Some of my Twitter Followers may have noticed I posted several Tweets over the past couple of days promoting #beyondcomments, a Tweet Chat I created for bloggers to discuss issues with blog commenting based on my post on the subject. I wanted to read experiences bloggers have had commenting on others' blogs and responding to comments on their own blogs. I personally have gotten more traffic from doing this, networking with likeminded bloggers, than any of my other Twitter activities.
But the chat failed. See for yourself. Type #beyondcomments into the search field on Twitter to see me talking to myself.
I think it failed for a number of reasons:
1. I didn't make sure that people were interested in chatting about the topic.
2. I only gave two days' notice of the chat because I decided to have on one impulse and didn't research how much time I should take to promote it. I'm passionate about the importance of blog commenting and I want to know about other bloggers' experiences with it.
3. The Twitter bug that delayed my chat to today rendered the Retweets for last night's chat useless.
4. I didn't research appropriate times to have such a chat. A great #blogchat on a similar topic coincidentally took place last night and there were at least two other popular chats that took place tonight during the #beyondcomments chat I scheduled.
5. I didn't promote the chat as a one time thing, which is what I intended. Today I learned that one time Tweet Chats are actually called Twitter parties. I knew that Tweet chats usually occur once a week with the same hashtag and have participated in many different ones multiple times, but it didn't occur to me to make the distinction. I should have, though. The "one time" or "limited time only" thing works great for Disney home entertainment releases and it could have worked for #beyondcomments
Lessons learned! Impulsivity doesn't bode well in social media. I am humbled....
Sometimes we have to learn the hard way, lol, glad you did too. Anna :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Anna! This was definitely a lesson and I learned!
ReplyDeleteHey Ashley,
ReplyDeleteFirst, thank you for your comment on my blog (and for the RT of the post). I came here immediately to check yours out and leave a comment.
Sorry to hear your tweet chat didn't go as planned, but lesson learned and the next time you do it, you will have a better experience for sure. Thank you for sharing your mistakes, it helps everyone out.
I agree that blog comments are important and I find them so hard to get! It is frustrating, but you have to keep on. I'm always so happy when a fellow blogger leaves me a comment and I always make sure to check out their blog and comment back. It is the biggest way to say thanks and show appreciation for their time in writing the posts.
Lisa - You're very welcome! Thanks for your sympathy. It really was a disappointment because I loved the topic and thought it would make for an amazing discussion. I have learned from my mistakes and soon enough I'll probably plan another one.
ReplyDeleteIt is frustrating when you don't get blog comments, I remember. Please feel free to email me if you'd like some advice on how to get them -- and get more traffic. Take care!
Reciprocating with a comment is indeed a good way to show appreciation! It bothers me when people complain about barely getting comments, but they don't respond to the comments or comment on blogs from people who DO comment! It's just silly.