Ever worry about what bloggers might say about you or your company? Hopefully it is all good. But what could you do if someone posts a negative comment? What is your brand strategy for that?
I would recommend to all small business owners that they learn to embrace negative comments from bloggers. Before social media, theses conversations were only happening in offices, homes and public gatherings. Now we have the opportunity to know where they are, what is being said and are provided the ability to respond with our own commentary. Although negative posts never seem like a good thing, they are always good to know about and pose opportunity for those that are willing to take it. This leads to the first recommendation.
As a Seattle Brand Strategy Consultant, I see blogging and social networking as two of the most powerful and relatively inexpensive channels for small businesses to promote their brands. Together with SEO, Pay-Per-Click and PR opportunities, do-it-yourself marketing has skyrocketed to levels that were never before available to small businesses. However, with social media you have less control and greater risk. My thoughts are that a strong percentage of all publicity is good, as long as you have a strategy to handle the natural ups and downs. Without such a strategy, most marketers fear the lack of control, and they let it paralyze them from entering the game. If they had a strategy to handle the negative comments that will inevitably happen, they could much more clearly see the greater good that social media is providing them.
Marketing and managing brands online has become a must for every business, no matter what the size.
Learn more about the author, Steve MacDonald.
Here's to letting go of some control and being more courageous!
In Power vs. Force, David Hawkins talks about the increasing level of integrity in mass consciousness. Social media adds a bit of fuel to our personal and professional integrity. When our true purpose in life is reflected in our business, then the negative responses won't affect us much. But, as you note in #4, they can be a positive in guiding us toward deeper clarity.
Thanks for a clear and uplifting article Steve.
Pamela
Nicely done, Steve.
Chuck Dennis wrote an article on a similar vein about The Angry Customer.
You both make a solid point: negative feedback is still feedback and you're in control to determine how best to use the information to your advantage.
Joe
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I most prefer to moderate comments that are posted to my blog. If someone is simply being negative in an unconstructive fashion, I won't publish the comment!
That being said, I agree with your recommendation to use the situation as a credibility-booster. It's not often thought about, but how a person or company responds when things AREN'T going well is truly the mark of their character.
In this land of free speech, there's nothing you can do about what people say about you, especially on forums where the posts are anonymous. In my experience, these folks aren't especially interested in facts.
What you can do is to "live well as the best revenge," although I don't like the word revenge. Let's say, live well (and work well) as the best antidote to negative publicity. If you do, the positive reports you receive from satisfied customers, admirers, etc. will far outweigh the negative ones.
I moderate the comments on my blog so that no spam gets posted. I do, however, post, and address, most "negative" comments, which usually arrive in the form of challenging questions. While the questions may have a tone of 'tude, they deserve to be answered. Being able to handle pot-shots with grace, gratitude and honesty does wonders for my reputation, even while this was not apparently my critics; intention.
Receiving criticism is also an opportunity for self reflection. If it hurts they're right...but only according to us.
Thank you! Your article touches on the heart of the matter very nicely in several areas.
As human beings striving to succeed and be excellent in what we do, our first instinct is all too often to view any negative comments as something to be defended. When the criticisms are valid, taking that step back to evaluate the situation from an objective position provides an opportunity for growth and improvement, and to rise above.
In my experience, the faster a negative situation is turned into a learning experience to celebrate, the faster the situation gets turned around, improvements made if needed, and confidence restored.
As Carol said above, handling these situations with grace and dignity truly does do wonders for our reputations.
Excellent article on a topic that at some time or other does directly pertain to each of us. Thank you!
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