Facebook feedback is more powerful than many of us realize. Turns out that approximately 84% of all people trust online reviews about a company and the products or services they provide. Gone are the days when a disgruntled customer could leave a scathing review and it would not negatively affect your business.
Nowadays you simply must pay attention to things people say about your business online. This is especially true for Facebook feedback that customers either leave directly on your page or by tagging your account.
Maybe you’re not sure you really need to pay attention to negative Facebook feedback. Listed below are some things every business owner should consider before adopting that posture.
Negative Facebook Feedback Is Permanent
Unlike other platforms where businesses can bury a negative review or remove it, that’s not the case with Facebook. Once someone has posted feedback, you can’t move it, change it, or even delete it. This limitation serves to increase the level of trust that customers place in these reviews.
Another reason you’ll want to maintain an awareness of posted feedback is that Facebook is the quickest growing platform. Consumers are all about sharing vital information with other potential customers and Facebook makes it incredibly easy for anyone to do so. What better way to do damage to your online reputation than by sharing their negative experience with your company?
Reviews Affect How Many People See Your Page
If you’re using Facebook to advertise your business, you want your page and its ads to be seen. Negative Facebook feedback can and will change the number of people your page reaches.
Simply stated, negative customer experiences adversely affect your Facebook feedback score.
The Facebook algorithm is what gets your page seen by consumers. However, when you’re getting negative feedback, the algorithm adapts and automatically reduces your page’s reach. If you’re not able to reach your target audience, the number of sales you can make will decrease. Fewer viewers result in fewer potential customers and this will quickly affect company revenue.
This is why you need to maintain an ever-watchful eye on Facebook feedback. One way to do that would be by implementing these helpful tips from Decibel.
Poor Facebook Feedback Lowers Your Ranking
SEO is critically important for business. Optimization allows you to show up in a customer’s search results based on the keywords they’ve entered into the search bar. When a customer searches for a company that provides the products that your company does, it will display all the potential listings.
When search engines display these listings, they will list them from the highest-ranking company to the lowest. The more negative feedback you have on your business page, the lower your ranking will be. In short, upset customers have the power to drive down the SEO ranking of your business.
This is obviously detrimental. Customers might check your business page to determine why you’re ranked low. In this way, the negative information will be passed on to other potential customers.
Facebook Feedback: Not What You Want to Share
Facebook feedback is essential for any business as it lets others know why they should engage with your company. You can fully expect customers to leave both positive and negative reviews. The positive ones speak for themselves, so we won’t worry about them. Instead, the strong suggestion is that you immediately deal with negative reviews. And time is of the essence!
Why It’s Necessary to Respond to Negative Facebook Feedback
- If you don’t reply to a negative review, people will tend to think that the complaint is true.
- They may even believe this apparent lack of concern is indicative of the way you typically do business.
- Worse, others may think that you don’t really care that a customer had a bad experience.
- An unaddressed complaint reflects poorly on your customer service and business values.
- You miss a chance to win the client back and then ask them to replace or take down the negative review.
- When you reply frequently to both positive and negative reviews, your ratings improve.
The Do’s and Don’ts for Responding to Negative Feedback on Facebook
Do Get “Combat-Ready”
In the heat of the moment, it can be easy to say the wrong thing in a quick response to negative comments. This is particularly true when you’re disconcerted about unfair negative feedback.
If you’re feeling emotional, step away from the keyboard. To mitigate poor wording, it might help to have some customizable “canned” responses prepared ahead of time. You can write these when you are not upset or overly anxious. When needed, you can modify it to fit the particular situation that’s developed. Sooner or later, everyone gets a negative review. Be prepared!
Don’t Take It Personally
You won’t last long online if you have thin skin. Try to keep the negative Facebook feedback in perspective. Do your best not to confuse an unpleasant business situation with a personal attack.
We all know what it feels like when someone is unfairly criticizing us. This is where it pays to remember the old adage. You can’t control what anyone else says or does. You can only control the way that you choose to respond.
Stay calm. Take a breath. Next put on your thinking cap and your commitment to professional service. Get to work to ameliorate the situation. If you can’t bring yourself to respond with a positive tone, have someone else do it for you. This is by far the most reliable way to deal with the emotional strain that comes with negative feedback.
Act Smartly and Quickly
Generally speaking, lost time is lost money. You will want to respond quickly to negative feedback. However, it often depends on what type of business you operate and the level of anger you perceive the customer is expressing.
As a general rule, it’s best if you can reply within a few hours. Never wait longer than a few days, certainly not a week.
One thing you can do to be sure you never overlook replying to negative social media posts is to set up an auto-responder. This can be set to return a generic message if you don’t reply personally within a given timeframe. However, this should never be your routine response strategy. No generic response can possibly carry with it a personal touch.
If your business gets a lot of Facebook feedback or reviews on a variety of social media platforms, you might consider using a social media management tool. These can make it simpler to have an eye on your feedback.
If an upset customer showed up at your place of business, you would prioritize helping that person over your other responsibilities. It will pay huge dividends for you to do the same when they show up on your digital doorstep!
