SmallBusinessNewz

Keeping in theme with my recent article about the social part of blogging, and following up on the Small Business Marketing Unleashed coverage, I received some notes taken by our reporter Abby Prince who was at the conference and attended the Blogging for Business session.

Speaking at this session was owner of the Viral Garden, Mack Collier who stresses that "You need to be aware of what the bloggers are saying about you in the blogosphere."

This is just good old-fashioned reputation management, which we always seem to come back to. Just remember that it's not only about search results and social networks. The blogosphere is just as important (if not more so) for keeping track of your reputation.

Collier also went on to reinforce my point on the importance of blog comments.

"You've got to accept that people are going to leave you comments that you might not want," he said. "The conversation is going to happen whether you want it or not."

One thing I would like to point out about comments that you might not have wanted is that they still bring attention to your post. Blog comments can play out like a snowball effect, because when readers see that a post has a lot of comments, they are often enticed into reading the comments and then contributing themselves. So sometimes even negative comments can work to your benefit.

Collier also reinforced another point I recently made about photos building trust. When I discussed it, it was in reference to article writing, but the same principle applies to your blog. If you have a photo of yourself clearly visible on your blog, people will be able to put a face to your words, which humanizes the text and helps build credibility (even if only on a subconscious level).

I think Collier summed up the session and blogging in general nicely when he said, "The real power of blogging is that it gives you the ability to connect with people...It's not about the tools, it's about the conversations and connections these tools facilitate."

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your blog is like your own little community.

Stay tuned to SmallBusinessNewz for more nuggets of wisdom from the Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference.

Video anchor Abby Prince contributed to this report. Check out her video interview with Collier here.