Yesterday I attended the Wells Fargo, Technology & Your Business webcast based on a personal invite I received from Denise Wakeman of the Blog Squad, who was part of the panel.
Just when I was about to feel really badly for my pal Denise being ‘forced’ to sit through other panelists discussions about boring technology topics like back-ups and merchant accounts (hey, I said I love technology I didn’t say all of it was interesting!), she said something so utterly brillant, I had to write this blog post to explain how we help clients navigate through negative blog comments.
Denise received a question from an attendee that said something like (I’m paraphrasing):
“I’d like to start a blog but, I’m nervous about getting a lot of negative comments. What can I do?”
Kudos to Denise for keeping her focus on the blog visitor! Her response (paraphrasing again):
“Blogs are meant for customer feedback. So, unless it’s a really bad comment, pay attention to it.”
Amen!
I can’t tell you how many times I get this question. If I had a nickel…
I find that people tend to operate from a base of fear about anything new. So they’re focused on the wrong things. Instead of seeing the possibilities, they harp on everything that could possibly go wrong. (By the way, that’s a sure fire way to make sure everything does go wrong!)
Here’s what you/they can do instead:
- Get real. There are some trolls out there and I’ve talked about how to deal with them. But by and large, 98% of the comments you get will not be from people who have nothing better to do than trash your brand.
- Use moderated comments. If you set your blog for moderated comments, you (or someone on your team) gets to approve – or not – any comment before it even goes live on your blog. If you don’t choose moderated comments, you can choose to be motified via e-mail whenever someone posts a comment and you can trash it if it’s objectionable.
- Create a Terms of Use page. Terms of Use may seem like a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo that you can simply copy from someone else’s blog and use on your own but you should take the time to craft your own. Essentially, it’s a page on your blog that tells visitors what they can and can’t say and what the reprecussions are for ignoring the rules. In the off chance that someone does post a completely desctructive comment – DO NOT EDIT THE COMMENT (see below) – you can point them to your Terms of Use and tell them that this is exactly why their comment isn’t appearing on your blog. This is not up for debate, discussion or bargaining - that’s why you’ve taken the time to create the Terms of Use.
- Never edit a comment. I won’t go into all the legal issues here but, this changes your legal status from blogger to publisher and you open a whole other can of worms. Either reject the comment outright or ask the commenter to edit it and resubmit it. Never, ever edit a comment.
- Carpe diem. Again, if you do get a negative comment – one that is constructive – don’t balk or give ‘tude to the person writing it. See this as your opportunity to show just how committed to customer service your company is, address the issue through the blog, quickly and thoroughly and above all else, treat the person with respect. It’s always OK to agree to disagree – respectfully. And, if you think about it, you probably just received some valueable feedback without having to invest in a focus group! (Another benefit of blogging, by the way.)
Don’t get fazed out by the technology. Keep your focus on building a world-class company (this IS why you’re in business, right?) and you’ll craft the type of company people want to work with and for.
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 11:25 am and is filed under Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
August 18th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Hi Lena,
Just came across your blog. I like it and will check back for more refresing and informative content.
All the best,
Michelle
August 20th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Comment Management: Comments are your friend
One of the most frequently asked questions we get from people before they start blogging is: what do I do about negative or inapproriate comments? My answer, in a nutshell, is don’t worry, comments are your friend. Well, I don’t
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:35 pm
[...] Negative Blog Comments – Keep You Focus [...]
August 29th, 2007 at 1:43 am
I couldn’t agree more regarding negative comments. Very often the negative comments are more telling and helpful than positive comments. Comments like ‘very nice blog” or “cool pics” are great to see but don’t give you any constructive criticism. I work in a field where feedback, positive and negative, is necessary in terms of maximal output. I think this applies as much to the web as to the real world. You should not hold back from writing a blog just because you are afraid of negative comments.It is much better to regret something you have done than something that was never ventured. Even the best bloggers have to deal with negative comments.
August 29th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Ciaran:
Thanks for your comments.
It’s good to see that other people are courageous enough to be successful!
-Lena
October 25th, 2007 at 9:11 am
[...] Tech Forward Negative Blog Comments – Keep Your Focus! [...]
December 10th, 2009 at 2:07 am
green bowel movements…
good stuff – great blog!…