the end, what matters most is did you do well with with regards to conversion, did sales go up etc.