Today, I got a boilerplate comment on my personal blog from a person who was trying to correct some “misinformation” about her company’s product that was being spread via the blogosphere. (To read the whole troubled tale of woe, check out my personal blog.)
The problem: my blog post was more about my reaction to a larger issue brought up by the product than it was about the product itself. She didn’t respond to any of my thoughts, she just did a boilerplate hit-and-run on my blog and left. She didn’t even bother to identify herself.
The whole thing got me thinking a bit about best practices for commenting on someone’s blog on behalf of an organization. This is what I would have recommended she do differently.
- Identify yourself. You don’t HAVE to leave your full name, but at the very least, leave your first name.
- Address the blogger by name. Even if most of your comment is a boilerplate statement, show some courtesy by attempting to discover the blogger’s name (or handle) and using it when addressing him or her.
- Respond to the specifics of the blog post. Even if you’re responding with talking points, tailor your response to issues raised in the specific blog post instead of just posting a general blob of information.
- Acknowledge feelings, opinions and concerns. If the blogger is pissed off about something (whether or not you think she has a right to be) try to acknowledge the validity of the opinion/emotion/concern. Even if you disagree, try empathizing. It helps to diffuse anger and promote a spirit of reconciliation.
I’m sure that these are pretty common knowledge to many of you, but they bear repeating as long as there are people out there who do social media outreach the wrong way.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
steven e. streight aka vaspers the grate 01.17.07 at 6:42 pm
Nah, screw that. They MUST leave their entire true name, otherwise it’s anonymous.
Delete all boilerplate comments.
That’s a lazy opportunism, they are trying to use our blogs as free advertising billboards.
Delete all comments with links in them.
Drew Meyers 01.17.07 at 11:01 pm
Teresa-
I comment on behalf of Zillow.com quite frequently as part of my job. A common theme we try to stick to is to not argue with a blogger over their opinion. If their opinion is based on incorrect information, then it is worth clarifying the facts — but it’s not beneficial to simply debate someone who doesn’t like your product if their opinions are based on facts.
Teresa Valdez Klein 01.18.07 at 9:08 am
I don’t necessarily agree with that. Despite the boilerplate drive by, she was trying to correct specific pieces of misinformation about her company’s product, and I did mention the misinformation (albeit in a much larger context) in my blog post.
I understand the reason she came by, what I object to is her attitude and her methodology. I just hope she comes back to have a conversation with me about the real issues.
Teresa Valdez Klein 01.18.07 at 10:37 am
Drew: But if someone is pissed off about something, you would at least acknowledge that they have a right to their opinion. You would never just do a boilerplate hit and run on another blogger, right?