Social Media Savvy – Four Steps to Effectively Manage Negative Comments on Social Media
Social media channels are excellent tools for engaging with current and potential clients. However, as your insurance organization expands marketing reach through social media channels, you will receive more positive online feedback, and more negative online feedback. We all know that insurance claims can be a controversial topic for customers, so negative reactions on social media channels are bound to happen sooner or later. The way in which you manage feedback will determine how these comments impact your business. Below are some quick tips:
1. Don’t act immediately
Replying to a negative comment too quickly can worsen the situation by invoking an argument, insulting the person or infuriating the person even more if the comment is immediately deleted. As soon as a harmful comment is noticed on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook, the first step is to take a step back, breathe deeply and remember to not take it personally. Rash statements or responses will most likely not align with the company insurance marketing strategy. Think about the best way to respond and discuss with a colleague before posting.
2. Determine if a reply is necessary
Responding to a negative comment is highly recommended. Generally, ignoring or deleting posts can aggravate people even more so they continue to bash your insurance company on social media outlets. With this said, there are a few instances in which it may be more beneficial to disregard the post completely:
- Profanity, abusive language
If the content includes profane or abusive language, it is completely acceptable to delete this comment from your social media feed. - Spam text
If the comment doesn’t make sense or doesn’t directly relate to your insurance services, feel free to ignore or delete it.
Check out more response ideas from Entrepreneur.coms’s article, “The Art of the Response on Social Media.”
3. Strategize the response
People tend to leave negative comments because they feel that the company is not listening to their concerns. Crafting a genuine response can ease the tension and show the person that your insurance company cares about its customers. Offer a specific follow-up action to resolve the issue. For example, post an informative response and invite the client to call a customer service hotline or privately message a customer service representative to continue the conversation on a different channel.
4. Analyze the initial post
Always review the original post that may have sparked the negative comment. Was it the way the post was phrased? Did it have any correlation to the destructive remark? If the comment was instigated by a company social media update, it is advantageous to assess the type of posting to prevent future repercussions.
Social media allows businesses to communicate with customers in a completely different manner, which has advantages and disadvantages. If you become the target of negative online posts, follow the steps above to minimize potential damage.