Radio silence is rarely a good thing. In business and relationships, people want to know that someone is on the other end of the line (or other side of the screen). Social media comments are no different. Followers love to feel acknowledged, even if it’s a simple thumbs up emoji in response to their comments.
This is called engagement. Followers engage with your posts by commenting or liking, and you reciprocate. This develops into a digital conversation that can lead to engagement outside of social media, too. Perhaps a follower signs up for your emails, visits your blog, or even purchases a product. But all of that starts with a simple response.
Responding well does take time and practice, so we’re giving you some simple tips on how to make the most of social media comments!
Timing is Everything with Social Media Comments
Managing social media comments can be an art, but one that you or someone on your team can and should master. If you have followers commenting, they want to chat. They want a response, and when you never give a response, it can send an unspoken message that your business doesn’t care.
A common question is how soon should we respond to a social media comment? While there isn’t one hard and fast rule, generally, it’s helpful to respond within an hour of a comment. It not only creates an opportunity to get to know your followers, but it encourages them to share your business.
In fact, a Twitter Customer Insight Survey found that 81 percent of consumers don’t recommend a company to a friend if they never get a response on social media. Those are some powerful numbers!
If you have a strong social media following, you may find it challenging to manage all the comments and likes you receive. It’s great that you have so much engagement, but how do you respond?
If your business is growing rapidly, it may be helpful to designate someone as your social media specialist. Whether they’re scheduling posts, or responding to comments, it can be helpful to have someone with their finger on the pulse of what conversations are happening around your brand.
If you’re still building your following, it’s a great time to get ahead of the curve and develop a social media strategy. We’ve recently launched a Social Media Package that helps small businesses learn the ins and outs of social media to maximize its unlimited potential. Once you have a good plan in place, engagement will increase and you’ll be able to use all these great tips for responding to comments!
Be Consistent
Consistency matters for social media comments. First, it’s important to respond regularly. If you just respond randomly, with long droughts in between, it’s going to appear that you’re not paying attention to your potential customers. So, start making it a regular part of your routine to respond on a regular basis, to different followers at different times to show that you care.
Second, stay true to your brand voice. What’s a brand voice? It’s the tone you want your business to communicate across all digital media. That may include your core values, your services, specific words, phrases, and brand identity (logos, fonts, images).
When you or someone from your team comments, make sure there is a consistent message being communicated. It may be confusing if one person responds in your normal brand tone, and another responds with something completely different. Consistency builds credibility and trust no matter what platform you’re using.
Be Human
Whether you have standardized responses that your team is writing, or unique responses for each comment, it should feel like there is a human on the other end, not a robot.
This is particularly true when it comes to negative comments on social media. We’ve talked before about responding to negative online reviews, but negative comments can happen on social media, too.
Try these tips to show your followers you’re listening to their concerns:
- Acknowledge their comments and feelings: Try to see from their point-of-view rather than respond defensively.
- Offer to continue the conversation offline: Resolving challenges is best left for a more personal interaction. It also takes any of the negative reactions out of the public forum.
- Be sincere and apologize when your product or service falls short: Nothing softens someone like a genuine apology. It will also build trust for future transactions.
- Watch out for trolls: If you know someone is just trying to stir the pot, it may help to simply ignore their comments. If they persist, addressing them with a simple comment that links to the facts of your business can help prevent negative reactions from other followers.
Conclusion
In our current digital climate, social media comments are a thing, an important thing. You may even consider them a part of your content development, especially when it comes to your responses. So, keep your responses timely, consistent, and human, and you’ve got the makings for a great social media commenting strategy!
Social media comments, online reviews, and even fielding feedback through emails can present opportunities to engage with your audience. We want to help you do that so you can cultivate digital conversations that matter. Contact Wayward Kind and we’ll get you started on turning all your comments into golden opportunities!
