Social media has revolutionised how businesses communicate with consumers. The internet has also made it very easy for customers to learn more about the reputation of companies before they choose to work with them by doing some simple searching. Building your online presence is very important but you need to remember that any good work you do can be compromised by bad reviews, negative feedback or the wrong choice of posts.
With social media the first thing to consider is what you should and shouldn’t be posting. Your posts must be well written, well informed and grab attention for the right reasons. Take care with every single post and double check everything before it goes out. Engaging the services of social media professionals is a great idea and will ensure you stay on top of everything, with regular posts.
Mistakes can happen with any social media campaign, but it is possible to recover from almost any faux pas you may make. Think carefully, discuss the problem with your team and come up with a suitable solution. What works for one company won’t work for everybody and your response will depend on the context and the situation. Make sure you take care to remove any scheduled posts so you have the chance to create a statement before you post anything else.
Issuing a statement and explaining is important and lets you take ownership of the problem. Remember every response needs to be delivered in a calm, cool and professional manner.
When responding it is important to be honest rather than trying to make excuses. This will be appreciated by customers. Your response needs to be clear and precise; you should also take the chance to reaffirm the values and beliefs of your brand.
Whenever you prepare a post you need to remember to:
- Use your best judgement and avoid any topics that could cause contention.
- Remember that things come across differently on the internet than in face to face conversations.
- Proofread everything to make sure there are no spelling or grammatical issues.
- Check links and make sure you use them appropriately.
- Fashion the posts to make sure they are suitable for the platform you are using.
- Don’t rush with the post; take time to get it right and make sure it goes down in the right way.