Be Proactive in your Social Media Response

Be Proactive

It is extremely important for companies to respond to their customers on social media. One of the main purposes of social media for businesses is to be able to connect to their customers. This means commenting on both negative and positive posts. By being proactive instead of defensive in your social media response, you will retain those relationships.

Defensive Social Media Response

In 2017 when they were more active of social media, Johnson’s Baby had a very defensive social media response. That means that they would respond to negative comments on posts without actually answering the issue addressed. By handling an issue that affects all customers by only talking to one, they open the door for more negative comments.

Example

In the post above, there were comments made referring to a lawsuit in 2013. Johnson’s baby only responded to a single individual and let many others continue to comment similar things. They were being defensive, and did not want to face the issue head on. To be more proactive, they could have posted about changes they would make based on customer concerns. They could have also made a post asking for feedback on their products to make changes.

Proactive Social Media Response

Being proactive on social media is stopping the negative response at its source. Keep an open dialogue with customers, so when there is an issue, it can be solved. Address any negative comments with the individual, and if the situation effects multiple people, own the issue. By owning the issue and posting about it on your social media you show that you want to fix it. It will make it more difficult for others to post negative comments when it is something you are addressing, and in the process of changing.

Example

Colourpop Cosmetics closed their facilities in the beginning of the pandemic which delayed many orders. When they reopened customers were frustrated with shipping times in the comments of some posts. To be proactive Colourpop posted this story that highlighted the reasons why shipping will be delayed to avoid further negative comments.

Be Real

Customers appreciated knowing that there is a real person behind the screen that is responding to comments. Responding to both negative and positive comments is essential to fostering a good customer relationship. By being proactive, you can target an issue before it spreads instead of letting it get bigger.