Dealing With Negative Social Media Comments

21 May. 2013 - - Total Reads 6,964

No matter who you are, what you do, or what your brand is about, you’re going to experience negative comments from time to time. On social media sites, brands have quite a few options available to them to limit the damage. But you’re never going to avoid negative social media comments. They come with the territory.

 Even the best campaigns in social media fail to please everyone. And when dealing with a site like Facebook, some people take being a little dissatisfied extremely personally. It’s just the type of “me-me-me” culture we inhabit, and that’s usually a good thing when you’re harnessing this to promote your brand. When it comes back to bite you, though, you better be ready to handle it.

 Tips for Handling the Social Media Negative Comments

1. Build a Plan Preemptively

Now, understand here that there’s a difference between building a plan preemptively and a preemptive plan. Nothing is really going to preempt disaster outright. Just as a stronger home might stand up to an earthquake, a tornado is still going to rip the roof off. Disaster strikes, and you can’t safeguard against them all. However, you can take your cue from a prepper and be fully prepared to handle it when it does happen. So put a plan of action into place that you’re ready to use at the drop of a hat.

Read how Twitter became the first to announce June 19th earthquake melbourne.

2. Act Quickly

This is where that planning really pays off. The goal here is to act as quickly as possible once you begin to receive negative social media comments, feedback, reviews, etc. you want to be able to get out in front of the issue(s) before things go viral and beat your brand name down into the dirt. By acting quickly, you can even help prevent some potential disasters; i.e. if a customer has a big complaint, responding quickly may help prevent future issues.

3. Scripts are for Actors

While some of the best support staffs out there do stick to a script when it comes to what the response will be for any listed issue, there is still a time where going off-script is important. You may encounter someone with a unique problem, or someone who doesn’t understand or appreciate the scripted responses. So try to keep things natural with your responses. Having scripted answers for the most common issues is okay, but be prepared to do some improvisation.

4. Be Patient with People

Regardless of what the issue is, you need to exercise some patience on your end. Negative criticism is often the result of people who tried to speak with you but couldn’t get their issue resolved. If you’re willing to put in the extra effort, you may be able to avoid some issues going forward.

5: Set Up Alerts

You need to know what people are saying about you, but you also need to know when they’re saying it. Facebook has a Hyper Alerts tool that will alert you every time someone makes a comment on your brand page. This will allow you view the negative situations immediately before deciding to take action.

6. Only Delete the Worst

Part of being a brand on a site like Facebook is actually taking things in stride. If you can’t handle some light criticism with a smile on your face, then you’re probably going to show off a totalitarian side, attempting to delete, block and ban everyone to say something you don’t agree with. Totalitarianism is a snowball-effect kind of thing. So unless it’s outright spam or obscene, leave the comments standing and respond politely.

7. Set Up a Specific Account

To handle negativity properly, you have to do your part to show that you’re really serious about taking care of the situation. This doesn’t apply to spammers and trolls and the otherwise disgruntled individuals out there who just wish to wreak havoc. But for everyone else, making up the majority of negative social media comments, you can show that you really care about their issue by having a separate, support-specific email for your brand. People will be more inclined to contact you with negative criticism rather than putting it out in public.

Negativity has a way of finding us all, and it’s really not something that you’re going to be able to avoid. The idea here is to put a plan in place, act quickly when it happens, and to attempt to limit the damage while satisfying the complainants. If you can do those things, then you can handle negative social media comments.

This article is written by Craig Robinson, an online writer for Qwaya, a Facebook ad campaign tool. He loves to write different topics about social media tips and strategies. Besides writing, he also enjoys engaging with different communities and social forums.

Michael Simonetti
Posted by:

Post Reads: 7K

Share this

Go on, see if you can challenge us on "Dealing With Negative Social Media Comments" - Part of our 168 services at AndMine. We are quick to respond but if you want to go direct, test us during office hours.

Add Your Comment

Trusted by

Plants
Beaumont
Buy Aussie Now
Gilbert+Tobin
Chia
Parker Lane
Ebay
Eway
Mark Alexander Design
Australian Organic Food CO
BlackMores
Smart Company
One Shift
Novvi
Arc One
Grow Your Business
Amino Active
The Age
The University Of Melbourne
Xavier
Oracle
Windsorsmith
Natralus Australia
Ello
Dinosaur Designs
Melbourne Heart
21st Century Australia Party
CSquared Executive
DUSA, Deakin University Student Association
Craft CMS
Aqium Gel
NMI Insurance
Wild Rhino Shoes
Garmin
OJAY
Movember
Elucent
AC/DC
Melbourne Central
Etihad Stadium
News
RMIT University
Vendor Advocacy Australia
Sunday Creek
Tribe
Scrum.org
Federation Square
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre – MSAC
Schiavello
Oakdale Meat Co
Tassal
Fresh Cheese Company
ACTUATE IP
Sports Power
Watches of Switzerland
Google
Uber
Hairhouse Warehouse
NextTech
Peter Mac
Drupal
Shell
Kay&Burton
Bigcommerce
Catholic Insurance
Kadac
Federation University Australia
French Tables
OMS – Order Management System
SunSense Digital Agency
Jalna
Mecca Brands
Passage Foods
Rydges
Atlantic Group of Companies
McArthur Skincare
Liveoneday
Moov Head Lice
Switzer Media+Publishing
Tek Ocean
CB Richard Ellis
Unsw Australia
Bulk Nutrients
Magento
Coles
PranaOn
Marshall White
Naturtint
Boston Consulting Group
Jetstar
Associated Press
Mamma Lucia
Max’s
Maxine
Melrose Health
The Canberra Times
Cleanfit
CAN- Common Wealth Bank
GooglePlay
Madman Entertainment
Toni&Guy
Heat Holders
The Burger Cheese
Passage To India
ISO Certified
Fast.co
Toy World
Plan It Sync It
QV Skincare
Hanover
Palace Cinemas
POSTER Magazine
Australian Anthill
National Museum of Australia
Australian Government
Fairfax Media
Dial Before You Dig
Vitura Health
Tomorrow Stars Basketball
Cooper Mills
Viktoria & Woods
Bostik
Appstore
TPP
SwinBurne University of Technology
Engineers Without Borders
Green St Juice CO
ADP Payroll
Matchbox Homewares
Melrose MCT
Instant RockStar
MyAccount
Loan Market
WTFN
GPT Group
Bintani Australia
iPrimus
Brisbane Times
Acquia Certified Site Builder Drupal
Van Egmond Group
Herbert Smith Freehills
SMH – The Sydney Morning Herald
Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals
Florsheim Shoes
Grays Ecommerce
Adobe Professional
Think & Grow Rich Inc
White Suede
MAP
Royal Freemasons
Cronos Australia
Metricon
Positive Poster
Rock Pool Group
Arthur Galan
Victorian Government
ABC
Crumpler
Cell Therapies
Thomson Geer
DepSkin.com
High Street Armadale
Focus On Furniture
VISSF
The Fortune Institute
Carlton Football Club
The Royal Melbourne Hospital
Rackspace
HGG 
National Relay Services
Paypal
Gadens
Ubertas Group
Ego Pharmaceuticals
Bondi Sands
Telstra
Celebrate Health
Street Kitchen
Inferflora
DeeWhy Market
King Wood Mallesons
Forbes
Castran Gilbert
James Buyer Advocates
LBG Australia and New Zealand
Australian Physiotherapy Association
131 Pizza
Engine Swim
Magento Solution Specialist
Grainshaker
Bank of Cyprus
Macmillan Publishing

Testimonials

Our business felt dramatically behind online before starting with AndMine. The team there helped us maintain, update and grow our website presence with ease. In addition to developing our online store and beautiful hair competition website in record time. They make complex IT marketing trends simple to understand with superb service; they are a true pleasure to work with. Ben Kennedy, Nicky Clarke (UK)

More Testimonials
AndMine-Google-Partner-Signature