Social media is a must for any entrepreneur and business today. Whether it is Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, entrepreneurs have a way to quickly and easily reach customers and potential customers. Despite the greatness that is social media for businesses, it has an unwanted problem that can drive entrepreneurs crazy. That problem all businesses have on social media is haters.
Haters can take all of the fun out of the work you do on social media. They can also turn potential customers, and even existing ones, against your products and services. So, how do you deal with individuals on social media who you will never meet in person, that want to sabotage your hard work?
- Respond Nicely
The first thing you may think to do is to block a hater on social media. That is certainly one way to deal with it. However, there may be a reason they are upset and it could a way to improve your business. Perhaps they ordered a product that was damaged when it arrived or a service wasn’t as described. This gives you the chance to follow up and find out the problem. By sending a nice reply back to them, you should encourage them to continue the conversation via email and off of social media. This is a great way to quell a problem or find a solution away from other social media followers.
- Delete and Block
Okay, there are some social media haters out there that only want to cause problems. Perhaps they are from or connected to a rival company and all they want to do is slam what you do on social media. You have responded to them nicely to find out the problem, but all the hater wants to do is insult your hard work for the world to see on social media. Simply delete their comments and block them from posting on your social media accounts. If the comments they posted are offensive and dangerous, then you should not hesitate to report them to the social media company in which the comments were posted on.
- Disable comments
YouTube is great because it allows you to disable comments. Rather than have haters post inappropriate comments about you or your videos, you can simply stop them from writing before they begin. Facebook and other social media websites allow you to moderate the comments before anyone else on your page sees them. This is the best way to ensure no rude or inappropriate comments are seen by others.
- Don’t take the bait
It happens too often that individuals are baited into a war of words with an individual on social media. This is one of the worst things you can do. So, before responding to them, think about the ramifications it is going to have on your business and possibly, your career.
- Trolls will be Trolls
The Internet gives billions of people a voice and completely nice people turn into jerks when they are behind a screenname and avatar. Keyboard warriors can cause a lot of harm, so just remember these individuals are often people complaining about something they don’t know or want to learn about. So, if trolls are making it difficult for your social media to reach the masses in a friendly manner, don’t hesitate to delete and block them.
