A Guide for Community Managers, Bloggers and Corporate Blog Managers
Fake news, hate speech and the manipulation of opinions: Is the climate on the web getting harsher? At least that's what it seems like, because emotional messages get more response and therefore spread disproportionately, even if they only represent small groups or individual opinions. Many people feel affected or even attacked. The media scene is discussing to what extent social networks such as Twitter or Facebook should intervene - or whether this will change the discourse. Twitter has announced concrete measures in its blog entitled "Progress in addressing online abuse". But even on a smaller scale, in many blogs and on social media sites, moderators and community managers are more challenged than ever: How do you deal with controversial comments, criticism or even hate comments?
Should you delete them all? But isn't deleting them much more dangerous than leaving them standing? Hasn't everyone heard of a comment being deleted on your own website or in social media that triggered a real shitstorm? On the other hand, don't insults and other negative comments on your own website also damage your image? And what if the management level in the company puts pressure on you and demands that the supposedly harmful criticism be removed? There can be no general, patent facebook data solutions; decisions often depend heavily on the individual case. But certain tips and rules help to develop a sensible way of dealing with comments and discussions.
- but not only - in connection with the ongoing topic of "shitstorms". Here are some questions and my answers.
“Do we even need comments in our corporate blog/online magazine?”
Some companies still have magazines that publish blog-style articles but do not offer readers the opportunity to comment on the articles. You have to use the contact form if you want to give feedback. The reason behind this is clear: you don't want to take any risks. Perhaps the company management is very sensitive and immediately blames the communications department for every less than positive comment. Any criticism immediately smells like a "shitstorm". Perhaps they simply want to avoid having someone always on hand to monitor the system.
However, in my opinion, this is not a recommended approach. The disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The other readers do not even hear about the feedback; no discussion develops. But it is precisely this kind of exchange that promotes user loyalty, creates dynamism and ultimately leads to your magazine becoming better known. Users expect direct interaction more than ever, as recent studies show .
In fact, it is often much more difficult to get people to comment than to deal with unpleasant voices. But to ensure that the communication culture works, you should think about it beforehand, establish clear rules and communicate them.