Tips for dealing with negative comments, trolls and a social media crises

Community Management

Tips for dealing with
negative comments, trolls
and a social media crises

Visual Jazz overview
• Established 10 years ago, now part of AEGIS network

• Base of 160+ people in Melbourne, Sydney & Canberra

• Working with the biggest digital advertisers in Australia

• Experienced in working with third party suppliers/partners on most clients

• All development capabilities in house while working with externals where required

• Full service digital agency
– Research, Strategy, Creative, Frontend development, Backend Development,
Testing, Analytics, Community Management

Source/credit: visual jazz

Some of our clients

Source/credit: visual jazz

Are you a community
manager?

Dealing with negative
comments?

Don’t worry… we all have at
one stage in dealing with
negative comments & trolls.

So how should you deal with
them?

Start by having a clearly
defined social media
engagement process.

Example Rules of Engagement

• Your silence is deafening.
• You must be listening.
• Set up alerts and RSS feeds,
subscribe to Radian6 or Spiral16
or some other listening software.
• Make it someone’s job to pay
attention.
• You do NOT want to be the last to
know when the social media
masses are trashing your brand.

Source/credit: David Amano’ Rules of Engagement

Next, have guidelines
defined on both your own
assets…

…and if engaging on assets
you don’t own, know those
guidelines as well.

Some good examples of
community guidelines…

Source/credit: whirlpoolforums

The first thing you should do
in addressing a negative
comment is…

Ask Yourself... Who Are They?

Learn what you can about them first

• Real name or alias? • Speaking about you on other platforms?
• Previously commented/engaged? • Location, occupation considerations?
• Existing/previous complaints? • Reporter? Blogger?
• Products/services with you? • Key influencer?
• Engaged with on other platforms?

• Google search is your friend for answering some of these questions

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, , Google

Remember according to
your rules of engagement,
you don’t need to respond
to everything.

Ignore the negative social media commenter

• Everyone will eventually get bored.
• Determine what’s there reasoning and
motivation?
• Use the “ignore but monitor” approach
when necessary.
• You don't need to respond to everyone
comment!

Source/credit: LOLcats, Laurel Papworth

However, without asking
yourself who they are first
and assessing the risk of
ignoring…

There may be times when
you wished you had
addressed them in the first
instance.

Ignored when you shouldn’t have:

Source/credit: dellhell.net


• Blogger Jeff Jarvis complains about laptop.
• Posts build momentum with others lodging
negative experiences.
• Began to catch the attention of the
mainstream media.
• Dell’s continued silence led to decrease in
sales and reputation.
• Despite the onslaught of bad press &
negative blogging, Dell remained silent...

Source/credit: dellhell.net,, https://learningspaces.njit.edu


• … until they launched Idea Storm

Source/credit: dellhell.net,, https://learningspaces.njit.edu

Next option…
Your house = Your rules.

Remove the comment, Ban the user
• Community trusts the moderators to keep
community safe and relatively free of
nastiness.

• “Freedom of speech belongs on their own
page, not yours!”

• Feel free to filter out – block or ban – those
who do not share the value systems of the
community.

• Used only as last resort.

Source/credit: LOLcats, Visual Jazz, Laurel Papworth

A negative comment is
usually a cry for help and for
more information. So…

Educate the disgruntled customer

Source/credit: zazzel.com.au

Educate the disgruntled customer

• Lets face it… sometimes the customer is wrong!

• Use every negative comment as an opportunity
to educate.

• Negative comments can be cry for help.

• Educating usually means educating in many
social networks.

• Stick to the facts.

Source/credit: Laurel Papworth, Visual Jazz

When they are wrong, don’t
be afraid to stand up and
fight for your right!

Stand up and Fight

• To be used when lots of education
is needed, or AstroTurfing is
leading to false artificial
information.
• Don’t be afraid to stand up and
fight for your right.
• You are allowed to defend yourself.
• The defence must be done in a
constructive way.

Source/credit: LOLcats, VisualJazz,

Stand up and Fight

• Young woman kicked of SouthWest flight for
disruptions.

• Went to media claiming cause it was cause
they were “prettier than the cabin crew”.

• Gained lots of media attention & social
interaction.

• SouthWest responded the next day with a
YouTube video.

• They educated people on situation and
actions.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, Southwest Airlines, YouTube, CBS News

Stand up and Fight
• Greenpeace produced a video campaigning
criticising Nestlé's use of palm oil from
unsustainable sources – the oil is used in several
Nestle products

• Nestlé's response was to persuade YouTube to
remove the video

• Cue a torrent of public criticism on Nestlé's
Facebook page.

• Nestle response on their Facebook page: “So, let's
see, we have to be well-mannered all the time but
it's perfectly acceptable to refer to us as everything
from idiots right the way down to sons of Satan?”

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, Nestle, thepowerofinfluence.typepad.com, ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com

Stand up and Fight (the wrong way)

From Nestlé's press release:
Nestlé recently undertook a
detailed review of its supply chain
to establish the source of its palm
oil supplies and we have made a
commitment to using only
"Certified Sustainable Palm Oil" by
2015 when sufficient quantities
should be available. As an
important step on that journey, a
number of Nestlé markets,
including Nestlé UK, have already
purchased Green Palm certificates,
the certificate trading programme
designed to help suppliers tackle
the environmental and social
problems created by the
production of palm oil.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, Nestle, thepowerofinfluence.typepad.com, ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com

Stand up and Fight – SideWays Automotive

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, Sideways Automotive Facebook

Deflecting to a more positive discussion

Source/credit: thepositiveyou.com

Toyota deflected to a more positive discussion

• In Jan 2010 Toyota had to recall 2.3 million vehicles
because of faulty accelerator pedals.

• Toyota was trending on Google and Twitter on a
daily basis, but for the wrong reasons.

• Toyota used Digg to engage people and let them ask
questions to Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s North
American sales operation.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, http://www.imanetwork.org

Toyota deflected to a more positive discussion

• 3,200 questions were asked.

• The questions, which were voted on by fans (the ones with the most votes rose to
the top) were answered in a series of online videos, getting 1.2 million views in a
week.

• YouGov brand index shows Toyota recovered Brand perception in only a few
months.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, http://www.imanetwork.org

When you’ve really messed
up big time…

Confess All and Beg Forgiveness
• Admit when you’re wrong.

• Also consider any liability concerns.

• Only use it when you really screw up big time.

• Nothing wrong with timely apologies, good
explanations and asking for patience.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, Laurel Papworth, Shrek 2

• "BP" AND "oil spill" By-the-Numbers

• 9,133 blog mentions

• 23,212 Tweets

• 49.5 million Twitter impressions

Source/credit: CBSnews, BP, socialmediatoday.com, www.briansolis.com/2010/07/oil-spill.

• Complaint about the T-shirt on popular
parenting blog Mamamia sparked email and
Twitter campaign against Cotton On Kids.

• A spokeswoman was not immediately available.

• Private email response published on blog, saying
"intentionally edgy and irreverent and are
certainly not meant to be taken seriously".

• Generated #cottononaresick hashtag, over 23
pages of blog comments, infiltrated many online
forums including Essential Baby.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, CottonOn, Mamamia.com


• The Australian reported Cotton On’s apology
and promise to withdraw the shirts .

• Cotton On Twitter account stopped usual
promotional giveaways during crises.

• Recognised how quickly the situation can turn
from a blog post into a media scram.

• The initial response backlashed, and the issue
grew with several Twitter users creating and
linking to a hashtag about the shirt. .

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, CottonOn, Mamamia.com

Legal action (or the threat
of) can be good… and bad…

Cease and desist orders

visualjazz
Source/credit: Visual Jazz, LOLcats.com

• 2 men created a fake (but deceivingly genuine) VWE
commercial. The ad showed a terrorist blowing
himself up, but not his target as the car was built
tough.

• VW had the option to sue them, or at least threaten
to sue them.

• Volkswagen threatened legal action against the
mystery duo who made the controversial suicide
bomber short film that apparently shows an Arab
blowing himself up in a Polo car.

• Makers then revealed themselves and intentions
whilst VW were able to distance themselves.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, VW, YouTube

• Use your social media monitoring tools to track
how viral content is spreading and at what
rate.

• Is any publicity really good publicity?

• Think about the real damage the content is
doing to your brand.

• Skittles had the option to take legal action
against a team who made a fake tasteless ad
featuring their product, but didn’t as it was
free publicity.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, Skittles

• Incorrect / defamatory comments were on the forum
Whirlpool about 2Clix in 2007.

• 2Clix sued for $150,000 (plus costs), and demanded that
two forum threads be removed from the site because it
allowed statements "relating to the Plaintiff and its
software product that are both false and malicious" to be Vs.
published on the Whirlpool forums.

• Drew more attention to comments and support from
community to hep fund Whirlpool's legal costs

• If a comment is negative and incorrect, address it
publically.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, 2Clix, Whirlpool, Laurel Papworth

Make a mistake, then own it
and wear it!

Own It and Wear It.
• Charlie Sheen #winning

• Charlie called FourSquare users “Douchebags” for updating Twitter & Facebook
with their location.

• Foursquare brought out the much sought-after Douchebag badge.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, FourSquare, Laurel Papworth

Using humour to deal with
negative comments?

Use of Humour

Source/credit: Chris Madden

Use of Humour – someone calling out your
spelling mistake…

Source/credit: Jetstar Airways, Visual Jazz

Use of Humour – why not have a bit of fun with
the response?

Source/credit: Jetstar Airways, Visual Jazz

Critics Vs. Trolls

Critics:
• May hurt a brand’s image by filling a page wall with
negative assessments of brand, products, or services.
• Can be difficult to identify and manage.
• They can veer between being your biggest fan to most
outspoken naysayer.

Trolls:
• Differ from critics in by usually having no actual interest
in the brand’s products and services.
• Only desire to cause problems.
• Trolls consistently post inflammatory, negative and
disruptive messages.
• Sole intent of provoking an emotional reaction among
the other members of your community.

Source/credit: www.allfacebook.com

troll

Source/credit: theawesomer.com

Caring for your Troll
• Ask yourself what their motivations are?

• Ask yourself who they are?

• Remove/moderator if required/can.

• Respond as to why it’s been moderated.

• Private message/ outreach when/where you can.

• Refer to community guidelines.

• Check for mentions on other
communities/websites.

• Don’t be afraid to take offline and engage via
phone/email.

Source/credit: www.allfacebook.com, chimpsanctuarynw.org

Taking it offline and going to the phone

• Prepare before phone call and map out certain
scenarios and actions.

• Be prepared with the facts.

• Community Manager may have the written
word, but not have the gift of the gab.

• Work with complaints teams / PR/ Spokespeople
if and when you need to.

Source/credit: www.allfacebook.com, chimpsanctuarynw.org

Crises

Source/credit: Visual Jazz,

What’s a crises?


What’s a Social Media Crises?

A social media crisis is a crisis issue
that arises in or is amplified by social
media, and results in negative
mainstream media coverage, a
change in business process, or
financial loss.

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/. Jeremiah Owyang

Preparing for a crisis – LISTEN!
• Your silence can be deafening. You must be
listening.

• Set up alerts and RSS feeds, subscribe to Radian6
or Spiral16 or some other listening software.

• Make it someone’s job to pay attention.

• You do NOT want to be the last to know when the
social media masses are trashing your brand.

Source/credit: elderholbrook.blogspot.comVisual Jazz

Crises are on the rise!


Crises on the rise…

• Level 1 is for crises that
result in negative
coverage in mainstream
media;

result in negative
coverage in mainstream
media, and a significant
response or change by
the company; and

result in short-term
financial impact


…and are caused by…


Causes of Social Media Crises

• 76% of these crises
could have been
prevented or
diminished had the
brand been prepared
and had proper
training, staff, and
processes to respond


Crises don’t often originate
from Twitter & Facebook…
but rather…


Platforms in which Social Media Crises Originate

• Consider if commentary
spills across multi channels.

• Does your response differ
across different channels?

• Do you prioritise?

• Do you try to drive
customers to one channel?


Do you have a social media
escalation plan in place?


Companies with a formalised social media crises
escalation plan (by social business maturity level)

Code


Create a tiered escalation process to suit your organisation

• Identify :
– Roles – Risk assessment check list
– Responsibilities – Codes
– Time frames – Process for each Code

• Stick to it

Source/credit: Visual Jazz

How else can you prepare
for a crises?


Preparing for a crisis - Do Fire Drills
• Most companies have not yet identified their
communication protocols.

• Who in your company is in charge of identifying the
problem?

• Who do they call? Who needs to be alerted?

• Develop a process that includes alerts lists and
procedures

• Commit to having that plan within a month.

• Don’t be afraid to practice with fake/mock-up content.

Source/credit: School.discoveryeducation.com, Visual Jazz

How quickly can you create
content?


Preparing for a crisis – Ability to Create

• Be prepared to make and launch content in a variety
of formats and circumstances.

• Who can create a YouTube video and how quickly?

• Can you get an emergency Twitter account set up?
Who would do that?

• Can you make a blog post? A podcast? A photo
gallery?

• Unlike traditional crisis management requiring
procedures for press conferences and written
releases, in social media you have to be ready to
make multi-media content.


Top 10 tips for managing a
social media crises…


10 Tips for managing a crises like this…

1. Brief management. Approved 6. Offer community what they are looking
actions/solutions. for.

2. Quickly identify common queries. 7. Use “We” and make the fan feel part of
it.
3. Prepare and resource up.
8. Avoid censorship where possible.
4. Use alerts and notifications.
9. Don’t take it personally.
5. Maintain Personalisation in
responses. 10. Make the community participate
(allow time for them to respond first).

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, Jetstar Australia

Remember…


…But it’s how you then
respond that matters.


Summary…

Negative Commends • Stand up and Fight
• Defining Rules of Engagement • Confess All and Beg Forgiveness
• Have Community guidelines • Threaten legal action
• Prepare by listening • Own It and Wear It.
• Ask Yourself, Who Are They? • Use of Humour
• Learn what you can about them first Trolls
• Don’t be affriad to ignore and not • Who? Why? What?
engage • Taking It Offline And Going To The
• ... but know when to. Phone
• Educate the disgruntled customer Crises
• Deflect to a more positive discussion • Create a tiered escalation process
• Remove the comment, Ban the • Do Fire Drills
commenter • Prepare to Create
• Invest in a good on-site coffee machine

Source/credit: Visual Jazz, Jetstar Australia

Tips for dealing with negative comments, trolls and a social media crises

Tips for dealing with negative comments, trolls and a social media crises

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