I’ve often used the analogy that the rules of etiquette governing how a brand should engage in social media are similar to the rules associated with being invited to someone’s home for dinner.
But what happens if you make that dreaded social faux pas?
A small business located North of Boston is feeling the wrath of its 6,000+ FB friends after making an incentive post in the wake of the marathon bombing. Although it wasn’t intentional they have offended their “hosts” or in this case their customers.
Here are a few rules of thumb on how to reply to posts from irate customers:
1. Accept the blame, refrain from making excuses, and if possible offer a remedy.
2. Never delete comments unless they are offensive to others or contain profanity as it will only incense your customers and quite possibly provoke a heightened attack. If you must delete the comments wait several months until the discussion dies down and no one will notice that the comments have disappeared. On the bright side, the shelf life of this public spat is fairly short!
