Thomas, J.B., Peters, C.O., Howell, E.G., & Robbins, K. (2012). Social Media and Negative Word of Mouth: Strategies for Handling Unexpected Comments. Atlantic Marketing Journal, 1(2), Article 7. https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/amj/vol1/iss2/7
There are five strategies organizations can use when dealing with negative social media posts or comments. First, they can delay their response, hoping for negativity to die down on its own. Second, they can respond, listening to, acknowledging, and potentially addressing negative feedback. Third, organizations can partner with an outside spokesperson to help them promote, manage, and defend their message. Fourth, organizations can take legal action. Finally, they can control and censor, removing or suppressing unwanted information. These strategies are not mutually exclusive. The best strategy depends on the issue being addressed, the size of the organization, and the organization’s available resources and technology. Generally, legal action and censorship should be avoided, as they can appear more antagonistic toward consumers. Avoiding social media altogether is also not an effective approach, as it doesn’t shield the company from negative social media, but rather prevents them from influencing these conversations. Organizations should think more like relationship managers and customer service advocates, willing to listen and communicate.
Negative social media posts are common for most organizations, and this article provided excellent guidance for how to handle them. Leaders often want to shy away from or censor negative comments, as they appear threatening to the organization’s image, but the research in this article will be useful in explaining why these are not the best approaches.
Learning Outcome 2: Demonstrate the ability to assess complex organizational environments and achieve communication goals.
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