Blogging

Would You Rather Have Blog Comments or Social Shares?

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Every time I’m asked whether I’d prefer comments or social shares for my blog, I’m tempted to answer one way, but then I answer the opposite.

Comments and social shares are ways bloggers know they’re being noticed, which is something most bloggers want. Often, I see the question raised about which one a blogger would prefer having.

Unfortunately, there’s never a third option, “all of the above,” offered.

When I receive the question, I’m always tempted to say I’d rather have comments.

After all, this blog started in the AOL Journals platform, which was a very small bubble of bloggers who seemed obsessed with staying in our own little neighborhood and not branching out to the rest of the blogosphere. We commented on each others’ blogs and even a small post could get a dozen comments, whether it deserved them or not.

Comments meant conversation (at least when the blogger responded to them). They meant someone who had read what you had to say made the effort — and let’s be honest: leaving a comment requires effort — to respond to what you had to say. It meant that someone cared enough to tell you whether they thought you were right or wrong or why what you’d written had struck enough of a nerve for them to say so.

It was proof not only that someone was out there, but that they’d actually dropped by to visit.

Even better, when someone leaves a comment on your blog, your other readers can see it and respond. The conversation can quickly expand beyond that first commenter.

The best thing about comments is that you get to hear someone else’s take on a subject. Once in a while, you’ll be challenged, you’ll have to consider a subject from a standpoint you hadn’t thought of before. Once in a while, that discussion might actually change your mind. Or it might further reinforce your opinion after you’ve considered the other point of view.

Either way, you come away with a better understanding. That’s hardly a bad thing.

But when someone comments on your blog, the only people who know it are those who subsequently visit your blog and see the comment…if they scroll down that far.

These days, comments are much harder to receive. Almost all of us can honestly say we don’t comment on other people’s blogs nearly often enough (if at all). So we can’t reasonably be surprised that others don’t comment on ours that often.

What’s good for the goose…, as the old saying goes.

I’m lucky to have a handful of loyal readers who’ve stuck with me on this journey. A few of them have been around since the beginning. They still occasionally comment and I appreciate them for doing so.

Some bloggers have shut down comments, and I’m convinced that the trend originated with bloggers who didn’t want other readers to see that no one was commenting. The way to avoid those embarrassing “0 Comments” or “Be the first to comment” messages is to shut the comment module down altogether.

But then you’re writing without giving your readers the most convenient way to respond and interact with you on your page.

What’s so wrong with social shares?

Well, nothing, really.

But it’s not necessarily interaction. Sure, someone may leave their take on what you said with the post they share on their Facebook profile or Twitter page. But you may not ever see it, so you don’t automatically have the chance to respond. You also don’t have the chance to have your other readers join that conversation, either: they won’t automatically see someone else’s share, either.

Someone just sharing your post on their social profile doesn’t necessarily mean they have even read your post. (Ideally, no one should share something they haven’t read, but let’s face it: it does happen.)

What a social share does for you is that it makes people aware of your post. Those who share your post are promoting your blog for you to their audience. That means you might earn new visitors who’ve never previously even heard of your blog. Of course, the people who visit your blog from some other source than a share don’t have an easy way to tell that there’s a conversation going on elsewhere on social media. So that potential interaction you’d have if it were a comment is gone because it’s a social share.

Given that social media isn’t likely to go away any time soon, and given there is an even smaller chance comments on blogs will make some stellar comeback, a social media share, it seems to me, is the better of the two if you have to choose only one.

But I still like the “all of the above” option.

If you had to choose one over the other, which would you prefer: comments or social shares?

the authorPatrick
Patrick is a Christian with more than 30 years experience in professional writing, producing and marketing. His professional background also includes social media, reporting for broadcast television and the web, directing, videography and photography. He enjoys getting to know people over coffee and spending time with his dog.

2 Comments

  • Patrick!! It really is you! From way back when in J-Land or “AoHell”. 😉 I still like comments above all else. Although shares definitely go further to generate traffic. I still blog just for fun, so a small, loyal group outweighs a large following for me. I am adding you to my reading list, as I do not want to lose track of you again.
    Barbara from Life & Faith in Caneyhead
    Or from AOL simply BHbnEr2Him.

    • Nice to hear from you, Barbara! Glad to know you’re still blogging as well! I will be sure to visit!

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