Want to Talk About It? 5 Tips for Responding to Social Media Feedback

Within the past several months, social media has gone through many changes. From new timelines to regional tweeting, it’s hard to know what will affect your business. Still, there is one thing social media can never change – the customer.  The only difference between the customer from 50 years ago and the customers of today is their increased ability to reach you. We no longer have to check the address on the back of the box to mail in a complaint or dial the 1-800 numbers on our receipt. We simply have to log-in and let loose. For brands, this means a huge increase in customer interaction. But what do you say back? Social media moves fast and companies no longer have the mail system or missed calls to blame for delayed responses. The pressure to please is intensified by the immediacy of the issues every time the page is refreshed. We have five tips to follow for responding to your social media posts:

Create a conversation. Just hitting “Like” won’t impress your fans anymore. Facebook has even rolled out a new reply feature to facilitate direct response for businesses.  If the post is negative, there is even more need for depth. Pedro Davila, an account supervisor for AdWorks in NYC says, “Social Media is turning brands into entities and consumers are going to have negative interactions with your brand and want to talk about it. Social Media is about having that kind of two way conversation. If you limit what people are allowed to say then it is no longer two way conversation and consumers will no longer trust or believe in your brand. The key to this is in the response and how you respond to the negative comment. You can see some brands implode under poor crisis plans and management, or you can see how others thrive by avoiding crisis altogether.”

Control the situation. You’ll learn fast that fans find it easy to hide behind the internet, but your Facebook wall and Twitter feed are no place for endless ranting. Attempt to offer private messaging, so you may gather contact information to call or e-mail them. A long back-and-forth of complaints on a Facebook wall won’t make anyone look good, and other fans will appreciate seeing you offered to reach out in a more personal way. Davila says, “My standard is just three attempts. Usually by the third, people cave into it because they look crazy.” If a fan doesn’t want to be contacted out of the social media realm? They may just be looking to stir the pot. Your other fans will understand.

Highlight the positive. Some fans go the extra mile to simply tell you how much they love your product or business. Some will even post photos to your wall of themselves dining at your restaurant or using your product.  Reward these! Share their photos on your feed or offer to send them gift cards and coupons for their next visit or purchase. Brands are almost expected to compensate for a complaint, but if fans can see you’re willing to reward loyalty, you’ll find the positivity multiplying.

Encourage your community. Jim Belosic of The Social Media Examiner wrote, “After you’ve engaged with your fans for a period of time by answering questions and offering support, you‘ll notice that your fans will be more active on your page, even to the point of assisting each other.” We agree. By building relationships with your fans through prompt response, many will continue to visit your page and be inspired to share their own experiences. Sometimes, they’ll even come to your rescue on complaints or negative feedback by sticking up for your brand and sharing how their bad experience was handled promptly, and their second experience was superb. There’s nothing better than a fan-to-fan recommendation.

Don’t take it personally. When you’re the sole online interaction for a brand, it can be easy to get attached. We live in a world of cyber bullies, and brands are not exempt from harsh interaction. Though you were not the one to produce the product or make the sandwich, you can easily be caught in the crossfire. Remember no matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to please every poster, nor should you have to. As long as you’re responding in a timely and professional manner, you’re doing a great job. Any serious issues need to be given to corporate to handle offline.  At the end of the day, you should be able to log-off and leave it.