Social Media is now a fixed asset in the marketing industry. Many executives, however, are yet to tap into it fully. They may know that they already have a social media presence but are the really listening to what their clients are saying particularly when it comes to negative posts. Ignoring these is a sure way of losing customers and chasing away perspective ones. The saying that all press is good press does not hold true when it comes to social media.There should be someone in your organisation scouring your social media presence and dealing with negative feedback.
Here are three strategies that you can use to make your social media presence more effective:
Flood with Positive News: A common technique used by most companies on social media is to flood it with posts of positive news in the face of negative feedback. This is a very good strategy as companies must try to ensure that the last comment that people see is a positive one. Visitors should have a positive impression of your brand. However, while this is vital step in dealing with negativity about your product, it is important to note that tooting your own horn soon grows old and after a while people begin to tune you out. More must be done.
Act Quickly: Much is accomplished when you don’t let the sun set with your clients in a provoked state. If there is a negative comment, engage immediately. Post publicly that you will PM (private message) them to deal with their issue. Do not let days and weeks go by without adressing comments and worse yet do not ignore these messages. Depending on the size of your clients network hundreds or even thousands of persons will view that post within minutes and form a negative opinion of you and your customer sevice. Do not delay.
Find out what the probelm is and FIX IT: The fact that the person has taken to social media to complain means that there is a veritable level of irritation. Therefore, perceived or otherwise, there IS a problem. Listen carefully and do not be quick to become defensive. Find out where the weakness is and address it. DO FIX the problem otherwise the person may possibly hit you a few more posts where it hurts the most i.e. your pocket.
None of these techniques are mutually exclusive. All should be incorporated in your Social Media strategy. There are several others of course but these are critical if you are to deal with negative feedback effectively.