How to Deal with Negativity on Your Brand’s Facebook Page

Social media is now one of the easiest ways for people to express themselves in front of a large audience. Whether it is the excited chatter that comes with the next big sporting event, your cousin who finally popped the question, or your neighbor who brought home the most adorable puppy, Facebook is there to deliver the news. We can find ourselves quickly sucked into what some would call a “digital hypnotic black hole.”

But what about Facebook Pages for businesses? Brand Pages on Facebook are a fantastic resource for news and updates, but can be equally relevant for reading reviews. Similar to profiles, we can easily get consumed by the mass of comments on a Page. This is where we often find the hidden truths behind the company. People make snap judgments within milliseconds of meeting one another, it’s safe to presume the same is done when visiting a Facebook Page. If your Page is filled with predominantly negative reviews that have been left to hang in the abyss of darkness, you’re bound to have users click away from your Page quickly. So, what should you do to avoid this scenario?

When creating a Page for your brand, be mindful of the potential for negativity. While we can only dream of endless positive reviews on our Pages, businesses are often caught off guard with the unexpected volume of negative comments that could pour in. No magical spell exists to keep us safe from negativity, instead we are left to defend ourselves with one bag of strong tools. It’s crucial, therefore, to ensure you are fully equipped with such tools before you create your Page.

Let’s talk about these essential tools:

Moderating

Unlike personal accounts on Facebook where we have superior restriction options, comments on company Pages publish in real time. This is where your diligent Page moderator can play a key role in either producing solid responses (which maintains your thriving loyal customer base), or lumping your brand into the low-rating experience that people flee from.

Keep in mind, if you’re a small business, light check-ins throughout the day may be all that your Page requires. However, if you end up living the dream and your business pace unexpectedly picks up, or if you’re a larger business with continuous volume, you’ll definitely need to ramp up your moderation. You can do this by adding more Page moderators, or hiring an outside agency such as Social Factor –  a team of experts on standby with plenty of experience to help with those  negative comments.

The Warm Approach

Let’s face it: conversing on a computer often leads to lack of emotion and tone. Let us not forget that we all crave human connection, even when we speak through technology. Providing a powerful response to even the angriest of customers can provide your Page with the victory save that other viewers will appreciate!

Be sure to include keywords in your response. Show sympathy and thank them for taking the time to provide their feedback, albeit negative. And of course, maintain professionalism irrespective of your audience. Responding to all sentiment comments (never ignore comments) coupled with a quick turn-around time delivers the message to your customers that you genuinely care about them, which, in turn, provides them with affirmation that they are dealing with a high quality company.

Hide/PM/Ban

The hide option is most frequented by businesses when dealing with those comments that are inappropriate for the Page tone or post message. When a comment is hidden, it is still visible to the person who commented, as well as their friends, while other Page visitors can’t tell there was ever a comment to be seen.

For customers who need assistance privately, we suggest offering to speak through private message. This solution moves they conversation from the public eye and allows for assistance in a private setting.

Banning is an option, as well, when it comes to comments including spam or vulgarity.

Filter

If you don’t have the time or the people to moderate your Page around the clock, you can also use a setting that automatically hides comments containing words that you specify. Profane words are filtered when the option is turned on, but let’s consider a different scenario. Let’s say your Page heavily markets the selling of fresh produce. However, in recent days the news announced that a certain pesticide is now causing illness. Your Page could quickly get inundated with unnecessary negative comments. For instance, you could use keywords such as “pesticide” and “news” to refine your filter. The filter tool provides you with peace of mind knowing that anything containing the keywords you specify won’t be visible to the general public.

Organization

It won’t take long to analyze your responses and find a trend to the questions and comments once your Page is up and running. Organizing your answers in a one-stop document is one way you can become more efficient with your time, but also provide consistency with your responses. Formulate and compile your answers in a shareable document and include any pertinent links. This way, any new Page moderator will be on board and consistent with your company tone and responses.

Let’s face it, as much as we would love to manage the perfect Page, it takes work. We are confident that incorporating the above recommendations will truly equip you with efficiencies, reduce unwanted negative exposure, and provide you with an overall safe Page for your customers to visit.