Recently, a blogger from Mashable came in to work to discuss (yep) blogging. It was going to be a ‘Blogging 101′ talk – a basic introduction as to how to start, the benefits, what you’ll encounter and so on. The conversation quickly became about why you should do it at all, stirred by concerns the audience had about negative interactions with commenters. Basically, the gist was that there are a lot of ridiculous people out there, and why engage with them?
It’s not just blogging where you’ll encounter this. It’s social media in general. To the same way you can post an article you’ve written on Facebook, people can post how they feel about it, too. PR disasters are based on these things, after all, and no one likes to be talked about in a bad way. But here’s the thing, and what everyone will tell you: these comments are going to exist with, or without you. You might as well be a part of that conversation.
Basically, you have to respond. If someone complains, ask them about it. If someone has a really strong objection to something that you’re saying, reiterate why you think the way you do. But be respectful about it. Responding doesn’t have to mean fighting. Here’s an example. Someone recently complained on Twitter that our product wasn’t working. It never sounds good when someone tells everyone, for the world to hear, that what you’re doing is broken. The response was “Thank you – we’re working on it” and I followed up with a direct message to ask more specifically what the problem was. I probably could have asked publicly, since they responded that the issue resolved itself. This person, the same who complained, has since become one of the most responsive to our tweets, – and positively! They’re using social media to engage, and since we’re active, too, it happened to be with us.
At the same time, you have to learn to let it go. This was one of the main points of the blogger that came to talk to us. Once you respond, and if the questions or comments can’t be resolved, you don’t have to hammer it to death. His point was that sometimes, commenters just like to have the last word. Personally, I think that most readers can tell when someone is being plain old ridiculous. If they lose their cool, and you don’t, that’s noticed. It makes their argument less effective. So have some faith in your readers, and in the online world in general. Just because a comment is negative, doesn’t mean it’s taken for the truth.
Finally, give yourself a little breathing room, too. You’ll read elsewhere in this blog that you should let things evolve, that you can and should learn from your own social media strategy and implementations. The same goes for commenting. Chances are, you’re not going to respond the right way all the time. That’s okay. You’re certainly not going to respond the right way by ignoring these things, so at least with the former option, you have room to grow.
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