You've started a blog for your company, but judging by the absence of reader comments no one seems to care. What's wrong? In a recent post at MarketingProfs Daily Fix, Mack Collier gives some great advice for creating a thriving online community:

Post regularly. Fresh content posted on a recurring basis encourages regular readers, who are much more likely to leave comments than casual visitors.

If you moderate comments, approve them quickly. We're talking minutes. Even an hour is too long during normal business hours. When you let comments float around in online limbo, it looks as if you don't value customer input. It also leads to frustrated readers who wonder why they should bother leaving comments if they never appear.

Reply to comments. Few companies do this, so it takes hardly any effort to stand out. You'll also boost the number of replies noted beneath a post, so more readers will wonder what the conversation's all about.

Visit blogs maintained by your frequent commenters. Reciprocation is important in online communities. Get extra points by leaving comments at your readers' blogs.

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