Social media revolutionized digital marketing, and those who think otherwise are ignoring the stats. Over 40% of the world’s population is on social media, and 71% of them would recommend a business they’ve had a good interaction with on these platforms.

Users can interact with brands directly on social media. They can like, share, and comment, giving you real-time insights into what they think about you. But, there’s also a downside: the negative comments.

This article will take a rather unexpected approach, and argue why they should be removed.

Negative Comments Can Be Good, But They Are Mostly Damaging

First, it’s important to understand what type of negative comments should be disallowed. The negative comments that shouldn't ever be allowed on social media are the ones that bring nothing to the table, for anyone. Not the business, nor the users.

Some examples include:

Revenge comments made by users who’ve had a bad experience with your brand, and try to trash your reputation;
Anything from the hate speech category, which usually appears once a brand takes a clear stand on a social issue;
Negative comments that are only marginally related to you, but disrupt the overall flow of the conversation.

In other words: if you deserve the negative comments and said comments are created in a fair way, with adequate language, then they’re fair game. But when the user turns to hate speech, insane allegations, or trolls the comments section, who does that help, other than the user posting the comment?

Free Speech versus Responsible Speech

Social media pages are seen as a public forum, and deleting or hiding all negative comments can be seen as a form of censorship, which can frustrate users.

But, at the same time, you as a business also have the responsibility to make sure this public forum, which you set up and manage, is a safe space for your followers. When a user tries to create chaos here, this can affect the rest of your audience negatively, maybe even hurt them, so why should you leave them be?

In the end, it’s the free speech versus responsible speech issue. Free speech gives everyone the right to express their thoughts about something without fear of retribution. But free speech will always include responsible speech too, meaning you cannot hurt others just because you want to express yourself.

Over to You

Telling a brand their product is bad and they should change it is free speech. It’s the user’s opinion of you, and though you might not agree, it is what it is. But beyond that, negative comments have no place on a social feed.

Positioning 101

Market positioning refers to a brand’s ability to influence consumer perception, especially relating to competitors.

Think of the Coke vs. Pepsi ‘feud’. Though they both generate a lot of revenue and nobody can complain about that, you’ll find a lot of consumers defending one over the other. That’s because, for that person, one of the brands has a stronger positioning that connects with them.

The objective in brand and market positioning is to have such a clear identity of a brand or product, that the average consumer identifies you with it, and not your competitors, even if you are both offering virtually the same thing.

Why You Need to Take Risks

It’s really difficult to reinvent the wheel in 2020 when it seems like everything has been done. Still, even if the strategy itself is nothing new, it’s important for brands to think outside the box when trying to improve their market positioning.

For instance, let’s assume you want to sell handbags, and go on the idea that said handbag is a statement of luxury. You have two other brands, your competitors, doing the same thing. What’s worse, you most likely have very similar audiences, and your ads and campaigns reach the same users.

If this is the case, then put yourself in the shoes of a buyer: with three brands selling the same thing, in the exact same way, how could they know which one to choose? What separates the three of them? Sure, if they go on a little research journey they could find said differences, but that’s already a step too far because you have no guarantee they will actually do that.

Without taking risks, your brand could potentially stay buried in the crowd, and while there are ways to get out of it at one point, it could be difficult and time-consuming.

How Can You Set Yourself Apart?

There are several types of positioning strategies:

Product benefits and attributes;
Product price;
Product quality;
Competitors, or making audience members think you are better than them.

To know which strategy works best, you have to keep in mind two essential things:

What are your strengths?
What are your competitors’ weaknesses?

For example, if you’re selling similar handbags as two of your competitors, you need to find the thing that sets you apart, and the things your competitors lack. Perhaps in terms of quality and benefits, you are on the same plan. But, your prices may be a lot better, making your handbags more affordable. Then, you can leverage the idea that luxury and style can be achievable for everyone, in spite of what your competitors are doing. It could be a risk because people associate high prices with luxury, but this angle could potentially be strong enough to get people to notice your brand.

Over to You: Create the Strategy Now

Market positioning is a complex process that requires a lot of time and effort, but given the high levels of competition businesses often face, it’s not something you want to skip.