How to Handle Social Media Outrage Against your Brand

Social Media Outrage is inevitable. One tweet and it can snowball into a full blow crisis. Garima Juneja, Co-founder, ViralCurry shares her two cents on how to handle such situations.

Social media is a place where startups and businesses get an opportunity to initiate a two way communication with their audience. On social media what you communicate as a brand can also be reciprocated by the audience. The response of the audience can either be good or bad. Certain online and offline events can also trigger a series of negative content against your brand on social media.

Several incidents have occurred when some negative comments against certain brands converted into full blown outrage. One tweet or post aggravates multiple ones and it starts snowballing.

So, what is it that you can do if something like this happens to your brand?

In this post, I am suggesting some solutions in case of a social media outrage. Check them out below

• Do Not Block People from posting to your Page

One of the biggest mistakes that a social media manager can do in case negative sentiment starts snowballing is to start blocking people from posting on the brand Facebook page. It is human mentality that when he/she is restricted from doing something, the rage increases. Thus, refrain from blocking the people who are posting negative sentiments.

• Take it Easy & Keep Replying to The Negative Comments in a Patient Manner

When the public has lost its calm, it’s time for you to stay patient. When people start posting negative comments & tweets, all you’ve to do is post patient replies. Do not lose your calm or ban people or delete comments, that will add to the outrage. If the number of comments cross the limit that your team is capable of handling, then your team might leave them unresponded however do not delete the comments.

If the outrage was triggered by a service issue or a complaint that escalated, then try to resolve that issue as soon as possible and release a public apology for the same. When people are outraged, they won’t stop the tweets and comments immediately however the intensity of the negative campaign will decrease with the apology and repeated polite replies from your brand’s end. Do not mock any comments or throw snide remarks, just publish an apology.

• When the Outrage has subsided, increase the marketing initiative

After the negative comments and the outrage on social media has reduced considerably, increase the content marketing initiative. You can release positive videos and organic campaigns at a higher frequency to create a positive sentiment about your brand. The negative outrage will be forgotten by the public soon. However to make sure that the negative impression doesn’t stay there permanently, you should clear the air with positive campaigns. Do not take a dig at any incident, and do not mention the negatives at all. A positive and organic campaign is enough to create some positivity around the brand.

Here were some of the tips that a social media manager can follow if a social media outrage is created against their brand. The possibility of a Social media negative outrage should not be ruled out by any brand. Social media is a two way road. The audience is also free to express their opinion on your brand, and sadly, it might or might not be related to something that your brand did.

Several businesses have faced major social media outrage in the past and everyone handled it in a way they could manage. At some instances, the outrage was triggered by a service defect, while at others, it was simply never the brand’s fault. One such example was outrage towards Snapdeal on the patriotism issue with actor Aamir Khan. It is easy for the social media team to lose their calm in such a situation. However, if you handle it properly, then the situations can be brought under control without a big harm.

The article is written by Garima Juneja, Co-founder, ViralCurry, a 4 year old social media agency. They've worked with some of the best brands on creative and performance projects, both. You can reach her at garima@viralcurry.com