Managing Your Brand Reputation On Social Media Platforms

Today, two-thirds of all the people online regularly use some form of social media. With that deep saturation, the odds are overwhelmingly likely that somebody, somewhere, is talking about your business online. That has the potential to be both good and bad for you.

When a customer has a terrific experience, they're likely to mention it on their social platforms of choice, like Twitter and Facebook. Customers with not-so-great experiences are also likely to speak up online. Complaints are most likely to land on your company's own social media accounts.

A single piece of customer criticism might not harm your company's brand. But the way you choose to handle can have an influence (potentially a positive one) on how others view your organization.

What can you do to manage your brand reputation wisely on social media platforms? Here's a basic step-by-step guide.

1) Look For More Facts

When a complaint lands on your business's Facebook page or Twitter feed, you might be tempted to simply delete the comment, when possible.

Don't do this.

Instead, reach out to the complainer. Try to make contact through private lines of communication (email or phone) to gather as much information as you can about their experience. 

The more information you get, the better your odds of addressing the problem correctly and, when possible, resolving the customer's issues. Doing this helps you protect your brand reputation and saves a lot of long term hassle. 

2) Always Keep Calm

It's also natural to respond to negative social media comments defensively. This becomes particularly tempting when your first instinct is to consider the comment unjustified. 

Lashing out emotionally is a great way to turn a molehill into a mountain.

Take whatever time you need to set aside your feelings, regain your calm, and address the customer's problems objectively.

3) Monitor Social Media Actively

Social media allows you to communicate with your customers instantly. This is usually a good thing, but when it comes to criticism, it becomes a double-edged sword. Minor concerns can grow into major issues if you leave them unaddressed and they get picked up by other customers.

A simple example: A disgruntled British Airways customer whose luggage got lost in 2013 published a tweet disparaging the airline's customer service. The tweet racked up 76,000 views before British Airways responded to it.

Why did that tweet go so long without an answer? Because at the time, British Airways didn't have anyone managing their social media outside of business hours.

A few months ago, an Australian traveling overseas had issues accessing her bank accounts and could not get any satisfactory response through the bank's normal customer service channels. 

She went to Twitter and publicized her difficulties using attention-getting hashtags like #cr@pbank. 

In this case, the bank had round-the-clock "crisis management" on their social media streams and successfully fixed the customer's problem within hours.

Monitor your company's social media presence as aggressively as you can and respond as quickly as you can -- while still being objective. If this job demands more time than you or your employees can give, it's time to think about hiring a designated social media manager.

4) Follow Up After Fixing Problems

Fixing honest mistakes is always in your business's best interest. It can have a lot of benefits; not the least of them is that fixing mistakes improves your credibility in the eyes of current and potential customers.

After you've taken steps to resolve a complaint that comes to you through social media, always follow up with the customer who made the complaint. This follow-up should be conducted (at least in part) on the same platform as the original complaint; this lets others see how your organization handles mistakes.

5) Experiencing Negative Social Media Is A Matter Of "When," Not "If"

No matter how far you go to make your customers happy, eventually, you'll run into a dissatisfied customer on social media. This should be an expected part of your overall strategy for social activity; chart out a concrete plan for managing complaints in advance. The more guidelines you have in place, the less your company will have to scramble when the inevitable complaint appears.