5 Great Steps For Dealing With Social Media Negativity

Everyone’s worst social media nightmare. Some lovely individual publicly posts something less than positive about your business online opposed to approaching you privately via phone or email.

How would you deal with it?

We are all so passionate about what we do, that immediately we want to jump online and defend our blood, sweat and tears that we call our business. Whatever you do, put down your phone or step away from the computer and breathe, scream or cry before responding. You have to be calm and collected with your reply.

Negativity can be dealt with swiftly and efficiently when using the right manner and professionalism.

**Special Tip** Ensure you don't miss a beat and register yourself on Google Alerts.This will alert you every time your brand name is used on the web.

1. Respond to the negative post as quickly as possible. The optimum response time is within 15 minutes, it sets a good professional tone but if not, then within the hour!

Other individuals who have read the comment will be waiting with bated breath to see how you are going to respond, so ensure you do it professionally.

You want to leave your followers thinking what a brilliant service you provide and hopefully sympathising with you.

2. When responding, firstly thank the individual for getting in touch and let them know you appreciate their opinion.

3. Apologise for the fact that they didn’t feel the product or service was up to scratch and you would like to rectify the problem as quickly as possible for them.

4. Invite them for a conversation or contact offline as soon as possible to ensure you can get the matter sorted for them efficiently.

5. When speaking with the client offline, ensure they are happy with the outcome, even if that means offering then a discount or a small gift. Potentially, they will then spread the word about the fantastic customer service they received, therefore leading to referrals.

At this point you can give yourself a pat on the back and pour yourself a stiff drink as you have successfully nipped the negativity in the bud.