On social media, should free speech reign—or should you take control of the narrative before comments go too far?
Few brand managers have capitalized on social media the way Anderton’s Music Company has built their name on YouTube . With over 300,000 subscribers and thousands of views on their videos, the musical instrument retailer has grown their business and market share with targeted social media outreach.
However, the organization recently announced that they will police their videos’ comments section.
Lee Anderton, the company’s owner, said in a video that he doesn’t want to impede the vibrant discussion in the comments section, but he will delete comments and block users that post “vitriolic” or “aggressive” comments:
Should you disable comments?
Policing the comments section of a brand’s YouTube channel can be a thorny problem for social media managers and PR pros. A comments section is a powerful tool for fostering community and engaging consumers online—and it’s crucial to YouTube’s algorithms.
Vishal Srivastava, a YouTube expert and consultant with Trainedge Consulting, says comments are essential for getting more views.
“The YouTube algorithm looks at comments as a quality signal,” Srivastava says. “If a video gets more comments, YouTube will rank it higher and suggest it more often to people watching similar videos. Since these two methods account for [70 to 80 percent] of views for most videos, disabling comments is like giving yourself a big handicap.”
Srivastava supports rejecting inappropriate comments, however:
Comments do have the potential to upset your viewers but they are too important to turn off. YouTube has enough tools is place to help you effectively manage comments with minimum effort.
[RELATED: Craft messages that resonate with internal and external audiences and moves them to act.]
Turn to an expert who knows what to look for
Other social media experts recommend hiring a social media moderator who can effectively respond to trolls.
Chris Parks of Founding City Social prefers an actively engaged moderator, and says that person must possess certain skills:
[The moderator]…can drive the conversation and prevent trolls from spewing their nonsense. It's going to happen, but professionals know how to handle trolls. If they don't, then they should hire someone that does.
It’s also important for brand managers to differentiate between trolls and upset customers who want a genuine response.
In a blog post, Hootsuite shared how you can recognize trolls with five identifying markers. They include:
1. Trying to evoke an emotional response.
2. Entitlement.
3. Hyperbole.
4. Making it personal.
5. Poor spelling and grammar.
Identifying these behaviors can help you avoid wasting your time—and further fanning flames that can cause you a PR headache.
Communicators, how do you monitor the comments section of your websites and social media channels?
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