Happy Earth Day! (Week.)

Have you ever gotten a negative comment on a blog post? (If not, you’re probably not doing something right. )

Or tweeted something out and got a bad reaction to it?

How about when someone says something negative about you, or your company, or products you carry on social media?

Do you have a policy in place on how to respond? Do you engage? Ignore? 

What lessons have you learned that you can share on how to handle bad publicity online?

Well, this is a stupid topic.

Kidding, just trying to warm you up.

People have a hard time being told ‘I don’t agree with you’ a lot of writers automatically go on the defensive. If a writer posts that political party1 are all short and bad; I would  give an example of someone not short. Does that make me negative? To the writer, probably. But in the real world I can disagree. 

While there are a lot of people that comment just to raise hell, a lot of times it is just the writer that does not like being told that her idea is old, overused, sad and silly (granted, using all 4 o,o,s&s is an overkill). But what if your idea really isn’t that good?

@deairby Great answer!!  A prompt and courteous response to all comments/concerns whether positive or negative really can give your company a great public image.  Use all comments as an opportunity to interact with customers and show your commitment to quality and service.  Becoming “defensive” will only lose you the posting customer, but may lose you future ones.

@rich-brooks Love this topic.

I feel like everyone who participates on social media needs to have a thick skin about negative comments. And yet, the only way I know to get a thick skin is to get a negative comment, stress out about it, figure out what to do, and then move on. That’s what builds a thick skin.

I do everything I can to promote what I call a safe conversation zone on my entire online presence. I have a blog policy that I post on my site. I use nearly the same guidelines for every social media tool I use. I find that having the policy really helps ME the most. It helps me to anticipate what is unacceptable from what is just uncomfortable. Over the years I’ve been blogging, I’ve learned to really welcome and embrace divergent opinions. So someone who disagrees with me only makes my postings better. I truly believe that, so their comments have no sting and I don’t feel any need to balance out their opinion. I don’t have to be right.

I draw the line at ugliness. Name calling. Insults. I don’t allow these in my blog comments, and I don’t respond to them on social media.

I’ve also learned (the hard way) that if I find myself in a place where I feel I have to defend myself or my position or my work, I’m in the wrong place. Defending myself never makes a situation better. Sometimes, its just better to walk away from those fights.

When dealing with negative comments, responses or reviews, the number 1 thing you must not do is get confrontational.  Instead, you should seek out the source of why this person is upset and dissatisfied and do all you can to remedy the issue at hand.  Often times you can turn a strong negative review into an even stronger positive review, this person will then tell their circle of influence how willing you are to help and how you made them feel value.  

We first begin by apologizing for their less than positive experience and engage in conversation to see where the problem is.  Once that is identified, speak with your team and create a plan for how this should be handled, whether some type of reimbursement (gift card, free service, etc.) or something else that will sooth their discontent.  

I agree with many of the above.  Any negative comments should be dealt with straight away.  Many people just want to be heard (or rather listened to) and if you show that you are willing to respond they can often become your biggest advocates.  Sometimes, the author of the comment may just have misunderstood and they need help to understand.  If you have made a mistake, your apology and time will only serve you well for the future.

If someone is making ugly comments just for the sake of it, then it will become apparent online for all others to see.  I don’t worry too much about these characters as they quickly expose themselves.  The main point is to always respond in an adult manner and with care.

I believe that if you are working with integrity then negative comments shouldn’t phase you too much.  It isn’t nice, but opinion is what makes the world go round.

Relationship management is actually the part I like best of all. :)