Avoid Comment Spam, Write Your 2 Cents with a Purpose
No matter what type of content that is out there, you’ll be sure find a list of comments. Most of them aren’t worth reading. Yet, they seem to provoke a storm of strongly worded posts with people believing that their own comment is the Holy Grail. Whether these posts make sense—or are just total nonsense—for a blogger, it’s ALL good! You know the old saying in the newspaper industry that “bad news is good news?” It also applies to copy content as well.
The Wonderful World of Content
Speaking of the newspaper, yes it’s still relevant! Even today, there’s still something appreciative about seeing one’s own name and/or opinions in print. With newspaper, there’s the “Voice of the People” section, which can be referred to as someone’s “2 cents”. This is where one can submit their opinion and hope that the editor chooses it to print. With social media, YOU are the editor; unfortunately, the general public has the freedom to publish anything they want—without a filter! Now this could be a good thing if you are in the business of eCommerce.
The Two Shall Become One: eCommerce and Content
The Google search engine has it set up to where they can track exactly how many people have viewed your article online. This is better than any print publication can do. What does Google have to do with eCommerce? Everything! Now that more people are looking online for content, businesses are recognizing the value of selling their products online.
The Rise and Fall of Pop-Ups
At first, advertisements were invading webpages in the form of annoying pop-ups and flashing signs looking like a cheap discount store. For a brief period of time, it worked…until it didn’t. Users got smart and trained themselves to ignore those pop-ups. So businesses had to become a little more creative with their content and begin integrating their product into the Internet disguised as legitimate informative content, and it works to the present day! If done correctly, businesses can actually double their sales!
Comment Spam
Yet, here’s something that some businesses might not know in regards to informative copy—taking advantage of the comment section and social media posts might be worthwhile. In the comment section, you can find yourself scrolling down for minutes, (and this is a long time for Internet scrolling) with people going back and forth trying to one-up the other to get the last word. This can be referred to as comment spam.
How many of us have been sucked into reading the argumentative comments spawned from copy? Oftentimes, the only thing that’s missing is a bag of popcorn! Other times, it’s just a person’s honest opinion. At any rate, if the comment doesn’t add any value, and this may include your own two cents, because it’s basically comment spam!
The Need for Comments
Ironically enough, content benefits from comment spam. It makes the content relevant because at the end of the day, if people are engaged, it’s good copy that will ultimately have good rankings. Now, here’s where the eCommerce businesses can benefit: It’s going to take a little bit of research, but don’t most things that pay off?
Search for content that is relevant to your business. For example, if you are selling air conditioners, someone might post an article or post a blurb on social media about the blistering heat, something like “10 Things You Can Do to Prevent Heat Stroke.” You’ll most likely find this by typing this string of keywords into your search engine. Most of this content will provide a social media comment section or at least have a link to it. What you can do is simply offer strategic comments within all the comment spam, build a little bit of trust and authority there, then BOOM! Slip in a link to your website or better, a landing page! Comment spam doesn’t have to be a waste of time IF you use it to your advantage!
The Benefit of Good and Bad Comment Spam
Like anything in the eCommerce industry, the bad may oftentimes have to come with the good. Selecting which blog to comment on can be a tricky process. When you choose to engage in the thread of comment spam, you need to be mindful that not just you, but the face of your company is choosing to associate with a particular subject matter. If you don’t have the discernment to determine which kind of copy is compatible with your business, then you should find a social media expert who does. You don’t want to comment on copy entitled, “Stay Cool While Looking Hot.” THAT could be anything! Tread lightly. Associating yourself and your business with the wrong content could make or break your business.
Content that deals with race matters and politics may also be a couple of subjects to steer clear of unless it applies to your brand, but again, tread lightly.
Write Your Comments with a Purpose
Make people take an interest in what you have to say. Don’t just write a bland comment, and for the love of all things, don’t just paste a link with a flashy pdf or gif file. That’s as bad as a pop-up. You want to lure readers to your website. Get on their level and relate to what they are saying first before you get them trust what you have to say. You can introduce your eCommerce business later in a passive manner. Just as long as you don’t sound like a salesman. That turns people off quickly.
So like the newspaper and the pop-ups, these forms of content have their uses when it comes to eCommerce, but we need to continue finding creative ways to capture the attention of potential buyers who might be interested in whatever product were trying to sell. Engaging in comment spam might not be THE thing to do right now, but it’s certainly worth doing. Most likely someone will perfect it later down the road, guaranteed. That’s just the way marketing goes! One thing that will probably never go away is the need for comments, and as long as we’re writing with a purpose, we’ll eventually get the results we’re looking for.
