As Social Media Marketers, every day we encourage our fans to engage with us through our social media outlets. But, our worst nightmare is our phone beeping in the night with a notification that one of our beloved “fans” has taken to our pristine Facebook wall to complain about our business and air their every so mighty opinion for the whole social media-sphere to see, or worse, Like.

Hoteliers worry about scathing reviews appearing from guests; The last thing a Restaurateur wants to see posted, is a food poisoning complaint, but what about a feminine hygiene product? What could their customers ever want to publically complain about in a social forum? Well in Bodyform’s case it wasn’t a customer per say, who took it upon herself to complain, but a customer’s boyfriend. This post quickly went viral, and made its way around the globe and back, as seen here:

This post was instigated by the company’s advertising. To see what all the fuss is about, check out one of Bodyform’s ads, here…

Now, the real gem in this story lies in how the company handled the situation. Bodyform’s response? A cheeky YouTube response from the company’s president, herself! Or as Mashable would call it – “This May Be the Best Response Ever to a Facebook Rant — Period”.

Click here to watch Bodyform’s response:

Lessons for Others:

After reading both the original Facebook post, and watching the response… I’m still not sure if I buy the fact that this all organic, and not just a cleverly thought up publicity stunt by the geniuses of Bodyform’s marketing department, but it is entertaining nonetheless. It also shows some key techniques in responding to negative social media interactions.

Here are some quick tips on dealing with Social Media Disasters:

• Have a plan
• Be consistent – Have the same tone for each response
• Respond to Negative comments within 24 hrs or less
• Start with a “Thank You” for Posting
• Always Offer a Sincere Apology
• Craft responses that subtly separate real problems from unrealistic rants
• Provide a personal point of contact for further discussion
• Offer future plans to remedy problems
• Focus on dddressing the facts and not the emotions of the person’s complaint

Web References:

Bodyform
Mashable
YouTube
Facebook

Submitted by: Becky Minor– SMBP Student University of Waterloo. To contact the author of this entry please email becky.minor3@gmail.com

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.