Interactivity
The quality of a user being engaged in digital media by means of a program that responds to user activity.
Techniques that Promote Interactivity [1]
Write Blog Posts on a Regular Basis
Writing blog posts on a regular basis will keep readers coming back for more.
Visit and Post on Other Blogs
Visiting and posting on other blogs encourages these bloggers to do the same with your blog. Consider having a blogroll on a sidebar menu.
Respect Blog Etiquette
There are several important blogging etiquette rules relating to comments, attribution, and credibility. Respecting blog etiquette helps keep readers and other bloggers from getting offended and avoiding your site.
Write Interesting, Entertaining, or Relevant Posts
Keeping up with current events about the blog’s topic and/or having an unorthodox viewpoint about these events helps to keep readers interested in your blog.
Widgets and Plugins that Promote Interactivity
Google Custom Search
Google custom search (also known as Google Co-op) is a platform provided by Google. Google custom search allows web site developers to create their own search engine. A plug-in, Google Co-op allows web site developers to create search engines to their site, or multiple sites. Google Co-op makes it easier for readers to search for keywords on websites.
Comment Widgets
Having a comment widget shows that the blogger values and encourages participation from readers. Replying to readers’ comments also helps to engage readers. Consider adding a subscribe to comments button, so readers will receive email notifications of new comments.
- “Comments keep bloggers humble, honest, accurate, and in touch with their audience[1]."
Share buttons help spread content throughout the web via social networking sites. When a share button is clicked, the sites’s content will broadcast on the reader’s social media site.
- “Websites that facilitate sharing generate seven times more mentions online than those that don't[2].”
Links to Social Media Sites
Linking blogs to social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, allows new posts to appear as status updates on the blogger’s social media pages. These status updates will have a link to the new content, as well as the first two sentences of the post. This will enable bloggers to draw readership from followers and friends.
External Links
Notes
- ↑ Carroll, p. 181
References
- Carroll, Brian. "Writing for Digital Media." Routledge; New York, 2010. Retrieved 2 Nov. 2012.
- Handley, Ann. How to Increase Social Sharing to Generate More Leads. Entrepreneur. December 2011. Web. March 30, 2013