Haters Gonna Hate
How to Handle Negative Comments
Stay calm and collected sweet dolls. You’ve got this!
We've all been there, Dolls. You posted something on social media, and suddenly, something nasty pops up in your notifications. A follower is disagreeing with you (or worse, outright bullying you), and you don't know how to respond.
It can be quick to reply and not think through your response, which is never good. However, as a business responding to negative comments too quickly, it can be deadly. You want to keep your followers engaged and loving on you and your brand, but you don't want to give an inauthentic reply just to appease them or reply to their comments with a nasty comeback.
So, how do you navigate the proper response to negative feedback or comments on social media? There are many options you can take, but for us, the first thing we always do is breathe and plan ahead. You need to take time to process the comment and view it from their perspective (even if it's a rude one). Consider what their end result is, and what your end result will be in return. Did they experience bad customer service? Are they looking for a discount that wasn't honored? Did their product not come as planned? These are all things you can totally handle like a boss babe! Figure out what it is they were looking for, and see if you can accommodate and meet their goals.
For those few, rare comments where you're unsure what their intention was, but it seems they're very upset, you may need to do some damage control. Want to know our secret? Respond with the happiest tone you can provide! Add heart emojis, add exclamations (where appropriate), and express your love and concern for their feelings in your response. Even negative comments can create a positive outcome for your business if you handle them the right way! You should never look to retaliate, but instead, educate them on your business and how you plan to do better in the future.
Taylor Swift said it best.. haters gonna hate.
If the problem becomes persistent, take a look at what can be done on your end to prevent such negative comments. If there's a certain comment that keeps getting posted about your product's quality or your team's service, it may be important to put new processes in place to resolve these issues. However, if it seems there is one specific follower who routinely comments negative things (for the sake of negativity), it may be time to report or block their comments. This is a super hard judgment call to make for a lot of business owners. It's crucial that your business continue on a positive note moving forward, so if you know you've done everything in your power to fix the situation and the follower continues to harass you, it's absolutely in your right to remove their comment and their account from your page. (Be careful with that delete button, though! This is your big red button for emergencies only. You should never routinely delete comments just because you don't like them. Always try to respond with a positive reply first!)
In our world of social media and instantaneous news, it's extremely hard at times to remember to take time to respond to negative comments or negative people. We want so badly to have others see our point of view that we sometimes forget the best way to get there. No matter what the comment is, your job is to make it right! Remember to build your business on love, your replies will be seen that way!
Xo,
The PR Dolls