**If you’re considering using social media for your business, the question mark probably lies over the impact it will have on your brand.**
The presence and immediacy of social media is one of its biggest selling points. It’s a brilliant platform to broadcast your message to potentially limitless followers. And best of all, it’s completely free. Sound good? It is…
But its blessing can also be its curse, for freedom of speech allows anyone to spread possibly harmful messages about your brand across the internet. And what if followers put negative comments on your posts? A question we are regularly faced with from clients.
Before you start running for the hills, just remember that having a social media presence won’t be the cause of hostility towards your brand. In fact, people are free to pass comment on your company whether you use social media or not. Take Ryanair for example. They’ve long been the subject of complaints on Twitter, despite only opening their own Twitter account a few months ago!
So whether your (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/social-media-advertising-tips/ text: business has a social media account) or not, it won’t either start, or stop dissatisfied customers. What it does give you though is a right to respond.
How you respond to messages on social media will go a long way towards how your brand is perceived online, so it’s important to get it right. Here are our tips for a successful social media response.
**Take the Complaint Offline**
Twitter has quickly become a place for wronged customers to air their complaints – and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. But don’t let it prevent you from having a Twitter presence. It’s how you deal with the complaint that counts.
If someone complains on your Twitter page, you should attempt to take them offline to deal with the complaint as quickly as possible. Post a friendly reply that acknowledges their complaint, regardless of its nature, and give them the contact details for your customer services team. Keep it friendly and personal, and avoid stock messages.
**Be Professional**
It can be tricky to decide whether to take a serious or light hearted approach to your company’s social media accounts. Whichever you choose, remember to (link: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tR_uAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=remain+professional+business+social+media&source=bl&ots=0X9gwfxXZj&sig=V0X3W05DQzw1MNArYSd0xaSEq8U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3r0hU7dZxpKFB_3ogcAG&ved=0CGQQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=remain%20professional%20business%20social%20media&f=false text: remain professiona)l at all times, regardless of what others may say about your company online.
It’s possible to be light-hearted and professional at the same time (if anything, this is the best way to be), but to do this you need to be confident that your social media managers are able to offer a consistent tone of voice across all of your online communications. By remaining professional in the face of hostility, your brand can even end up looking better as a result of the situation.
**Follow Up Comments**
There will be occasions where good customer service can rescue even the worst situations. If you get a complaint from somebody on your social media account but your customer service leaves them feeling positive about your company, try and get them to return and leave a complimentary message about you. This will encourage other followers and potential customers to trust your company and feel confident about buying your products or services.
Both the best and worst thing about social media is the freedom or speech. In business, you will always have to deal with the feedback of customers, competitors and critics – good and bad. Social media simply gives you a platform to respond and represent your brand.