One beautiful thing about social media is that it allows customers to instantly interact with their favorite brands. Unfortunately, that easy-access also means that those brands are open to becoming the target of trolls: angry users hurling inflammatory language or even threats across social.
All savvy social media marketers should understand how to distinguish feedback from trolling, so in this week’s #SproutChat we’ve covered best practices for handling internet trolls and how a plan of action is vital for any brand.
Don’t Feed the Trolls, but Do Ask Questions
It’s critical not to stoop to their level. Responding angrily to your audience or being heavy on the snark is just adding fuel to the fire. It may not be worth your time and effort to go toe to toe with an angry customer. Instead take the time to figure out the context of their complaint in order to help them.
A1: The first DO would be DON’T answer them.. #SproutChat
— Apple Box Studios (@AppleBoxStudios) August 9, 2017
A1: Do: Respond…and be nice. Don’t: Ignore…the person will only become angrier. #sproutchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) August 9, 2017
A1: Don’t add fuel to the fire. Do push them to move the conversation to a private forum. #SproutChat
— Mindvolt (@mindvolt) August 9, 2017
A1: DO have a plan in place so when it happens you don’t panic! #sproutchat
— Charlotte S. Price (@_CharlotteSP_) August 9, 2017
A1: You need to distinguish: troll versus actual problem. Then follow a process. #SproutChat
— Kevin Juliano (@KevinJJuliano) August 9, 2017
A1: Gauge the convo before responding…If they seem like a REAL consumer/client w/ REAL concerns, respond #SproutChat
— Max Bailey (@maxthemarketer) August 9, 2017
1: Don’t feed them. And ignore at your own risk. Use mute and block at will. #SproutChat
— Mehul 🙂 (@mehulgohil) August 9, 2017
Keep Track of Negative Comments
By keeping track of negative comments you’re more easily able to note patterns. This means that if the same users are providing negative feedback, you’ll have insight into their conversation history to inform your next moves.
Monitoring for mentions of your brand is also vital for staying on top of any social crisis.
A2: Screenshot folders are a great tool! Although I’d try to resolve and move on ASAP, maybe check in later. #SproutChat
— Mindvolt (@mindvolt) August 9, 2017
A2 Make sure you have an official process/policy in place. Keep track via docs and spreadsheets. Screenshot if necessary. #SproutChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) August 9, 2017
A2: We have a spreadsheet and sometimes have screenshots as well. #sproutchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) August 9, 2017
A2: Use a platform where you can organize tweets by hashtag or user. #SproutChat https://t.co/wxUH56ncAl
— Robert Warren (@robofthunder) August 9, 2017
A2) Tag and code them. Work on legitimate issues for root cause fixes and track trends.#sproutchat
— Steve Cassady (@SteveCassady) August 9, 2017
A2: Monitor mentions of your brand by keeping track of replies and by searching your brand name. You won’t always be tagged! #SproutChat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) August 9, 2017
A2: We tag them all then do an audit at the end of every month to determine what action should be taken to help us improve. #SproutChat
— Jeff Higgins (@ItsJeffHiggins) August 9, 2017
Loop Others In
Occasionally you’ll need to escalate issues to other team members, as you won’t always know the answer. Situations can quickly turn into crises, so be sure to loop in appropriate team members in order to keep issues from escalating.
A3 Escalations happen if it’s a real issue. Maybe the site was down and customer had a bad experience and blasting social.
(1/2) #SproutChat— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) August 9, 2017
A3: If the issue is something I can’t fix I pass it on. If it’s something against my actions (as SM manager) I pass it on #sproutchat
— Charlotte S. Price (@_CharlotteSP_) August 9, 2017
A3: When a solution is outside of your sphere of ability. #sproutchat
— ICF Olson (@ICFOlson) August 9, 2017
A3: We do 3 strikes then bump.
Offer apology.
Get information on issue.
Offer resolution.
If these won’t solve it, bump.#SproutChat— Jeff Higgins (@ItsJeffHiggins) August 9, 2017
A3 When I’m not equipped with the right answer or necessary info, I escalate it to someone who can. #CustServ #SproutChat
— Katie Burton (@KatieBurton_) August 9, 2017
Inflammatory Language Not Welcome
Not every social network allows for comments to be deleted, but when possible take the precaution to do so. It’s important to act if there are posts containing personal information or inflammatory, threatening language.
Depending on if they’re offensive or not, sometimes it’s important to leave them as it’s authentic #sproutchat
— Mollie Clarke (@mollieblog) August 9, 2017
A4: I will delete comments in our FB group if they’re against our guidelines (profanity, name-calling, etc.) #sproutchat
— Jessie (@JessieAtAC) August 9, 2017
A4: Typically, a negative comment would only be deleted if it was offensive in some way. #SproutChat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) August 9, 2017
A4: Usually not, as long as they don’t violate policy and aren’t offensive. Need to be authentic and own mistakes. #SproutChat
— Kevin Juliano (@KevinJJuliano) August 9, 2017
A4: Negative? no. Inflammatory, yes. Honest critique should always be allowed! #SproutChat
— Charlotte S. Price (@_CharlotteSP_) August 9, 2017
A4: Most of the time if not a legitimate issue. Can’t believe how people want to add political comments to vacation pages! #sproutchat
— Brad Lovett (@Brad_Lovett) August 9, 2017
Have an Action Plan in Place
When it comes to responding to trolls or negative feedback, just make sure that all team members are on the same page. This is particularly important if you have a larger social team. Consistency will help prevent growing social crises and ensure that everyone knows protocol and works toward one goal.
Everyone business should have a company procedure, to protect and guide its staff #sproutchat
— Mollie Clarke (@mollieblog) August 9, 2017
A5: ABSOLUTELY! We use the @usairforce Web Posting Response Assessment as our guide. #SproutChat https://t.co/1WLHrvRNeb pic.twitter.com/U0Hchd7Vbh
— Kevin Juliano (@KevinJJuliano) August 9, 2017
A5 Absolutely! A consistent plan of attack is essential. Have a strike policy with messaging to explain moderation actions. #sproutchat [AR]
— ModSquad (@modsquad) August 9, 2017
A5: the plan should layout different courses of action for different levels of trolls #SproutChat
— Apple Box Studios (@AppleBoxStudios) August 9, 2017
A5: Yes, for business and personal accounts. Leaders in big orgs can be targeted by trolls, too – prep them! #SproutChat
— Meg Hogan (@meghogan0) August 9, 2017
A5: If you have multiple social media managers, yes. Including a guideline of steps to take would be so helpful for that. #SproutChat
— Mindvolt (@mindvolt) August 9, 2017
Be sure to join #SproutChat next Wednesday, Aug. 16, with our special guest, Sprout All Star Jasmin Bollman of Rebel.com, to chat about Social ROI. Until then, check out our Facebook community to connect with folks in the industry.