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.