Battling Negative Social Media Comments (Part Two)

We are finishing up our blog series on the best ways to handle negative social media comments. We know it's a difficult situation to deal with, but with enough preparation, you can be ready to handle anything! 

Hello, Summerville! Welcome back to part two of our blog about handing negative social media comments. We hope that part one of this blog gave you a good basis for how to move forward if you are faced with this issue. As we mentioned before, this is not something we would wish on anyone. Sadly, it is very possible. Hopping on the internet and telling everyone exactly how you feel has become a trend since the dawning of Facebook, if not sooner, and has continued to grow stronger in the years following. As a business, you prepare for the inevitable with insurance, a strong plan, a good financial team, and a good workforce. Why not be prepared for everything you might face? Keep a watchful eye on all of your online networks, and be ready to handle everything and everyone you come across with an attitude of being calm, cool, and collected. 

• Conversational Tone

When you create a social media presence, your brand and the tone in which you speak sets the example for how you want your clients to speak and respond to you and one another. If you create a safe, friendly, and happy community with your tone on social media, negative and nasty comments will seem out of place. Your other follows and supporters might even come to your defense. Also, make sure to approach every comment like a real person. You don't want to sound like a robot when you're dealing with an unhappy customer. Making a human connection with them in a real voice in your responses will make all the difference in beginning to diffuse the situation. 

It might be incredibly hard, but take a moment to see the issue from the client's point of view. There will be people who will be angry just to be angry. If the product or service your company offers is broken, doesn't deliver as promised, or arrives extremely late, apologizing and owning up to your mistakes will help. Offering a discount, refund, voucher, or replacement can also help calm the tension at hand.

 Make sure you are aware of the comments you're receiving. Keep notifications on and connect them to a phone or email that will be checked and monitored frequently. Also, make sure to follow up with any complaints and follow through with what you promise to offer your client. Make sure you understand what the problem is and discuss how it can be fixed. Once these terms have been agreed on, follow through with them and check back in with your client to make sure they're happy and satisfied with the situation. This shows that you really care, and you didn't just fix the problem and forget about them.

Sometimes you will run into a situation where an issue is out of your control. A system error could be beyond your knowledge to repair, your suppliers that help create your goods and services could be doing something to harm the quality of your product, and sometimes you are in a situation where you don't have the answers or a way to fix it yourself. That's okay - you're human. This doesn't mean you just toss it away and brush the problem off, you still have to fix it. What you can do is outsource someone who can help you. Recruit a good IT company, find a new supplier, and find the best of the best in what you're having issues with. This can cause a hike in price than just refunding your customer, but this can be a priceless decision to help keep your customer and continue bringing in others. It is never wrong to ask for help with something you don't know! Not only can this help relations between you and your customer, but it can be a learning opportunity for you and your team as well! 

• The Power of Website Traffic

When we talk about the power of negative comments, it does go beyond just your Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, and Google My Business pages. It can damage the flow to your website. Your online footprint depends on this traffic to sell products, introduce your products to new customers, and to continue to reach your customer demographic. There is still a large enough audience that exists out there that doesn't use social media but are still savvy enough to read reviews and visit websites. If this demographic happens to be your key customers, this could mean bad news for you and your company. If you are consistent in following up with every review and handling the situation, this issue can be avoided. This is why it is so imperative to keep up with these comments and to get on them as quickly as possible. 

According to Forbes, 84% of people who go looking into a company online say they trust the reviews they see. Sometimes you can't help how people will respond or react, their anger could be something completely out of your hands. If you can, try to get ahead of any potential problems so negativity can be avoided. Listen to your customers before things get difficult. Have you been hearing similar small complaints? Have you been hearing the same suggestion over and over again? Have people been supporting you for a significant amount of time, but have been asking for a revamp of your goods and services? Listen to them! They are giving you excellent free advice, why not take it? If you can get ahead of the curve, this can help avoid negative situations. 
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• The Bottom Line

Having a social media presence for your company is necessary for owning a company today. A lot of how you respond reflects your reputation and that brand identity we talked about in one of our most recent blogs. Remember that who you are and where you are as a company in these situations is important too. Be transparent and honest with your clientele. Many people who will make these comments or complaints will understand that there is a real human behind the company. Humans make mistakes. If you own up to them and you create that human connection and conversation with the upset party, an issue can be handled quickly. Plus, according to GoDaddy, a negative comment or two on your social media can humanize your company. Having only 5-Star reviews can come off as phony and fake to outsiders, some might even conclude that all of those perfect ratings were made by a bot or were purchased. How ironic, right? You can't always have it all, but sometimes that's for the better. We aren't saying you should go out and get a few harmful reviews, but just to not freak out if a few do pop up on your Google or Instagram account. 

Negative comments are bound to happen. It's how you deal with them that will make all the difference. Everyone is allowed to have their opinion, but make sure your voice as a company isn't quiet. Don't be afraid to connect with these unhappy people, human to human. Remember too, one bad comment does not reflect your company as a whole. Take it in stride, and keep doing what you do best! If you need help or would like to learn more, please contact us! We look forward to talking to you soon! 

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