Discussions, discussions, discussions
Being sociable doesn’t begin and end with status updates and daily questions. After all, when you walk into a party do you go up to someone and say, “I just took an awesome nap” ? Probably not. As a promoter of self, product, service or opinion you must understand and practice the usefulness of discussions. Most could argue that a blog is a discussion thread, and to a certain extent they are correct. But, how often do you make a call to action to readers and followers? Not very often I imagine. Discussions are prevalent to generating and maintaining a social presence because you actually begin to hold conversations with people and therefore build friendships and relationships.
What is your purpose for social networking? Knowing the answer to this question will provide a guide for the formation of your discussions. Are you a company looking to generate a customer base or gain new leads? Do you have a book release coming soon and are offering a free chapter? Do you want to get to know more people to expand your personal network? Whatever you reasoning a discussion thread is the best way to interact with people on a specific topic. It has been proven that people respond to a call to action meaning that, if at the end of a posting you pose a question and/or directly ask for a response, people are 82% more likely to respond.
If you want to build a network and establish a presence you can’t afford to not utilize discussions in your quest. Even if you aren’t quite sure what to generate a discussion about you can join a group. Networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn have thousands of groups you can join, all niche focused, and become an active member of. The key here is to be active. You want people to come to appreciate your postings, insights, opinions and resources. You can even take advantage of the group’s vast following to plug in some promoting. This is a practice that should be done sparingly and in a helpful manner because if you mass advertise you’ll likely be kicked out of the group. The purpose of the promotions is to generate a buzz and establish you as a resource to the group, not to get every member of the group to your page. Besides, if you’re an active and useful member of the group you’ll gain organic traffic to your page and links.
Discussions are an exponential way to draw people to your site and more importantly to your message. So, begin utilizing them to establish your presence today.
