Trending Down? Turning Negative Sentiment into a Positive

Image Credit: “happy_sad_face_smiley” by Alan O’Rourke on Flickr;  https://flic.kr/p/ovkdiu, workcompass.com/

Yes, you’ve heard it a million times, but here goes a million and one: social media builds brand loyalty. But the real trick to effective social media isn’t just riding the wave of positive posts, but being especially adept at handling the negatives. While the groans and complaints can sting, the truth of the matter is, negative social shares aren’t necessarily the customer nightmare you think they are. Rather, they present an opportunity to gain new fans. Here are three strategies to effectively turn negative social sentiment into a positive:

Be Quick to Take Action

While bad reviews are never a welcomed sight, they present some of the greatest opportunities to wow your critics and their followers. By listening and acting quickly and positively (never defensively), it’s possible to turn a critic into a customer for life.

Take the New England based, Mexican fast-food chain, Boloco, for example. A customer sent out a tweet complaining the music was too loud at one of their locations. A customer service rep took action right away by calling the restaurant and telling the staff to turn down the music. The company went above and beyond by even describing what she looked like from her Twitter picture and had the staff deliver a cookie to her. They retweeted her tweet adding the word, “Done.” Needless to say, the customer was floored.

Done RT @bostonmarketer: Music @boloco on the common is too loud. Wouldn't it be funny if they actually turned it down?? :-)

— boloco (@boloco) October 20, 2009

Take Responsibility

If someone has a bad experience, chances are they’ll take to social media to express their dissatisfaction. The key is not only to handle it quickly and professionally, but to take full responsibility if an error was made. Lululemon recently made headlines for the way it handled an error that shows how social customer service can deliver whole new opportunties to create good will. One of its customers ordered one running cap and through an error received 19 instead - a $600 value. The honest customer alerted the company via Twitter and said he would send them back. Lululemon thanked him, and instead of asking for them back, encouraged him to share them with others. What the company lost in merchandise costs, it more than reaped by turning an embarrassing mistake into a feel good story that was amplified across social and traditional media.

@lululemon That’s AWESOME! I WILL happily pay it forward! You all are wonderful. Have a happy #NationalYogaDay

— Angelo Lagdameo (@AngLives) September 19, 2014

Kill with Kindness

Perhaps you caught Nabisco’s “This Is Wholesome” commercial for Honey Maid graham crackers. It featured a montage of various types of families, including families with gay parents. “This Is Wholesome,” which debuted in early March, received some significant criticism from conservative groups via social media. Instead of backing away from their position, Nabisco found a way to quite literally reframe the negative feedback and turned it into something positive. They released a follow-up “Love” commercial, which depicted two artists creating a giant paper sculpture out of the negative and mean-spirited tweets. The company’s commitment to its principles gained them a flood of positive press and support via social media.

By taking responsibility, acting fast and combating the bad with good, Boloco, Lululemon, and Nabisco all successfully turned negative social media into a positive. Is there a company that wowed you with a social media turnaround - or a strategy you’d like to share? Tell us below!