Ryan Stephens Marketing

Ahaha! For the record, those flowers were from Valentine’s Day – I don’t have them normally

Also, I agree with you that a person that has a really good comment makes me visit their blog and feel compelled to comment there.

You have such great energy, I love your videos.

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admin Reply:
June 27th, 2009 at 12:03 am

@Rebecca – Thanks so much for the comment. I’ve evened up the video count now, your turn!

I would love to respond to everyone, and I try to, but sometimes I get swamped with other things, and if it wasn’t a very compelling comment is gets lost in the shuffle.

I don’t waste my time with, “Good post,” but sometimes I know people are genuinely trying and I want to get back to them, but forget. When your name starts showing up on that ‘Top Commentators’ section though, typically I notice OR if you say something that adds to the conversation, makes me thing, is intriguing, etc.

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Ryan,
Your style is great. Talk about ‘authenticity of voice’. I think video is such a great medium because personality starts to come through immediately.

I have to admit I spent a good deal of time as a lurker on various blogs and Twitter for some time. I really wanted to take the time to ‘listen first’ before chiming in with my own thoughts and opinions. That said, I think once you have a sense of the landscape, the next level is the kind of true engagement you’re talking about in your video. And I think it’s important for people to remember that true engagement takes time and consistent effort (like anything worth doing, right?)

Thanks for sharing!

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admin Reply:
June 27th, 2009 at 12:04 am

@Maria – Thanks so much for stopping by and contributing to this discussion. I do not think there’s -anything- wrong with lurking, and agree that you should listen first, before chiming in. My point is that once you go to engage, you might as well do it appropriately.

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Ryan,

I agree, a comment needs to add something of value. Just a “nice post” or “good work” is not enough to engage people. I was more referring to someone making a valuable comment, you ask a question back, then you get no response. It makes me think, ‘why did you engage me in the first place.’

@BGleas

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admin Reply:
June 27th, 2009 at 12:05 am

@Brian – That’s a pretty good point, but I think it depends on the medium. There are a lot of times that I will leave a comment on a blog (not necessarily asking a question, but trying to add value), and I won’t always venture back. This is especially true if I’ve left 12-15 comments places, and spent 3+ minutes on each.

Time is no man’s friend and I understand that it catches up with us all.

If someone actually asks a question though, then yeah, I think they should come back and see if the admin answered their question. I’ve found that if you just be courteous and try to contribute solid value the relationship aspect of it all will take care of itself.

R

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Hey Ryan,

Nice post. I’ll add one additional thought to your post, and I think you were driving at this to begin with, but comments/engagement must be authentic. Just as the short “nice post” comments can seem distant, I think sometimes people can write in ways that make you wonder whether they really mean what they say or whether they’re just trying to get you to scratch their back too. I may not engage as often as I’d always like, but you can rest assured that everything I post will be honest and true…this is what allows for the development of the real strong relationships.

Catch you again soon.

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admin Reply:
June 27th, 2009 at 12:07 am

@Jason – I think your approach to comments is spot on. If I suspect someone is just furthering their own agenda, it’s doubtful I’ll respond, and I try my best to respond to everyone who takes the time to engage me here. I think that’s only fair.

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Haha! Love it. What you said you are going to do to make the background nicer is priceless.

But seriously, I hope you keep these coming, they are really great and your passion shows through these videos a lot more easily than it shows through text alone. Now when I read your writing I’m sure to hear more of your voice behind it. That’s one of the great things about incorporating video.

And what you said about comments and reaching out is spot on. It is difficult to connect with someone if they just through one comment your way. All the relationships that I’ve developed over the last year through social media are the result of an effort on both parties part.

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