Social media is a slippery slope. You can be flying high on likes and loves one day, and then be on everybody’s poop list by the end of the week.
Just remember that everyone is watching, and everything links back to you. So anyone who wants to dig up info on you, for good OR bad purposes, can easily do so if they’re smart, persistent, and able.
Make it a company policy never to speak badly of a colleague or competitor on social media. Even if you do have a negative experience, it’s still a really good idea to keep your nose clean by not dragging other people’s names through the mud.
There are definitely ways to go about airing your grievances online. The preferred way is to contact the individual privately, via phone and email, and keep your message in confidence. If worse comes to worse, you can always escalate the matter by getting lawyers involved or at the very least starting a conversation about that.
Even if you really have a strong feeling that you have been served unjustly in a business capacity, try to resist the temptation to broadcast it on social media or air the grievance on any of your public pages or groups.
A lot of drama unfolds on social media. What you’ll ultimately do is attract the most toxic people in your group who thrive on petty conversations and are looking for someone to gossip about.
Remember that once you start bad-mouthing others on social, even if it’s justified, your business name is going to be associated with the low practices of blaming, accusing, and generally complaining. People will get a funny feeling about you.
When it’s time to choose business support of your type and nature, they’ll choose the competition.
This can absolutely impact your sales down the road and it could lead to even worse conflict for the whole social media world to witness.
Keep this in mind about airing dirt on the socials:
- You do not owe anybody a public explanation of what happens between you and your customers, even if you do happen to be at fault. There are always two sides to a story.
- The best thing to do is to handle matters off-camera in the best and most forthright way possible. Meanwhile, continue posting the same quality of useful content on social media that you were before.
What to share on your social media business pages:
- Free tips that will help your audience learn something new
- Special offers and invitations to sign up for your list
- Social sharing of other people’s posts in related businesses
Slice of lifestyle posts where you show people what you’re up to at your physical or virtual office or workspace.