10 Dos and Don'ts of Responding to Social Media Posts

• June 04, 2013
• by Kimberly Faber
• Business Tips
• Social Media

For many business owners, social media is a great tool for customer service and free marketing, but the unpredictability of what others will post about your business can be troublesome. Though the urge may be to delete any negative comment or defend your company and justify your actions, with your current and potential clients watching it's important to handle social media responses the right way. Whether it's a comment from an Internet troll, a negative response from a fan, spam, or worse, here are some dos and don'ts for responding to posts on social media.   

*For each set of dos and don'ts, click "don't" to view the list of don'ts.

1. General posting Dos and Don'ts

Before we get too far into the particulars of responding to posts, here are a few general dos and don'ts for using social media for business purposes.

• Have a profile you don't check or use.
• Only post irrelevant articles, photos, etc.
• Post about sensitive topics like politics and religion
• Use social media as a soapbox to share your opinions

• Showcase your personality
• Segregate your personal and professional profiles
• Monitor comments, likes, tweets, etc.
• Interact with your fans and followers

2. Dealing with spam

The scenario: Someone you don't know has posted a paragraph and link about a weight loss program success, information to raise awareness about a defendant in a particular legal case, or something is posted in a foreign language. Spam happens. Fortunately, it's a fairly easy issue to handle.

• Click on links
• Leave spam posted
• Respond to the person who posted the spammy message
• Complain about spam to your followers

• Delete the post immediately
• Mark it or flag it as spam
• Monitor your profile for a repeat post
• Be diligent about controlling spam

3. Dealing with Internet trolls 

The scenario: Someone, likely a person you do not know, posts or tweets a witty, snarky, or sarcastic comment either directed toward your profession, your company, or a recent post. 

• Leave offensive posts up
• Feel like you have to respond
• Delete a response if you feel the person will repost
• Fuel the fire with a snarky or scolding response
• Do not feed the trolls!

• Delete irrelevant and offensive posts
• Resist the urge to respond
• If you choose to respond, do so with tact
• Acknowledge the funny comments
• Use your best discretion with deleting and responding

4. Someone responds negatively to something you've posted

The scenario: An article, photo, video, or status that you've recently shared gets a negative response from a follower or fan, who has taken to social media to share their opinion.

• Automatically delete the comment
• Post a reactionary response
• Jump into the conversation if other fans are making positive comments
• Take offense to the comment - not everyone will like everything you post

• Get a second opinion on how negative the comment is
• Consider not responding at all
• Delete the comment if it is offensive
• Have another person proof your response

5. Someone asks you to share something

The scenario: A person you may or may not know contacts you through social media or even directly through email and asks you to spread the word, share a resource, or retweet information.

• Ignore a request to share
• Share an article or video without reading or viewing
• Refuse to share as a general policy or rule
• Share anything you wouldn't share directly with a client

• Share if the content is relevant
• Make a habit of sharing other people's posts
• Let the person know if you've decided to share it
• Reach out to that person the next time you have something to share

6. Someone makes a negative comment about your business

The scenario: Someone comments or tweets a complaint about your company, a negative opinion about a project you've been involved in, or some other post that sheds anything but positive light on your business.

• Delete the comment
• Respond without discussing it with another person in your company
• Respond with something you wouldn't say directly to a client
• Be negative or defensive in your response

• Respond to every negative comment about your business
• Treat the comment as you would a complaint
• Apologize, whether you are wrong or not
• Follow up your response with a phone call or email
• Take the conversation offline

7. Someone makes a negative comment about a competitor

The scenario: A person posts a very negative comment about your competitor, slams someone in the industry, or attacks a specific person or company on your profile.

• Add your opinion on the issues
• Take the opportunity to promote yourself over your competitor
• Allow consistent negative posts on your page
• Respond to offensive comments

• Approach negative comments on a case-by-case basis
• Delete the comment if it is offensive or if it targets a specific individual
• Respond to the person who made the comment if necessary
• Explain why you took the comment down if you chose to delete it

8. Someone praises you for a recent post

The scenario: Someone lets you know that they enjoyed a recent post, article you shared, tweet, or status update.

 

• Respond to every single positive comment
• Gloat
• Forget to keep track of positive responses

• If the comment is lengthy, respond
• If the comment is brief, like it rather than respond
• Favorite or retweet positive Twitter comments
• Make a mental note of what posts get positive responses

9. Someone points out an error or typo on your website

The scenario: Someone you may or may not know informs you about an error, bad link, typo, or other malfunction on your website or social media page.

• Respond rudely
• Ignore the comment or not acknowledge it
• Leave your followers wondering whether or not it's fixed

• Thank them for making you aware of the error
• Let them know that you will fix it
• If it's a larger-scale issue, post when it's been fixed so your followers know

10. A client makes a complaint on your social profile

The scenario: A client, unhappy with communication, customer service, or bringing up another issue, takes to social media to file their complaint.

 

• Delete the complaint
• Ignore the complaint or choose not to respond
• Treat the complaint any different than you would a phone or email complaint

• Respond to the complaint right away
• Apologize
• Let them know that you are going to give them a call
• Take the conversation offline

Even armed with dos and don'ts, it's important to approach each comment or post individually. There will be situations when you will need to deviate from your default strategy. Regardless of how you respond, the most important thing for you to do is monitor your feeds and posts on your page.