Anyone who has spent more than, say, five minutes on any Web 2.0-style social gathering site like YouTube will notice that the Web can be a harsh place. And that can be stifling for those who are trying to start a new media campaign with a marketing blog or online video. It doesn’t matter if your latest marketing blog post draws heaps of praise from your customers or your YouTube video is a triumph of cinematography and has won awards for originality and creativity. Some will still leave a comment saying: “This sucks” (although in most cases one or both of those words will be misspelled).
The best advice for dealing with negative comments on your marketing blog or online video is to expect them and take them in stride. Don’t get angry or upset. Remember that in most cases the viewer or reader of your content is just seeking the thrill of seeing his or her words appear on screen.
Our second piece of advice is to leave them alone. Just forget about them. Most marketing blogs and video sites will let you delete comments, but you should only exercise this option rarely. Remember that most Web users are sophisticated and will recognize a “this sucks” comment for what it is: the work of a lazy misanthrope. The real problem may arise if that misanthrope comes back and finds his comment deleted on your marketing blog or video. He will very likely up the ante and retaliate with more baneful barrages. These people obviously have lots of time on their hands.
Every once and a while, you may get a dissatisfied customer who registers a complaint in your marketing blog or video comments section. Think of this as an opportunity fro reach out. Instead of deleting that comment from your marketing blog or video, and further angering that customer, engage him. Take the time to address his problem and explain as best as you can that you understand why he’s upset. Answer him in the comments section. Showing that you’re interested in interacting with your customers, and that you’re willing to use the same lines of communication that they use (in this case, a comment thread on a marketing blog or video), shows that there are real people behind your product. The comments section of a marketing blog or video can be a great way to feed negative feedback into a public relations triumph.