One of the most common concerns for businesses thinking of embracing social media is what they should do if someone attacks them on their page. I always advise that you should put together a crisis management plan when you set on the path of social media and this should form part of the social media policy within your organisation.
Even if you are a small business it’s worth putting together guidelines for yourself on how you should manage negative feedback within your Social Media strategy.
Within BT’s social media policy is the following statement that I think is excellent advice for anyone:
Keep calm: don’t pick fights by escalating heated discussions but be conciliatory, respectful and quote facts to lower the temperature and correct misrepresentations. Never contribute to a discussion if you are angry … leave it, calm down, and return to it at a later date when you can contribute in a calm and rational manner.
When thinking about how to manage a crisis it’s worth considering how some other businesses have dealt well or not so well when something has gone wrong.
Nestle
Dominos Pizza
