An online creator’s goal is to grow their audience. As more people find out about your content, you’ll find that your engagement grows. Before you know it, comments and direct messages will flood your account. Not all of them will be positive. Learning to handle negative comments on social media is part of creating online.
Creators need to have a plan to handle negativity, unwarranted criticism, and online trolls. If you’re wondering where to start, here are tips to consider when dealing with feedback from your audience.
How do you ignore people’s negative comments on social media?
As an online creator, you put time and energy into all the content you release to your audience. So when you see a negative comment, you might instantly get defensive.
Instead of responding immediately to online criticism, take a step back from your device and log off social media. Taking a break can help you figure out what to do next so that you can be strategic.
If you don’t want to engage with negative comments or online trolls, you can simply ignore them and not respond. That way, you can continue to focus on creating content and the value you provide your audience.
However, if these negative comments are starting to interrupt your creative process or even make you feel upset, there are tools you can use to filter them. For example, Brand24 is a social media listening and brand sentiment tool. It allows creators to sort comments based on positive or negative words used.
If reading the negative comments is too much for you to handle, you can either ignore them or ask a virtual assistant to sort through them for you. Based on predetermined boundaries, you can have that person respond or delete the negative comments on your behalf.
How to deal with online trolls?
As your audience grows, you’ll start to have super fans who express how grateful they are for your work. But you may also start to have online trolls.
These are people who constantly leave negative or harmful content on your posts. If you begin to see this happening, there are two approaches you can take.
You can reach out to them privately through a direct message. Ask why they are actively trolling your account and ask them to stop. This intimate conversation might get them to stop and leave you alone.
If that doesn’t work, it might be time to block the negative troll. That way, this person won’t be able to see any of your future content or have the ability to interact with any of your posts.
While it might be hard to know whether or not to block an online troll, always remember that you control your social media accounts. If someone constantly posts negative comments or makes you uncomfortable, you can use your discretion and block them from your account.
What is the best way to deal with negative comments online?
As an online creator, part of your job is engaging and interacting with your audience. But that can feel tough to do when you notice someone leaving you negative feedback or criticism.
To help make the process easier, set boundaries around what types of comments you respond to and which ones you automatically delete.
For example, you might decide to respond to negative feedback or criticism that helps you as a creator see. Sometimes criticism provides perspective that sparks a conversation with your audience. It’s also reasonable to delete or ignore comments that feel like personal attacks or are hurtful.
Having guidelines in place can help you, or a social media manager that you hire, handle how to respond to negative feedback or criticism.
As an online creator, even if you try hard to avoid negativity, it might end up in the comment section of something you eventually post. Don’t give in to the urge to react automatically when that happens.
Take a step back to figure out how you want to approach the negative comments or online trolls. Do what’s best for you, your audience, and your job as an online creator. Remember to protect your own mental health. It isn’t worth burning yourself out and there’s nothing wrong with taking space when you need it.
