With social media being what is – a space for people to communicate with each other – there are many benefits for businesses to actively maintain this channel of communication.
However, like in everything else, here too the good comes mixed with the bad.
Since reviews and comments are allowed for business profiles, there will certainly be times when the customers are dissatisfied and will vent on social media. Then there are those who will go out of their way to be negative and unpleasant with a brand or with others in the same online space as them.
Genuine dissatisfaction aired on social media is a great way for a brand or personality to reach out directly to a disgruntled follower and build themselves a better reputation for caring about what people think of them. An acknowledgement of something done wrong and a promise to do better in future gives wings to a person or brand’s perception.
Followers want to be heard by the brands and individuals they are fans of, especially when they feel hard done by. A simple comment that acknowledges the problem and promises to look into it goes a long way in building trust. If the problem does lie with the business or individual, any effort to redress it will be appreciated and help build brand loyalty.
And then there are the trolls.
These people are usually intentionally posting negative comments that are directly targeting the business or individual or are engaging in a similar manner with other followers in the same space.
These trolls create a toxic environment online and unfortunately do not respond to any requests to tone down their comments. The only way to deal with them is to block them so others who are engaging with you as a brand or individual are safe from their toxicity.
Unfortunately, for every troll blocked, there is another willing to take up the same. Community managers on social media must be actively monitoring the space and move swiftly to deal with them.