Social media has been an amazing platform for businesses across the board. From building brand awareness to obtaining user-generated content, social media is one of the greatest ways to reach your targeted audience.

However, every now and then, feathers get ruffled and “the disgruntled” take to social media. Social sites like Yelp and Facebook make leaving feedback and reviews easy. While businesses can (and should be) confident in their products and services, what their consumers say and how it’s responded to is a massive responsibility.

Positive reviews are certainly a welcomed pat on the back, but what should a business do when they receive negative feedback on social media?

Don’t ignore it.

“Problems only get solved when you stop ignoring them.” - Unknown

Acknowledging and responding to negative feedback is the single most important rule of managing your social media. When a business ignores the feedback they receive, or worse yet, deletes it, they’re not resolving the problem at hand.

As we all know, what’s on the internet is there forever. Chances are, feedback posted online has already been seen by others. When negative criticism or reviews are deleted, it only promotes another negative comment and an even more upset customer.

When handled properly, responding to negative feedback can prove trust and loyalty to their customers.

Respond quickly.

The longer negative feedback sits unattended, the more a customer’s frustration festers. When possible, respond within an hour of receiving the comments. Shockingly, six percent of consumers expect a response time of ten minutes.

Be human.

Consumers want to converse with a human, not a robot. When replying to feedback with a canned response, it shows a lack of sincerity and understanding.

Be honest in your response. Avoid being hostile or combative, own up to the fault if it is yours, and offer a solution with a genuine apology.

Better yet, respond online in addition to offering up a phone call to personally resolve the issue.

Separate your feelings.

It’s hard to not take negative feedback personally. However, it’s important to separate your personal feelings with the matter at hand. Defending your business in a polite way is perfectly fine when you feel the customer is wrong, but being personally defensive will only fuel the fire. It’s best to accept such feedback as a learning experience and a way to grow in the future.

Does the idea of negative feedback on social media worry you? When you team up with a professional social media manager like us, we can help your business develop a plan we hope you’ll never have to use.