Dealing with 'Social' Evils
Negative comments on social media are inevitable, but can be tactfully dealt with.
- Mar 31, 2016,
- Updated Mar 31, 2016 2:34 PM IST
Social media is a good platform to express views, counter opinions and provide feedback. But not all comments posted by users on a company's Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages are complimentary. Those that are to the contrary-if not handled with maturity - have a tendency to morph from a trickle into a flood, within a matter of hours.
So what should you, as a company, do when faced with those not-so-flattering comments on your pages? If you think ignoring negative comments is the best way out, you are being an ostrich. "Deleting these comments is not the solution. If a consumer can complain once, he or she can complain again, and the next one may be worse," says Namrata Balwani, the Delhi head of customer engagement agency OgilvyOne Worldwide.
That is what happened with the American food spreads company Smucker's. It was being criticised on social media for its stance against labelling of genetically modified organisms on the product labels. The situation got far worse when the company started deleting negative comments from its Facebook page. Social media platform Crowdbabble reported that amidst the controversy in November 2014, its Facebook page got 750 likes/comments per post, as against the usual 98. It was just the wrong way to attract attention, however.
Recently, FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever's beverage brand Lipton Green Tea found itself in the midst of a controversy when a user claimed that there were live worms in the green tea bags. The Facebook video fetched 8.8 million views and several comments from users who were convinced that there were worms. In response, the company posted a video three days later stating that the so- called 'worms' were lemon-flavoured pieces. The company replied in an e-mail: "The priority was to dispel the misconceptions created as a result of this video and provide a response to consumers to set the record straight".
Ambi Parameswaran, adviser at FCB Ulka Advertising says it is critical to "listen to what people are saying about your company and competitors on social media." He suggests that companies set up digital listening rooms to capture the buzz on social media related to their industry or company. A quick response implies that you care about consumers and value their opinion.
Balwani observes that personalised messages, rather than automated messages, are effective. Companies can equip their social media teams with enough information in the form of FAQs, so as to provide constructive responses instead of replying with, "I'll get back to you". After the initial reply, take the conversation offline as quickly as possible. This ensures that the incident does not become a public debacle, says Balwani. However, once the issue is closed, companies should clarify on the initial post that the issue has been resolved as per the person's satisfaction, and close the loop. "A closing statement shows that you attended to the customer and that you value customer service," she adds.
The tact is in using these negative comments to your advantage. E-commerce marketplace Groupon's Facebook page recorded a swarm of comments, most of which were double entendres, when it posted a link to a product called 'Banana Bunker'. The company took the jokes in its stride and replied to each one with hilarious and innocuous remarks. The customers had a hearty laugh and the product got sold out in a short period of time.
Turn the disgruntled customer into a delighted one. And you may win several brand advocates for free!
Listening Post
Most Eligible
Tinder has released a list of professions that get most right-swiped on its app in India. According to the dating app, men who are founders or owners, managing directors or directors, and architects, and women who are general managers, founders or owners and executive assistants are most right-swiped on Tinder. Some other popular professions in the men's list include project manager, consultant, financial analyst, software developer and photographer. The women's list includes jobs such as a registered nurse, lawyer, accountant and flight attendant. The list was compiled based on the occupations of user profiles that received the highest ratio of right swipes over the past three months. In February, Tinder had released a similar list for the US. Pilot, entrepreneur and fire fighter emerged as the most right-swiped professions for men; as for women, the top three professions in the US are physical therapist, interior designer and entrepreneur.
New & Improved
Google Photos has added several new updates to its iOS app. The app now supports viewing of Live Photos, has enabled improved navigation and has added the Split View feature. It also supports reduced cache usage when the device is low on space. Users can now store Live Photos on their Google app and view them. Live Photos is a feature available on some of the newer versions of iPhone in which, besides the still photo, the 'before and after' actions are also captured. Using Spilt View, users can see photos on iPads while sharing the screen with other apps. The app now also supports the native resolution of iPad Pro.
Digital Dashboard
Speaking Up
Adults who regularly express and discuss their opinions about current events online
Social media is a good platform to express views, counter opinions and provide feedback. But not all comments posted by users on a company's Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages are complimentary. Those that are to the contrary-if not handled with maturity - have a tendency to morph from a trickle into a flood, within a matter of hours.
So what should you, as a company, do when faced with those not-so-flattering comments on your pages? If you think ignoring negative comments is the best way out, you are being an ostrich. "Deleting these comments is not the solution. If a consumer can complain once, he or she can complain again, and the next one may be worse," says Namrata Balwani, the Delhi head of customer engagement agency OgilvyOne Worldwide.
That is what happened with the American food spreads company Smucker's. It was being criticised on social media for its stance against labelling of genetically modified organisms on the product labels. The situation got far worse when the company started deleting negative comments from its Facebook page. Social media platform Crowdbabble reported that amidst the controversy in November 2014, its Facebook page got 750 likes/comments per post, as against the usual 98. It was just the wrong way to attract attention, however.
Recently, FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever's beverage brand Lipton Green Tea found itself in the midst of a controversy when a user claimed that there were live worms in the green tea bags. The Facebook video fetched 8.8 million views and several comments from users who were convinced that there were worms. In response, the company posted a video three days later stating that the so- called 'worms' were lemon-flavoured pieces. The company replied in an e-mail: "The priority was to dispel the misconceptions created as a result of this video and provide a response to consumers to set the record straight".
Ambi Parameswaran, adviser at FCB Ulka Advertising says it is critical to "listen to what people are saying about your company and competitors on social media." He suggests that companies set up digital listening rooms to capture the buzz on social media related to their industry or company. A quick response implies that you care about consumers and value their opinion.
Balwani observes that personalised messages, rather than automated messages, are effective. Companies can equip their social media teams with enough information in the form of FAQs, so as to provide constructive responses instead of replying with, "I'll get back to you". After the initial reply, take the conversation offline as quickly as possible. This ensures that the incident does not become a public debacle, says Balwani. However, once the issue is closed, companies should clarify on the initial post that the issue has been resolved as per the person's satisfaction, and close the loop. "A closing statement shows that you attended to the customer and that you value customer service," she adds.
The tact is in using these negative comments to your advantage. E-commerce marketplace Groupon's Facebook page recorded a swarm of comments, most of which were double entendres, when it posted a link to a product called 'Banana Bunker'. The company took the jokes in its stride and replied to each one with hilarious and innocuous remarks. The customers had a hearty laugh and the product got sold out in a short period of time.
Turn the disgruntled customer into a delighted one. And you may win several brand advocates for free!
Listening Post
Most Eligible
Tinder has released a list of professions that get most right-swiped on its app in India. According to the dating app, men who are founders or owners, managing directors or directors, and architects, and women who are general managers, founders or owners and executive assistants are most right-swiped on Tinder. Some other popular professions in the men's list include project manager, consultant, financial analyst, software developer and photographer. The women's list includes jobs such as a registered nurse, lawyer, accountant and flight attendant. The list was compiled based on the occupations of user profiles that received the highest ratio of right swipes over the past three months. In February, Tinder had released a similar list for the US. Pilot, entrepreneur and fire fighter emerged as the most right-swiped professions for men; as for women, the top three professions in the US are physical therapist, interior designer and entrepreneur.
New & Improved
Google Photos has added several new updates to its iOS app. The app now supports viewing of Live Photos, has enabled improved navigation and has added the Split View feature. It also supports reduced cache usage when the device is low on space. Users can now store Live Photos on their Google app and view them. Live Photos is a feature available on some of the newer versions of iPhone in which, besides the still photo, the 'before and after' actions are also captured. Using Spilt View, users can see photos on iPads while sharing the screen with other apps. The app now also supports the native resolution of iPad Pro.
Digital Dashboard
Speaking Up
Adults who regularly express and discuss their opinions about current events online