Handling the Heat: A 3-Step Plan for Navigating Bad Buzz on Socials
I know it seems that Bad Press (as we used to call it) on social media can FEEL like every company’s worst nightmare, especially in this new paradigm when everyone has a voice they are NOT afraid to use!
When we read someone’s negative comments about ourselves or our businesses online, all we want to do is shut this down - and FAST - but how? Getting defensive won’t work. The result could be the beginning of an online feud of back-and-forth which will lose the fighters their credibility and lose your company its sales. Using some kind of canned generic response won’t work either. It may feel like a quick and easy way to handle the comments, but you risk sounding numb, tone-deaf, and careless. That is the focus of today’s Marketing Minute.
Handling the Heat: A 3-Step Plan for Navigating Bad Buzz
Are we ok to just say nothing, or should we respond? If we do decide to respond, how should we react so as to not make things worse? We all feel there must be a right way to respond, but what is it? We see enough examples of people losing it in ways they will later regret, but how can we tell in the moment whether we are responding in a way which allows us to feel proud to have our response stand for a long time to come? How can we say what we need to say and move on?
Step 1 - STOP: READ, don’t REACT
Regroup during the pause
As a person (not AI) we have time between stimulus and response - we have “the pause”. In the pause, we have the power to decide, for each case,
the exact tone, focus, and goal of our response, as well as how to interpret the stimulus. When we take advantage of the pause when reacting in a social media context, we are less likely to take the comment personally, less likely to be hurt, to think it is the end of the world, to think our business is going to fail, and less likely to think EVERYONE agrees with the commenter. I can assure you, everyone does NOT agree. By taking advantage of the pause, we can be more objective and access the opportunity to be intentional with our response instead of reactionary and impulsive.The pause gives us time to understand without reacting, and time to decide whether or not we want to acknowledge the comment at all. Remember - we don’t HAVE to answer! We could pretend we didn’t read it and move on. If it is a comment on your post, you do have the power to delete it. This comment is, after all, only one person’s opinion.
Step 2 - REREAD and Get Perspective
Consider different points of view
During our reread, we need to focus on not internalizing the comment, instead trying to understand the person’s motivation behind writing it. We also want to hone in on how other readers will interpret the writer’s motivation and message. Is this a comment demonstrating a desire to compete with you or your company? Is it a cheap attempt to get the attention of YOUR followers? Are they using you or your company as click bait, or do they have a point – a concern that needs to be addressed? While it is important that you not take the bait to feed those who thrive on conflict, you want to make sure your audience and company’s customers understand that, if your reputation is under attack, you DO care. Find the power in restraint, and focus on what you can control – your response.
Step 3 - RESPOND to Provide Value
Craft the response
What is best in one situation won’t work in another, and what feels right for one person will not fit another, so there is no one perfect way to respond to these kinds of rude or hurtful comments, but there is a perfect way for you to respond! And you have choice!
By following these 3 steps - pausing to regroup, considering different points of view, and then crafting a suitable response - we set ourselves up to use negative comments to better understand what issues are out there and show off our customer service abilities in the process. We protect our online reputations by stopping ourselves from responding rashly after taking negative comments personally, and instead, find a resolution from which everyone benefits, and isn’t that the best possible outcome?
We have a whole library of Marketing Minute Blog posts inspired by the Marketing Minutes presented at each of our Spring and Fall Meetings. Consider checking them out and sharing them with your colleagues because AHTD is all about members #doinghightechbetter, together! And remember to follow and use our LinkedIn community hashtags to keep up-to-date with everything happening in industrial automation. We are ALL #BetterWithAHTD!
During our reread, we need to focus on not internalizing the comment, instead trying to understand the person’s motivation behind writing it. We also want to hone in on how other readers will interpret the writer’s motivation and message. Is this a comment demonstrating a desire to compete with you or your company? Is it a cheap attempt to get the attention of YOUR followers? Are they using you or your company as click bait, or do they have a point – a concern that needs to be addressed? While it is important that you not take the bait to feed those who thrive on conflict, you want to make sure your audience and company’s customers understand that, if your reputation is under attack, you DO care. Find the power in restraint, and focus on what you can control – your response.
Step 3 - RESPOND to Provide Value
Craft the response
What is best in one situation won’t work in another, and what feels right for one person will not fit another, so there is no one perfect way to respond to these kinds of rude or hurtful comments, but there is a perfect way for you to respond! And you have choice!
- Ignore – It is important to decide what is worth responding to. It is quite possible that we missed a comment posted in someone else’s feed, so not commenting is definitely an option there. Comments on our own feeds, however, MUST be addressed, and PROMPTLY, and by promptly, I mean as soon as it has been seen.
- Acknowledge with a reaction - There are certain circumstances where it is better to not take a comment seriously, and this is where a strategically-placed HAHA reaction can go a long way.
- Comment - This is the highest level of public engagement, so the response needs to be an informational, non-confrontational, crafted statement that stands on its own to reflect the full position without further clarification. Use this opportunity to speak to the commenter’s motivation while giving helpful information to other readers. Remember - we are trying to provide value!
By following these 3 steps - pausing to regroup, considering different points of view, and then crafting a suitable response - we set ourselves up to use negative comments to better understand what issues are out there and show off our customer service abilities in the process. We protect our online reputations by stopping ourselves from responding rashly after taking negative comments personally, and instead, find a resolution from which everyone benefits, and isn’t that the best possible outcome?
We have a whole library of Marketing Minute Blog posts inspired by the Marketing Minutes presented at each of our Spring and Fall Meetings. Consider checking them out and sharing them with your colleagues because AHTD is all about members #doinghightechbetter, together! And remember to follow and use our LinkedIn community hashtags to keep up-to-date with everything happening in industrial automation. We are ALL #BetterWithAHTD!