Social media marketing for Financial Institutions can be tough. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, eventually someone will say something not-so-nice on your one of your credit union social media platforms. And the delete button should only be used in situations that have no way of being resolved or clearly violate your social media policy.

Here are 5 ways you should respond to negative social media comments.

1. Pick Your Battles with Social Media Comments:

Sometimes you have to follow the rule "the customer is always right." The picture below shows a meme of a "Sea Horse." Although this was a play on words (we were not talking about an actual seahorse) by agreeing with the comment, we turned this into a positive experience. No need to get into a grammar debate about something silly and fun.

2. Be a Mediator:

The only thing worse than one negative comment is a negative exchange between two (or more) people. You can't control what other people are going to say, so regular monitoring is critical to quickly defuse these situations. Thankfully, we chimed into this conversation early on, and actually got an apology! 

DOWNLOAD NOW: Definitive Guide to Social Media Marketing for Financial Institutions

3. With Social Media Comments, Kill Them With Kindness:

Everyone that stumbles onto your Facebook or Instagram page will not know and love your brand. When you respond to negative social media comments always stay positive and be friendly.

In this example, several people were posting comments about another Financial Institution in the comment area on our page. No need to bash the other FI, after all, there's plenty of business to go around! So just share the love! :)

4. Even if You Do Not Know The Answer, Respond:

When you notice a question or concern about your product or service, respond immediately, even if you do not know the answer yet. For example, if someone says that online banking is down and they cannot log in consider responding with:

"(Name), are you still experiencing this problem? We are so sorry to hear you're having trouble with our online banking, thank you for making us aware of this problem. We will look into this immediately. Please feel free to private message us with any personal details if necessary."

Then make sure you do what you say you're going to do. Look into the situation as fast as you can and respond both publicly and privately once you determine what the issue is and/or have it resolved.

These types of problems that occasionally arise with online banking are also good reasons why you need to designate one staff member to be on call at ALL times, including evenings and weekends. If people can't access their accounts and share that with you online, they will expect a response within a couple of hours. So you should meet these expectations whenever possible.

5. Be Helpful and Understanding in Social Media Comments:

If someone posts something that is clearly incorrect, instead of answering with a "well, you're wrong" kind of attitude, try to guide them to the right answer. 

We recently had a situation where someone wrote a review on our client's page that was actually about an unaffiliated bank in another state, but this bank had a very similar name as our client institution.

We knew all along that she was mistaken, but we let her figure this out on her own and instead we responded to the comment with a message of apology, and included all of our client's branch locations and asked the user to verify the location of the incident. The customer eventually realized they made a mistake and revised their review.

It is important to keep up with any negative comments on your page and to always respond with an appropriate and timely message. The vast majority of comments will be positive, but on the occasion that someone has something critical to say, it's essential that your staff respond quickly. By doing this you demonstrate that you take your customer's feedback and concerns seriously.

Treat these rare instances as opportunities to demonstrate stellar customer service, and when mistakes are made you should acknowledge them and treat them as learning opportunities for your staff.

The only time you should delete a comment is if it is CLEARLY off topic, destructive, spam, profanity, includes personal or account details or is about illegal activity. 

Contact us today for more information about how we can help you properly monitor your CU's online resources.