Have you ever sent a post you regret?  Have you ever had an upset fan or follower that has expressed their dissatisfaction publicly?  I’m sure you have; but it is all in how you handle the situation that matters. Consider following these steps to help your business deal with upset or offended fans and followers. 

1.      Don’t ignore the problem.  Acknowledge the problem and let your audience know you are addressing the issue.  By not responding it may seem that you don’t care or that you are just ignoring the issue.

2.     Send the unhappy follower or fan a private message.  Let them know that you care about their perspective and see if you can solve the problem on a more personal platform.

3.     Put yourself in their shoes.  This isn’t always easy to do, but remember that you have a personal investment in your business and they don’t.  Try and see where they are coming from before you respond.

4.     If you have resolved the issue, remember to comment on the original post so your followers see that the issue was resolved.

5.     Unfortunately there are the times that a post needs to be removed.  You can ask the person that posted it to remove it or if that isn’t an option you can remove it as an administrator.  Remember to use your best judgement, not all negative conversation needs to be removed. 

Remember the old saying, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.”  These are definitely words to live by in the world of social media.