Why Reputation Management & How To Respond To Negative Comments?
Many businesses don’t know how to handle negative comments posted online, and either ignore them or respond from a position of fear and anger, making the situation worse.
If it is overlooked, it can result in negative content about the company ending up showing in search results for their business name which is bad for business. In such a situation the services of a Social Media Manager come into effect.
To get the situation under control, one needs to consider the following steps:
Step 1 – Respond Immediately
- You have to respond to any negative comments quickly. The longer it stays unanswered, the harder one’s job will be.
- The Social Media Manager (SMM) should be assertive and spell out exactly what your client’s position is on the subject and state whether the comments posted are right or wrong.
- There may be situations in which the allegations are correct and the best thing you can do is formulate a response for your client that shows them taking responsibility for it to defuse the situation.
- But if the allegations against your client are false, the SMM will play his hand a bit differently. Create a calm, professional response and post it first to where the accusatory comments originally appeared.
- Then wait and watch to see if the situation needs further attention. Encourage your client to offer to take the discussion offline – they may be able to handle it more discreetly.
Step 2- Create A Well Drafted Response
- One needs to use whatever platforms are at one’s disposal, including social media accounts, a blog, and even press releases, to provide a full explanation of why one’s client is being targeted with false accusations.
- Make sure that everything is tagged and keyworded so that it will also help replace negative results in the search engines.
- Don’t be argumentative or use any lowbrow tactics – stick strictly to the facts and remain professional.
Step 3 – Spread the Word
- One will need to use every tool at one’s disposal to spread one’s response far and wide as quickly as possible.
- This means that one will need to have a clear statement of facts on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, Medium, Pinterest, Snapchat, and any other social network one uses.
- Don’t stop there, Add bookmark platforms such as Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit.
- This also goes a long way toward getting your results in the search engines to reflect the content you want people to see.
Step 4 – Remain Vigilant
- If one’s client’s adversary continues pushing the issue one has to continue responding in some way.
- One does not need to engage with a full response every time and place there is a comment, but you should be making sure that wherever negativity appears, one provides at least a link to one’s version of the issue.
- Never assume any incident is done after one exchange.
- Watch for the existing negative content being promoted and any new content appearing.
