I am a blogger, I write for a community and I am very passionate about it like all bloggers. We give our day and night; we keep on writing day after day, check the Google analytics and frown at it. With all this, one comment on our blog makes our day. Rational comments on any post just make me think that I can one day compete with Chris Brogan. But hold on, what if the comment is a negative comment. How do you react to it? Obviously it’s your space but readers are like your customers and they are the KING too. The whole scenario remains the same when the blog represents the face of a brand. This was one of the points of discussions in the weekly #blogchat. I am listing some of the simple ways a blogger can handle such situations maturely.
Don’t delete it
Don’t blunder by deleting a negative comment. You have a public blog and by deleting a negative comment you show that you are immature. If you go on top of the sky with a positive comment then have a heart to take negative comments. There is a whole bunch of readers who may like a view point or may not like so accept the fact and be ready to face it. If it’s a blog that represents a brand then it becomes even more important. So don’t panic, don’t delete it; reply to it and show courage.
Reply to the Negative Comment
Replying to a comment in a blog is a must as it’s a way of appreciation for your readers who have taken the pain to do so. In the wake of negative comments, you should be the first one to reply. Understand the point of the commenter and draft your reply in response to it. Replying to a negative comment is a must as it proves two points. One that you appreciate all kinds of feedback and second that you stand for the views expressed by you on the blog.
Justify but don’t fight
Replying is supporting your viewpoints but don’t fight as it will spoil your brand image online. There could be situations when there will be a difference in point of view. So keep your ego aside and think from all aspects. It’s always better to keep a low tone; it doesn’t prove that you are weak. For brands, this is a must since a small wrong move can spoil its hard earned online reputation.
Have a Comment Policy
Having a comment policy is appreciated in the blogging community. We don’t have one yet on our blog but if you are a brand, then having a comment policy will really help. Lot of websites and blogs have a comment policy. One another way of handling negative comments is by moderating comments before they get published. Define your set of rules and you can publish that for your audiences so that they are aware of it.
Taking it Offline
Most of the time when negative comments become serious especially for brands then it’s always good to connect with the commenter offline. This should be one more way to solve the problem and not to suppress the issue. Make sure the customer is approached in due time and decent efforts are shown to solve the problem. This is a great way to control a brand’s image from getting more spoiled.
These are some of the ways in which I handle a negative comment on our blog. What do you do?
This
How To Handle Negative Comments On Your Blog
You Need to Handle this
I am a blogger, I write for a community and I am very passionate about it like all bloggers. We give our day and night; we keep on writing day after day, check the Google analytics and frown at it. With all this, one comment on our blog makes our day. Rational comments on any post just make me think that I can one day compete with Chris Brogan. But hold on, what if the comment is a negative comment. How do you react to it? Obviously it’s your space but readers are like your customers and they are the KING too. The whole scenario remains the same when the blog represents the face of a brand. This was one of the points of discussions in the weekly #blogchat. I am listing some of the simple ways a blogger can handle such situations maturely.
Don’t delete it
Don’t blunder by deleting a negative comment. You have a public blog and by deleting a negative comment you show that you are immature. If you go on top of the sky with a positive comment then have a heart to take negative comments. There is a whole bunch of readers who may like a view point or may not like so accept the fact and be ready to face it. If it’s a blog that represents a brand then it becomes even more important. So don’t panic, don’t delete it; reply to it and show courage.
Reply to the Negative Comment
Replying to a comment in a blog is a must as it’s a way of appreciation for your readers who have taken the pain to do so. In the wake of negative comments, you should be the first one to reply. Understand the point of the commenter and draft your reply in response to it. Replying to a negative comment is a must as it proves two points. One that you appreciate all kinds of feedback and second that you stand for the views expressed by you on the blog.
Justify but don’t fight
Keep It Cool
Replying is supporting your viewpoints but don’t fight as it will spoil your brand image online. There could be situations when there will be a difference in point of view. So keep your ego aside and think from all aspects. It’s always better to keep a low tone; it doesn’t prove that you are weak. For brands, this is a must since a small wrong move can spoil its hard earned online reputation.
Have a Comment Policy
Having a comment policy is appreciated in the blogging community. We don’t have one yet on our blog but if you are a brand, then having a comment policy will really help. Lot of websites and blogs have a comment policy. One another way of handling negative comments is by moderating comments before they get published. Define your set of rules and you can publish that for your audiences so that they are aware of it.
Taking it Offline
Most of the time when negative comments become serious especially for brands then it’s always good to connect with the commenter offline. This should be one more way to solve the problem and not to suppress the issue. Make sure the customer is approached in due time and decent efforts are shown to solve the problem. This is a great way to control a brand’s image from getting more spoiled.
These are some of the ways in which I handle a negative comment on our blog. What do you do?