How to Handle Negative Facebook Page Comments

No one likes to be blasted with negative comments in a public forum such as a Facebook page, but it happens, and how you deal with them is crucial. Do you delete them? Do you allow them to be seen? Let’s talk about that.

If someone is leaving harassing comments towards an organization, they probably fall into the delete category. And I’m talking about comments such as, “Your business sucks.”

On the other hand, if the comment has merit you shouldn’t simply click delete just because it doesn’t make you shine your brightest. Allow me to give you an example of a comment that I recently dealt with on my employers Facebook page.

I posted our new TV commercials on the page and they prompted a member to say the following,

“Yea right if you have 100% absolutely the best credit possible to get a loan with them.”

He’s basically saying it’s hard to get a loan with us and he’s obviously not very happy with the credit union. Before I could respond to his comment another fan said the following,

“That is 100% untrue. I can personally speak to that. No need for negativity.”

There were multiple other comments like that from members counterpointing the negative comment – it was great to see members taking up for the credit union.

I think it’s important for the brand/person in question to address the negative comment head on. Letting them linger tends to be a bad idea in most instances. Here’s how I responded,

“We have members with a variety of credit scores that get loans. Credit does play a part in the process though.

If a member needs help building credit, we try to help them do so. Here’s a great example: http://www.truliantfcu.org/blog/build-your-credit-as-you-save/.”

I addressed a few things in the response:

• You don’t have to have the “best” credit to get a loan with us
• Highlighted that credit scores play a part in the lending process
• Provided an example of how we try to help those that may not qualify for a loan due to a low credit score

And no, it’s not always that easy. Sometimes negative comments are extremely valid and they call out mistakes or dumb decisions on others part. When that happens it’s helpful to have someone with a good PR background to help you navigate the waters.