Watch my video “What to Do About Negative Yelp Reviews” via Inc.com
Although social media can be used to grow companies, this medium can also ruin your business.  However, there are steps that you can take to be preemptive and stay ahead of any negative ratings, reviews, and/or comments.

  1. Respond to the concerns of your consumers immediately

When a guests posts a negative comment, respond immediately. You must make a reasonable attempt to hear the customer out and to resolve the situation.

  1. Use a transparent response to take things out of the public eye

If you are unable to fix the problem publicly, ask the unhappy customer to send you a message so that you can provide further assistance. The best way to defuse a bad social media situation is to help the customer in the fastest way possible. In addition, when others see that you are making a concerted effort to help the customer, it will put you and your business in a positive light.

  1. Do not block or delete people who don’t agree with you 

Do not delete a comment or block a user because you don’t like a comment that was made; EVERY guest comment is relevant and deserves a response. Deleting comments that you don’t agree with is an excellent way to end up on publications like the Ripoff Report. The only exception to the rule is…

  1. Create and utilize a social media policy

There are some comments that don’t deserve a response e.g. they contain vulgar language or show disrespect to others. Post a disclaimer in the “About” section of the social media medium that you are using and explain what is and what is not accepted on your page. Doing so will allow you to civilly explain why a comment was blocked or deleted.

  1. Consider using an online reputation management firm

An expert will help you push any negative reviews off of page one of Google’s search results. This will reduce the amount of traffic that lands on those negative reviews, and perhaps most importantly, prevent your potential customers from seeing any negative comments about your business.
Following the above tips will help you create and maintain a better relationship with your customers. It will also help you keep small problems manageable. It is important to remember that every comment that you receive on your page has the potential to help your business, dependent on how you respond to it.