Managing Negative Mentions
Social Media Strategies for Effective Management of Negative Comments and Reviews
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In today's digital age, social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their audience, build their brand, and increase their online presence.
However, with the benefits of social media come its pitfalls. Negative comments and reviews on social media can damage business reputation, discourage potential customers, and ultimately hurt an organisations bottom line.
In this article, we will explore the prevalence of negative online mentions and provide practical tips on how organisations can effectively deal with negative comments and reviews on social media to protect their brand and maintain their online reputation.
Social media marketing has become an essential tool for businesses across all industries, including manufacturing, engineering and heavy industries. Social media platforms offer numerous benefits, such as increased brand awareness, website traffic, lead generation, sales, and the promotion of content, which can help these businesses to showcase their work, achievements, products, projects, employees and to attract new audiences (for more information on these benefits read our article 'Leveraging the Power of Social Media in Manufacturing, Engineering and Heavy Industries' (1)).
However, negative comments and reviews on social media are a common barrier to adoption.
“According to a survey conducted by Yellow (2), 22% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) listed negative comments and reviews as their greatest frustration with social media. This concern is not unfounded, as Review Trackers found, in their 2022 report, that 94% of consumers say a bad review has convinced them to avoid a business (3). ”
According to Mention (4), a social monitoring and listening software provider, out of over 2 billion mentions analysed on behalf of their clients, only 6.4% were negative, 6.51% were positive, and 87.09% were neutral. These ratios have remained relatively stable since 2013, with negative mentions slightly increasing over time. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the majority of online mentions are actually neutral.
Organisations can manage negative online comments and reviews across three phases:
Setting up social media platforms and company procedures
Monitoring online comments and reviews
Assessing and responding to negative complaints and reviews
The flowchart below outlines these three phases and the steps organisations can take at each phase.
Diagram: Flowchart for Handling Negative Online Mentions
Negative online reviews
Negative online reviews are treated similarly to negative comments, although you may not be able to delete a negative review. According to Review Trackers (3), 88% of online reviews come from four sites: Google (73%), Yelp (6%), Facebook (3%), and Tripadvisor (3%). You can respond to reviews using the same principles as negative comments or, if needed, you can ask these sites to remove negative, fake or inappropriate reviews. You will need to report the review to the platform in the first instance. Not all platforms will agree to take down a negative review. If that is the case, third-party organisations such as netreputation.com (6) may be able to assist.
Data from Review Trackers (3) found that '53% of customers expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week'. They also found that 'responsive industry leaders get higher ratings and that faster review response times are closely linked to having a positive reputation'.
At the end of this document is a table highlighting social media channel features for managing negative mentions including relevant links for each platform.
There are benefits from handling complaints and negative reviews well. Nick Nunley sums it up well in his article '5 Do’s When Responding to Negative Comments'(7), ‘When you deal with complaints effectively, disgruntled customers will tell their friends how awesome your company is and what great customer service you offer. And they’ll encourage their friends to buy from you. They have now become an evangelist for your brand. Talk about powerful (and don't forget, free) marketing! You’ve established brand loyalty and trust to a greater degree than you would’ve had if there had never been a complaint.
Just remember that no matter how perfect you try making your brand look, mistakes happen, customers get upset and complain. With the growth of social media nowadays your customers now expect to be able to lodge these complaints and get resolutions via social media. Think of it as an opportunity to prove how great your company is – or not. The choice is yours.’
By implementing effective social media strategies and taking a proactive approach to managing negative comments and reviews, businesses can protect their reputation and increase their online presence. By promptly addressing negative feedback with transparency and professionalism, organisations can demonstrate their commitment to customer satisfaction and build trust with their audience. Don't let negative comments hold you back from reaping the benefits of social media marketing – take action and establish a strong online presence today.
Social Media Channel Features for Managing Negative Mentions (Click here for interactive version)
Sources
https://shirleygraysocial.com.au/socialindustry
https://www.yellow.com.au/social-media-report/
https://www.reviewtrackers.com/reports/online-reviews-survey/
https://mention.com/en/blog/social-media-mentions-analysis/
https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/trolling
https://www.netreputation.com/negative-review-online/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-dos-when-responding-negative-comments-nick-nunley/
For a PDF version of this article click here.