The greatest power of social media marketing is the way it can boost a brand’s reputation among a wide audience, extremely quickly, and for relatively little cost. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When something goes wrong, the damage to your brand image can be swift, serious, and incredibly hard to reverse. Because of this, it’s vitally important to deal with any negative issues properly as soon as they arise.
How to Handle online Negativity about your brand.
Whether it’s an unhappy customer, a piece of unhelpful publicity, or even an outright trolling incident, the way you deal with problems on social media and the wider internet can have a huge impact on your reputation. Here are some best practice approaches to keep in mind next time you’re in danger of experiencing a social media spat.
Don’t Ignore the Issue
You should always aim to deal promptly and effectively with any problems that crops up. Social media is a highly public arena, and being seen to ignore a customer’s problem with not reflect well on your brand. If someone is being particularly abusive or unreasonable, then the old adage of “don’t feed the troll” could certainly apply, and few people will blame you for refusing to rise the bait. However, your default option should always be to engage with any problematic situation and attempt to resolve it. Even a simple acknowledgement and polite explanation of your stance on the issue is better than silence.
Don’t Sweep it Under the Carpet
Depending on the media in question, you may be able to delete negative posts or comments. However, doing this is even worse than ignoring them. In certain circumstances, legal concerns may mean deletion is the wisest course, but in general, once you start removing unflattering material someone, somewhere will start complaining about free speech, censorship, and a lack of democracy. However misguided you feel this attitude may be, your brand doesn’t need any negative perceptions of being over-mighty, remote, and controlling.
Don’t fan the Flames
Even minor disagreements can quickly spiral out of control in the online environment. There seems to be something about social media which brings out the worst in certain people, and encourages confrontational behavior. However, when you’re posting on behalf of your brand, you should never get caught up in a flame war. Once the storm has passed, a member of the public can simply retreat into internet anonymity, but your brand can’t; anything unwise said in the heat of the moment can have lasting negative effects.
Offer Genuine Solutions
Always make a genuine attempt to resolve an issue to the satisfaction of a customer. Even if you feel the problem isn’t yours to solve, the public relations benefits of providing a helping and human touch can’t be overestimated. Going the extra mile can turn an unhappy customer into an advocate for your brand, which is always an excellent investment to make, and leaves a lasting impression on those watching for the sidelines.
Deliver On Your Promises
It’s also vital to deliver on any promises you make when resolving a conflict. Even when the resolution is carried out in private, if the dissatisfied customer feels they have been taken for a ride simply to shut them up, they will quickly go public with their annoyance, and naturally, they’ll only tell their side of the story.
Managing an effective social media presence requires a sure touch and quick reactions, especially when though don’t go entirely to plan. The way in which you deal with online disputes and dissatisfaction can be a defining factor in how the social media populace perceives your brand. Get it right, and you can turn negatives into positives; handle it badly, and the damage can be immeasurable.
