Social media critics, jerks and trolls

So you say you want a big social media presence? First, ask yourself how thick is your skin? I’m not sure how direct the relationship, but it is a certainty that with increased social media visibility comes increased scrutiny.

Seems obvious, right? This is not a surprise to public relations professionals, whose experience pre-social media was the larger the organization, the larger the market, the greater the amount of mass media attention.

While that’s true, a huge difference is also proving to be true. Social media also attracts a different crowd—less polite, more vulgar and less rationale. Those people now interact directly with the organization, grab headlines and infuriate the public relations professional.

If you’re a high school basketball standout, making the decision to attend a university, here is what it looks like on twitter:

If you’re the President of the United States, every tweet is subject to a barrage of insanity.

And what if you’re the Pope, attempting to spread love throughout the twitter-verse? Well...

So how should you deal with the critics, jerks and trolls? Here are a few suggestions.

1.     Determine ahead of time to what and in what situations you will respond. Have a plan and don’t get emotionally suckered into responding. The biggest social media mistakes are made when someone tweets in an emotionally elevated state. Restraint can be an effective strategy.

2.     Consider “real-world” interactions. Ask yourself if you were conversing with this person in a public place, how would you respond? Would you ignore the person and walk away from the situation? Would you try to elaborate on your position? Would you present your argument in a slightly different way? The answers in the “real-world” and social media perhaps should be the same.

3.     Understand the audience. You will want to consider the goals of the person inviting your reply. The person may be genuinely interested in your response; however, the person may be posting so that their friends can “like” their clever and sarcastic comment. In my opinion, the former demands your attention, while the later does not.

The truth is, criticism comes with a large social media presence. This is the reality for public relations professionals, but for most of us, our audiences are there as well though. We must be there, and we must learn to manage our relationships with critics, jerks and trolls, as best as possible.

Oversimplifying Social Media

“I am very little inclined on any occasion to say anything unless I hope to produce some good by it.” – Abraham Lincoln

As I consider social media, I cannot help but believe that in many cases public relations professionals individuals over-complicate effective communication. So, allow me to swing the pendulum entirely other way, prove my foolishness, and oversimplify it.

The question of how to respond to negative social media comments and posts was once again a topic of discussion among a group of public relations professionals I visited with last week. I remarked that I believe that in many cases I would be better served approaching social media as if it were an interpersonal conversation. This is especially the case during unpleasant conversations.

Let me explain.

In real life, clearly explaining the rationale behind a decision does not solve every disagreement, nor does every rebuttal ensure a point of contention is reconsidered. At times, “agreeing-to-disagree” is the only civil solution in my opinion.

Yet, this is contrary to what many social media experts profess. Instead, increased engagement is often considered a magic elixir. To be sure, I hope you do not read this as a post against engagement, as I believe it is the single most important quality of good social media. Nevertheless, hindsight teaches me that the biggest mistakes I’ve made on social media have come when the conversation was not going my way, but I unsuccessfully attempted to win someone over to my point of view. My continued engagement only led to my frustration, my counterpart’s anger, and an increase in hostility from others not previously involved in the conversation.

The differences in social media and interpersonal communication are many; I acknowledge my oversimplification. Most obvious is that a one-on-one conversation is a far cry from a one-on-one conversation in front of a few thousand of our closest friends.

Simply put, in real life and in social media, I believe there are times to continue the conversation, as additional details may help others’ understanding of a complex matter. At times, the person with whom you are conversing is someone you greatly respect. By all means engage that person with the care you’d offer a close friend or to anyone you greatly respect.

In real life, though, there are also times when walking away is he most effective approach as well. In my opinion, we would be better served in real life and in social media if we spoke only when some good could reasonably be expected to come of it.