How To Handle Facebook Ad Comments
(Even The Negative Ones)
Are you unsure of how to handle negative Facebook comments? Do you need guidance on best practices for responding to people on social media?
In this article, we break down how to best respond to negative comments. You’ll also learn about why it’s important to respond to customers quickly, plus mistakes to avoid.
Why Do Facebook Page Comments Matter?
When customers are upset about a product they purchased they typically respond by doing one of two things:
They contact the company who sold them the product directly
They complain on social media about it publicly
The first option (contacting you directly) is great since your brand can handle it outside of the public’s eye and you can resolve the customer’s problem.
The second option is where things get tricky... When customers complain online about your product it can have a big negative impact (especially on your posts).
Why?
Because people who are interested in your brand and those who see an ad that catches their eye, often look at comments on the post.
Selling online is all about trust, so when people have an interest in a product you sell, they’ll take a look at what people are saying in the comments + how you as a brand are responding to them.
So in short, responding to Facebook comments helps you out for a number of reasons:
You can address customer concerns quickly
You can save your brand’s reputation online
You can show people how great your customer service is
🙌 Pro-tip: Most customers just want to be heard. Reply as quickly as possible to acknowledge that you see them and hear them.
Should I Respond To All Facebook Ad Comments?
I highly suggest you respond to every single comment possible.
Your community can be built in the comments. Show up, do the work, and build relationships with customers in the comments.
I see a lot of business owners and teams only focusing on the negative ad comments, but in reality, you should be focusing on each and every comment you get!
Positive comments can help your ads perform better and can begin to build a community around your brand. Negative comments can also do this if you address them well.
When you respond to people who post on your ads, you’re showing customers that you value them and appreciate them. This helps people think more highly of your brand, which leads them to come back more.
Faster response time = happier customers = higher LTV
Bonus tip: Grow your Facebook page faster by inviting people who react to your ads. To do this, click on the number of the total reactions to your Facebook ads in the News Feed, then click the “invite” button for each person who has reacted to your post.
How Should I Handle Negative Facebook Ad Comments?
There are two main options you have when it comes to responding to negative ad comments:
Delete or hide the comment
Respond to the comment publicly
Let’s address each option...
Delete Or Hide Facebook Ad Comments
There are times when people are just trolling to be trolling. In those cases, if the comments are harsh, rude, negative, etc., and aren’t a genuine customer complaint, I’d recommend just hiding the comment.
Note: Some industries are more riddled with trolls than others, sadly it’s just a part of the advertising game and pretty much unavoidable.
Sometimes keeping up with comments can get out of hand, especially with higher ad spends. Want help with content moderation?
Go to your Facebook page and click “Settings” on the left.
Then click into the Profanity Filter section and turn it on. This will allow Facebook to filter negative comments filled with cuss words.
Next, you can go to “Page Moderation” above that and add words you want Facebook to block comments of.
Doing these two things can help censor some of the negative comments you’ll receive, which will help save you time so you can focus on the true comments and concerns you need to address.
For other negative comments that aren’t caught with these safeguards in place, you can click on them and hide the comments.
🙌 Pro-tip: If you have a repeat offender who constantly posts negatively about your brand on your page or in ad comments, ban them from your Facebook page.
To hide a comment, first, click on the three dots to the right of it. Then click on the “hide comment” button.
Note: This is a positive comment I’m just using to show where the buttons are. Don’t hide positive comments of course!
You shouldn’t hide all negative comments though as some will be genuine issues from your REAL customers. In that case, you’ll want to...
Respond To Negative Comments Publicly
The main point here is that you respond to these negative comments, don’t just leave them ignored! Leaving comments ignored will piss off the person who wrote the comment even more, AND it will make your business look worse to other people who are thinking about buying from you.
"39 percent of social media complainers who expect a reply want it to come within sixty minutes, yet the average response time from businesses is five hours." - Jay Baer
So how should you respond to a negative comment?
If a customer genuinely leaves a complaint or feedback, you’ll first want to address it. Acknowledge that you’ve heard the customer. Second, apologize and speak to the issue as best as you can. Lastly, you should suggest bringing the conversation to the DMs (so it’s not public-facing anymore).
🙌 Pro-tip: Try as hard as you can to put yourself in the shoes of your customer. Don’t let your emotions get involved with responding to a negative comment. Hear the customer, put yourself in their shoes, and be understanding when you write your response to them.
Why bring the conversation to the DMs? We will cover that in the next section...
What Are Some Of The Dos & Dont’s When Responding To Facebook Ad Comments?
✅ Do be aware that what you respond, will be read by others. Write back to comments while keeping in mind that other people will read them. Simple as that!
✅ Do use your brand voice and show your brand’s personality. This goes for both negative and positive comments. I hate when brands are overly formal or clearly copy/paste messages to people as responses. Mix things up and be personable! Show that you are human on the other side!
✅ Do suggest products or sales going on to increase your conversion rates (do this tastefully though and don’t be pushy). You can sell more by replying to comments and genuinely showing up for your customers. See someone tagging a friend? Encourage the friend to shop or help guide them to finding the right product. Provide good customer service and answer any questions you can.
❌ Don't reply and say you will offer a discount or send them another product for free. Other people reading comments may see this and decide to take advantage of you. This is why it’s essential to bring things to the DMs to address real concerns and to provide solutions, which sometimes may be a free product or a discount in the future.
❌ Don’t be nasty back. Unless it’s part of your brand voice, don’t stoop down to the level of negativity someone has put on your post. I have seen brands roast people back, which may have its time or place, but it can be a grey area that for most should be unavoided. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you when responding.
Now we know the dos and don’ts, but how can we manage comments efficiently?
Tools To Help Manage Facebook Ad Comments
There are a variety of tools you can use to help monitor and manage your Facebook ad comments.
One of our favorite tools for a variety of reasons is...
Gorgias
Gorgias is a great customer service tool that integrates beautifully with Facebook and Shopify. What’s great about Gorgias is you can easily pull in customer information and respond to questions efficiently in the DMs.
Gorgias has some great features that can help with comment moderation as well. You can even tag VIP customers who comment on your socials, so you can respond to them quickly and efficiently.
The software easily integrates with Klaviyo, Shopify, Facebook and other vital ecom platforms. This is why it’s one of our recommended tools for managing comments.
You can learn more about Gorgias here.
Note: The above URL is an affiliate link. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Conclusion
To build your community and show up for your customers, reply to as many comments as possible. Do everything you can to assist customers who comment on your posts. Realize that writing back to one person not only helps them, it helps your business, and it helps others see what a great company you are.
Be sure to keep your emotions in check. Don’t get mean and nasty with people. Negative comments are almost guaranteed in this day and age. When those cross the line, just hide their comments and move on.
How do you typically respond to negative comments and trolls? What will you implement from this article? Comment below and let us know!
- Toby from Brick.
P.S. Need Facebook ads help? Book a call with us here.
