How to Deal With Negative Feedback on Social Media Posts?

There is no denying the fact that social media has revolutionized the business world by giving business owners direct access to their target audiences and customers. By allowing businesses to directly communicate with both existing and prospective clients, social media has made it easier to identify and address customers’ needs as well as to receive their feedback.

But, the world of social media is not as perfect as it may seem. By improving the communication process, social media platforms have also made it possible for customers to voice their concerns and report problems with a company’s product(s) or service(s).

Do you know what this means for businesses?

A mishandled customer, a poor-quality product, or service disruption can open a world of criticism. Let’s face it – dealing with negative feedback is hard. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that sometimes the criticism is not based on facts.

Just like any other technology, social media has its pros and cons. On one hand, it has given businesses direct access to their target audience and has improved communication. On the flip side, it has given a voice to the consumer with a grudge.

Dealing With Negative Social Media Feedback

Dealing with negative social media feedback is one of the most difficult aspects of marketing because the way a business handles it can have a huge impact on their reputation.

Wondering how to respond to negative comments on social media to mitigate their effect? While there is no single universal answer to this question, here are some guiding principles to help you deal with dissatisfied and angry customers, and better, convert them into happy customers:

1. Never Delete Them

If you think deleting negative comments and reviews is the best way to protect your reputation, let us tell you that you are absolutely wrong.

Deleting negative comments could be the worst thing you could do for yourself. When a business deletes negative comments or reviews, their consumers get even angrier and usually post their feedback on other platforms, this time more assertively.

While a few businesses think that only displaying good comments and positive reviews on their social media page will have a positive impact on their reputation, the reality is otherwise. A social media page that does not have any negative comment makes a company appear unreliable. After all, no matter how amazing your products or services are, you cannot please everyone.

2. Don’t Lose Your Cool

We have seen situations where a company replies to a negative comment of an angry or frustrated customer with equal rage. This is clearly the wrong way to deal with negative feedback.
While it is important that you do not come across as naive or intimidated, your response shouldn’t be emotional, negative or challenging either.

3. Do Not Be Afraid Of Accepting Your Mistakes

There is no point of trying to present your company and team as perfect, all the time. In cases, where you know that the negative feedback is the result of a fault at your end, accepting your mistake is the best way to calm down an infuriated consumer.

4. Do Not Ignore Them

While you shouldn’t have to reply to every comment or review, make sure you respond to the negative ones. Remember, ignoring a negative feedback will not make it disappear.

Also, the longer you take to reply, the difficult it will be to please the customer. So, always try to respond to negative comments and reviews as quickly as possible. Ideally, you should try to respond within 15 minutes in order to make a good impression on your audience. But, if that is not possible, you should aim to respond within an hour. This is because according to the digital marketing expert Jay Baer, 42% of consumers who complain to a business through social media expect a response within an hour.

Final Word

In the world that we live in, social media has become an essential part of our personal and professional lives. You cannot afford to not have social media presence in order to survive in today’s highly competitive world. But, you have to be smart to make sure it gives you the desired results and not harm your reputation. Use these tips while dealing with negative social media feedback to make sure it doesn’t cost you your customers.