Originally Posted by cognitos

The most important thing is to be credible and responsive. If someone goes to all the effort of sending real feedback, then give them a real response -- and encourage discussion, negative or positive.

I am working on social media strategies where the billing is in the $500k range for the client -- and the key message we are trying to get across to our clients is the importance of engagement and credibility. There is no point in building a community where you expect people to go an interact, if the conversation is one sided. People want to engage and be engaged -- whether they are talking about porn, volkswagens, or recipes.

This is where traditional media and the net have parted company. A journalist writes an article, and when the add the final period the engagement is over. Many news sites will have comments -- but it is just for external comment. The journalist will never go back and answer questions or engage those that took the time to either call them out or congratulate them.

The moment a website is considered a brochure, or simply a publishing platform then its effect in this day and age is very limited.