How to Reply to Social Media Comments?
Is it important to reply to comments on social media?
Replying to social media comments should be a key element of your social media marketing strategy.
Interacting with your audience through social comments is an effective way to connect with your target market. By providing great customer service through social comments, you retain existing customers and win new ones.
Should you reply to everything and everyone?
The short answer is yes. And no. If your company gets thousands of comments every day, it’s impossible to answer everyone. You should try to interact with your followers as much as you can, which will inevitably look different depending on where you work. If your social media marketing page(s) is/are smaller and you only get a few comments here and there, then yes, you should definitely answer all of them. This will make your followers feel included and valued and will encourage them, as well as others, to engage more in the future.
5 Do’s of Responding to Comments on Your Brand’s Social Media
Do respond in a timely manner
By responding relatively soon you are showing your followers (your potential, past, and current customers) that you care about them and value what they have to say.
Keeping conversations going means keeping the community you’re trying to foster around your brand going.
Do monitor ALL of your comments (the good, the bad, and the ugly)
People can be quite kind, but they can also be unbearably cruel; it’s the internet after all!
The trick is to react calmly and coolly to the cruel and to acknowledge and celebrate the kind.
Using the like method above can be a great way to show kind users you appreciate their thoughts.
Do respond to ALL of your negative comments.
Responding to negative comments is important.
Deleting or ignoring negative feedback reflects poorly on your brand.
If you don’t address negative comments on your social media, your followers will start to assume your digital business is not able to handle criticism
Do encourage negative commentators to continue the conversation in private
When you respond to a negative comment, try to encourage the user to transition the conversation to a more private place, like in the direct messages of the social network the negative comment came from or via a support email address.
Do present a professional front
Stay calm and collected.
Monitoring and engaging with your comments will earn your brand a reputation with your followers.
5 Don’ts of Responding to Comments
Don’t ignore “small” problems
Unanswered comments will give your business a reputation for bad customer service, and potentially lose you business.
Don’t lose your cool
The saying “the customer is always right” should always apply in your response to negative social media comments.
If you or whoever’s assigned to currently respond to social comments get frustrated easily, you should introduce another intermediary employee who can better represent your business and your digital brand voice.
Don’t delete comments.
Deleting comments make it look like your brand doesn’t care, is wrong in the situation, or it has something to hide.
Don’t make the same generic response to every comment
People will catch on if you respond with the same line to EVERY single comment.
Once people start noticing that unhappy comments receive the same message in reply, it will only make your company seem insincere and inauthentic.
Don’t be afraid to make comments personal
Have a few standard lines to initiate with, but don’t be afraid to personalize your responses to the unique comment’s content and user. While some companies may want to keep a strict brand tone, social media requires socialization, which requires human interaction.