Comment on Other Blogs to Generate Ad Agency Traffic

For inbound new business leads, you must have traffic to your site. Commenting on other blogs is a way to generate traffic to your agency’s blog.

To be part of the conversation, increase awareness that will in turn generate traffic to your agency’s blog, it is to your advantage to read and  comment on other blogs. Below is just one example of how one of my blog comments has led to significant blog traffic and awareness to my site from comments I’ve made on other blogs.

I weighed in on a discussion regarding college football’s Bowl Champion Series (BCS) recent venture into social media. An Ad Age Blog, Adages, a post titled, “BCS Enters Twitter: Beat Down Like Notre Dame in a Bowl Game.” Here’s a few excerpts from that post:

“Today’s social-media lesson comes courtesy of college football’s Bowl Championship Series: If you know your product is universally loathed, Twitter is not the place for you.

The BCS — better known as the cartel that prevents college football from choosing its champion in a rational way — opened a Twitter account this morning. Shortly after taking to the field, it had three tweets, a couple hundred followers and, well, let’s just say the end result was reminiscent of what’s happened when media- and BCS-darling Notre Dame (another gripe against the system) actually made it to a bowl game the last few years.” Posted by Jeremy Mullman and Ken Wheaton.

“If the balloon boy dad set up a Twitter account, even he would not draw the level of venom @InsidetheBCS is right now.” Sports Illustrated columnist Stewart Mandel

After following @InsidetheBCS and checking out the conversation  for myself, I followed up with my comments to Jeremy and Ken’s post. Mine was a different point of view from theirs  …

“I’m not a proponent of the current BCS system by any means. But after reading your article I decided to start following @InsidetheBCS on Twitter. They may have had a rough start out of the blocks but today it seems to be some genuine dialogue going on. It is much more civil than I expected and whoever is Twittering for the BCS is doing a good job by not being defensive. I think you’ve got to credit them for taking their lumps and participating in the conversation. It to early to say this was a fiasco or a win but if they continue to engage and grow their audience as they’ve done today I think they will be the better for it.

One of their responses … “@davidburn Didn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms, but we felt it was important to join the conversation.”

Soon after my comments were posted, they were read by Ad Age columnist, Rich Thomaselli who sent me this note:

Michael,

Saw your comment on the BCS stuff online at adage.com and wanted to reach out to you. I am doing a more expanded story for Monday’s print magazine and was hoping you could tackle a couple of questions more in depth and drop a reply to me at some point by this afternoon.

1) If your product is universally hated, should you even be in social media?

2) Ari Fleischer’s PR firm …. good or bad move?

3) Is the real issue here about the amount of money on the line, both the guarantee from the BCS bowls to the schools and the $500 million from ESPN (and more from other sponsors) ? It would seem to me a playoff would generate even more sponsor money.

Any thoughts and insights are greatly appreciate.

Best,

Rich

Richard P. Thomaselli

Advertising Age

I replied my response to Rich’s questions. His article was soon published in Advertising Age: Wondering What Not to Do When It Comes to Social Media? Learn From BCS. It included this brief quote from me:

“According to social media/new business consultant Michael Gass, president of Michael Gass Consulting, Birmingham, Ala., “If they are genuinely searching for ways the BCS can improve through dialogue, that will be evident. If they try to use social media as a propaganda platform, you will know it soon enough.”

From the comment I left on the Ad Age blog that led to the quote above has generated excellent traffic and attention to my site. Commenting on other blogs also:

• Develops networks and relationships
• Builds your credibility
• Creates links to your site
• Expands your online footprint

Additional articles that may be of interest. The top 10 social media articles of 2009:

1. IBM Study: The end of advertising as we know it
2. The Top 10 Social Media Questions Ad Agency Clients are Asking
3. Twitter List: 400+ Advertising Agencies on Twitter
4. Ad agency having explosive new business growth by leading with social media
5. 20 Reasons Why Social Media Won’t Replace Email
6. Clear and Present Danger of Social Media for Ad Agencies
7. Advertising Works: Ad Agency Advertises for New Business
8. Ad Agencies: 5 Ways to Find Prospects on Twitter
9. Great Ad Agency Resource: Social Media Policies from 101 Companies
10. Four Ways Social Media is Changing Advertising Agencies New Business