Social media is a marvel of the digital age that has become the part and parcel of modern living! In current times social media has become the most accessible medium to connect, and businesses are doing whatever they can to leverage this unmatched reach of social networking.

The use of social media for brand promotion enables businesses to connect with their target audience easily, and vice versa. Not just that, social media allows brands to constantly engage with the target audience, gain insights from those engagements and create an appropriate marketing strategy for growth. It’s what marketers call online reputation management.

Once you establish brand awareness, you need to follow it up with reputation management to keep the brand value stellar in the eyes of the audience and your peers.

Now, although social media might have made it easier to connect with the target audience, it has increased negative challenges like brand bashing on the internet. Some people take to social media platforms, and defame a brand, hiding behind fake profiles and identities. Once these defaming and trolling on social platforms become viral, it can significantly impact the brand’s reputation. So, how can you handle this challenge?

There are simple ways through which you can address these mean comments and still save the brand’s reputation. You can get involved in such activities yourselves, or save time and ensure guaranteed results by hiring a social media marketing expert.

We can help you with the latter. Reach out to our experts for more information on the same. But till then, let’s do a quick review of “how to deal with negative comments with a positive approach.

What Do You Need To Avoid At All Costs?

• Refrain from these at all times. These are the big NOs;
• Feeding the trolls by being inactive on your social media handle.
• Giving a response without corroborative facts.
• Defensive way of responding or being argumentative on social platforms.

How to Handle Negative Comments like a Pro?

Here are some master tips & tricks to follow for online reputation management:

The first attitude should be to listen carefully, before reacting. Remember, when you have decided to represent your brand socially, there will be criticisms. You need to handle it with proper care and tactics.

Many times, annoyed customers won’t consider what they are writing and would just write mean comments. So, you have to stay composed, convey your apologies for the alleged inconveniences, and respond accordingly.

Listening to the grievances can often benefit you by understanding the loopholes or flaws in your services/products, and improving the same. You can also take help from a digital marketing company, specializing in social media marketing and reputation management. A dedicated company knows how exactly to handle these criticisms and yet increase brand awareness.

1) Try To Listen Carefully :

The first attitude should be to listen carefully, before reacting. Remember, when you have decided to represent your brand socially, there will be criticisms. You need to handle it with proper care and tactics. Many times, annoyed customers won’t consider what they are writing and would just write mean comments. So, you have to stay composed, convey your apologies for the alleged inconveniences, and respond accordingly.

Listening to the grievances can often benefit you by understanding the loopholes or flaws in your services/products, and improving the same. You can also take help from a reputed social media agency like us, specializing in social media marketing and reputation management. A dedicated team of social media experts knows how exactly to handle these criticisms and yet increase brand awareness.

2) Never delay and avoid :

Negative comments can be posted at any time based on the customer’s challenges. This does not mean that you can avoid the comment. The longer a negative comment lingers without a reply, the more other potential customers get to see it and make a judgment on the same.

The best way to handle it is by immediately replying to it and reducing the brand’s social damage. Now, the type of negative comment can vary from a single tweet to a blog. Whichever way it is posted, be sure to respond to it and take precautions. Some of the social media service-providing companies like us can handle multiple brand value projects and also suggest this technique for maximum help.

3) Always be Apologetic:

In business, the customer/client is always right. Keeping that golden rule in mind, you need to be apologetic even when the customer is wrong. Try to play with your words and handle the situation with great care. Remember, apologizing by using the right words can indirectly help other customers realize that you take care of each comment and care for customer satisfaction.

It will elevate your position in the eyes of the other potential customers. This will indirectly help to increase customers’ trust in a new brand for better revenues. But when replying, be sure to always take your conversation to a private channel. For example, ask politely the customer to email you in detail the issue they are facing.

4) Appreciate the Feedback:

The exact way in which you handle the feedback is important. Without being defensive about hate comments, handle them with a constructive approach. At times, customers only want you to hear their issues. Thereby, handling each comment with appreciation helps in adding value to the customer service.

Social media firms like us, that handle these hate comments, make sure to turn each angry customer into a loyal one through this tactic. Other than simply being defensive, try to understand their issue and forward it to the exact department for resolution. In the long run, this step helps to improve brand value and increase the loyalty of customers too.

5) Respond Publicly Before Switching to Private:

Social media is a game-changer that can make or break a company over time. This also means that long gone are the days when there was one-to-one communication with the customers.

Now, when there is a single negative comment on a brand’s social media profile, the entire number of followers can access it. Thereby, every social media service provider handling brands’ social presence ensures to take the chat private to avoid unnecessary negative judgment.

However, this doesn’t mean that you will directly reply to the customer in private. The reason is simple; most followers won’t get the details of the private chat and will assume that the comment has not been handled properly.

This will increase the negative effect on the company’s reputation. Thereby, always make sure to address publicly to connect through private messages for detailed discussion. It will help to close the loop from public eyes.

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6) Don’t Delete Comments:

Do you delete negative comments to keep your brand’s perfect image? If yes, it is high time to stop this once and for all! This is one of the easiest ways to let customers assume that you are hiding something or accepting a claim.

Yes, when you delete a negative comment without properly replying it affects the reputation. In addition to this, remember that other followers regularly visit your website and social media. If they identify that you have been fleeting comments without acknowledging it, they will also think that there are trust issues.

7) Focus on Better Resolution Management:

The last thing expected from a brand by its customers is unnecessary excuses. A quick and easy way to respond to customers’ negative comments is to simply understand the issues and provide help instantly. Now, you don’t need to provide a permanent solution instantly but a way through which it will be solved in the future.

Nowadays, new customers make sure they check a brand’s social media presence before investing. That’s why it’s important to invest in your online reputation management strategies. Focusing effectively on resolution management will help in increasing the customers’ interest and can even earn better referrals over time.

8) Empathize with Consumer:

Handling mean comments on social media is not always easy and needs empathy for better value. As a responder, you need to differentiate the exact timings when you respond privately and publicly. This will help you to deliver a better understanding of customer prospects and value. In case you come across a comment that is too problematic to address, reply to it privately to avoid social conflict. 

Additionally, even when responding privately, try and empathize with your customers and use a formal tone. The reason is now getting a screenshot and making it viral for all the wrong causes is quite trending. Thereby, be composed every time everywhere. 

Wrapping up! 

Negative comments are not the end of your reputation, thereby act accordingly! Both global brands and local businesses get negative comments on their social media platforms regularly. But the reason it does not affect their revenue is that they handle it with care.

You can do the same either by yourself or by leveraging the expertise of professionals when you hire social media marketing experts. Next time you face such a situation, other than being tense, take follow the tips and tricks we just discussed in this write-up. You should be in the clear with your brand’s reputation unscathed.