Does Formada Manage Social Media Moderation?
No, we don’t manage your social media comment moderation. It’s not even a matter of us not wanting to — it’s that you don’t want us to.
Now, don’t get us wrong, we love to help businesses with their social media. Content strategy, content creation, publishing, analytics — we’re pretty darn good at all of those things.
But moderating the comments? Eh…not our forte.
The reason being? This is about as “social” as social media can get for businesses. Your commenters, even your harshest critics, deserve an interaction with a real person that can represent the brand at its highest level in this specific context.
When we’re creating a strategy and generating content for our clients, it’s born out of a partnership between the two of us.
We’re assessing your existing social media, building on what is working and addressing opportunity gaps. There’s a process taking place where we’re building a strategy that supports your goals, and we’re writing content that is reviewed and approved by you, the client.
But interacting directly with your social media community is something else entirely.
Any miscommunication on our part could have a negative impact on your brand, particularly if it’s in response to criticism. These are often the conversations that your community and potential customers are paying close attention to.
Sure, these particular interactions could also be sent through the same editing process as your regular posts, but as someone who has dealt with a lot of “design by committee” content throughout their career, there’s an intangible something that gets lost.
Call it soul, call it authenticity, call it whatever you want — your readers can feel it when it’s missing.
To briefly digress, even as I’m writing this (in Google Docs), I’m continuously getting a “Try Gemini!” pop-up. Here I am writing to you about the importance of authenticity in your content while an AI agent is begging to write it for me. The irony.
And while I’m on the subject of robots, I should also address this: Be careful when using bots to respond to your social media posts.
I’d recommend using these auto-responders strictly for direct response-style posts. It’s always a turn-off for readers when you see someone making a heartfelt comment on a post, only to receive a “Sent! Check your DMs!!!” in response.
Those bots make perfect sense in certain situations, but when used incorrectly, it breaks the illusion of connection with your audience.
Getting back to our main point here, we don’t moderate your social media comments because, as well as we can capture your brand voice in your website, your ads, and your posts, your comment is an entirely different, often crucial realm that should be entrusted to the chosen few.
It’s an area where you just can’t fake it. So what should you do? Here’s what we recommend.
How We Recommend You Moderate Your Social Media
Assign a social media captain
Have someone from your team who you trust, a person who knows the ins and outs of your brand voice (maybe it’s you!) and empower them to interact with your social media community.
Choose how deep you want to go
You don’t need to respond to everything. Of course, it’s nice to engage with the folks in your community, and if they’re taking the time to give you thoughtful feedback, then responding in some manner is usually a good idea. But don’t be afraid to set boundaries. You’re in charge of your limits. That said…
Always respond to your critics
Not all comments are going to be positive. When it comes to your personal pages, you can just block and move on. But it’s not as simple when it comes to your business pages.
One, you have the opportunity to truly learn from and rectify a mistake that you might have made, and you might even turn this dissatisfied person into a true believer in the process.
Two, this is now a public conversation. You’re being watched by your followers. How you respond will create a perception of your brand. You don’t have to walk on eggshells, but be considerate. Be authentic.
Of course, some people are going to be unreasonable. Begin the conversation with grace and end it with the Block button, if absolutely necessary.
Don’t be afraid to reassess your strategy
That’s exactly what we’re here for — to give you that nudge to go in a slightly different direction, or to reassure you that you’re doing the right thing and to keep on going.
Social media presents huge opportunities for your business, and agencies like Formada are in the perfect position to help you create and implement a strategy that will drive growth, clearing the way for you to interact directly with your customers.
To learn more about our Social Media Management services, contact us today. We’d love to help you grow.