Just as it is important to have a crisis communications plan in place for your business, it’s also critical to have established procedures for dealing with online comments – both positive and negative.
Why? In this world when a tweet or YouTube video can go viral worldwide in minutes, time is not on your side.
The now famous “United Breaks Guitars” case study is a good lesson for all of us. If you are not familiar with this one, musician Dave Carroll witnessed United Airlines baggage handlers throwing around his guitar on the tarmac. He complained to company officials after confirming that his guitar was broken. After threatening to do a YouTube video about the incident and the airline’s response, United basically said, “Go for it” . . . and he did.
United Airlines eventually responded to Carroll about one week after his video went live. The problem is, Carroll’s video had seven million views by then; United Airlines’ stock plunged 10%, and shareholders lost a total of $180 million in equity. In hindsight, buying a new guitar for Carroll would have been a whole lot cheaper.
Your procedures should address what to do in case of positive comments. Often, this can be as simple as a “thank you” on Facebook, Twitter or wherever the comment was posted…to a program for asking your advocates for testimonials, etc.
For negative comments, an important step is to categorize the type of comment. Is it a:
• Straightforward problem
• Helpful criticism
• Organized attack
• Spam
A straightforward problem is when someone has an issue with your product or service and clearly explains their complaint. This type of feedback is certainly negative, but you can turn it into a positive.
When dealing with these situations, a response is almost always necessary. Whether that response is personal or a public message depends on the situation and how widespread the problem is.
For instance, I saw a recent post on a tire dealer’s Facebook page with a consumer complaining about service at a particular location. The dealer immediately responded on Facebook with an apology and provided a phone number to the consumer to make it right. This was excellent; the dealer let all their Facebook fans know that they were responsive and concerned, and they took the issue off line to resolve it.
Concerning helpful criticism, many consumers today use social media to provide companies with suggestions on how to solve a particular problem. They can become your biggest advocates if you show interest in them. Certainly you won’t want to or be able to implement every suggestion, but a response will build loyalty, even if it is explaining why that particular suggestion will not work. You want engaged consumers, someone who cares – even if their message is not positive. Let them and everyone know that you care about their input.
An organized attack is where the consumer goes beyond a post on your Facebook wall to actively spreading negative comments in numerous posts, utilization of multiple social media platforms, etc.
Organized attacks are tougher to deal with. Every situation is unique, but it is usually a good idea to:
• Respond to your antagonist for the record so your online community will see that you are being reasonable and responsive. Often times, they will come to your defense.
• Take the discussion off line if possible and try to solve the person’s issue.
If the attacks persist, assess what damage is being done. Look into legal options. Follow crisis communications procedures, if necessary.
Occasionally you will come across comments about your company that are totally irrelevant or have no basis in fact whatsoever. There are also spammers that will try to use your social media platforms to sell most anything under the sun.
It is almost always best not to respond to spam or totally irrelevant comments. Ignore this variety of feedback, and when appropriate, remove it as soon as you spot it. You can install certain apps to block spam on your Twitter account.
Vulgarity is never appropriate and should not be tolerated. Ask the poster to remove the offensive words and re-post; 95% of the time the individual does not repost.
To recap, it is critical to monitor what is being said about your company online, and you can use free services (i.e., Google Alerts, Twitter Search) and/or paid services such as Radian6.
Secondly, develop internal procedures for responding to both positive and negative comments.
Finally, ensure that your overall crisis communications plan addresses online reputation issues and is nimble enough to handle them.
It takes years to build your company’s reputation. Don’t let it be severely damaged in a matter of hours or days because you don’t have procedures in place to monitor and respond to negative online situations.
Christine Taylor is vice president of social media marketing for JTMarCom,a Nashville-based marketing agency that helps companies with online reputation management and integration of social media into their traditional marketing programs. With a combined 35 years of experience in the tire industry, the agency places a special emphasis on working with tire and automotive aftermarket companies. Follow Christine on Facebook and Twitter (@chrisgtaylor). She can also be reached at 615-714-5469.
