If you think that you don’t have time to invest in online conversations, think again. Content marketing should be a key component of your digital marketing plan and it goes beyond simply posting on your own website. Online engagement is all about building relationships, but few people know how to get the conversation started. Here are 2 ways to get started building your online community and get discovered online.

Start a conversation on your own website or blog: If you have a website, you should have a blog. A blog keeps the content on your website current and increases your chances of getting discovered online in search queries. Most important, it populates your website with useful information. [Tweet "Experts say you should blog a minimum of three days per week and keep the posts at 200-300 words."]

Join the conversation on others’ blogs: You can’t be discovered online if you don’t make an appearance. “What opened the door to the majority of my relationships & friendships with key industry influencers was commenting on their blogs and sharing their content,” says Joe Pulizzi, author of Epic Content Marketing.

Start by selecting some blogs you find informative and subscribe to their RSS feed (this link is usually on every blog near the social media icons). When you find relevant content and can add something of value to the conversation, comment. By becoming more engaged, influential industry leaders will begin to regard you as a fellow industry expert. This attention will drive traffic to your website and LinkedIn profile.

Speaking of LinkedIn, don’t limit your online engagement to blogs; join relevant LinkedIn groups and keep those conversations going. Interacting online with other industry experts should take less than a few hours each week, but in time, the results will be impressive and help you grow your business.