The internet is an amazing place. It has enabled people to connect with others who share the same interests and passions as they do, and it’s allowed for the rise of entrepreneurship. What many people don’t know about the internet, however, is that there are some really nasty places out there too. One of them happens to be on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter where cyberbullying can occur at any time – even when you’re not looking. What should you do if someone attacks you online?
What is an online troll?
Online trolls are people that frequent chat rooms and social media sites for the sole purpose of provoking an angry response. These guys are proud with their accomplishments: one troll even brags about his exploits! When we get upset by these bullies it actually works in their favor—they feed on our anger so they can continue trolling.
Feeding the trolls only makes them stronger, and they push harder. It also lowers you to their level where they’ll always win because of their vast experience. You’ll only get upset and act irrationally—while doing it on public forums that can be accessed by anyone with a computer or smartphone who has access to the Internet for as long as those posts remain visible online in one form or another if saved from your screen shots (unless deleted).
What should we do when a person has easy access to all things private? We’ve got to be careful not only ourselves but also family members too; otherwise online trolls will have free reign over what’s most important in our lives…
Negative online comments can be frustrating to deal with
A negative review left by a troll can have an everlasting impact, especially for small businesses. According to the Moz survey, nearly 70% of respondents were turned off when they saw negative online reviews and that’s not all. Word-ofmouth on social media is also highly influential in both promoting and condemning brands but it only works if you’re honest with your followers!
How to respond?
On a day to day basis, trolls are the bane of many peoples’ existence. They’re also one of our most pressing issues with bullying and lack thereof for adults who don’t know what to do about it. While some marketers recommend confronting them head on – like Curtis Snyder at Make Your Mark Media – Kendall Walters from Hootsuite reminds us not confuse these assholes with genuinely upset customers that need help too!
Whitney Gibson, author of Social Media Explorer and a social media consultant to the likes of Nike, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo posits that there are some factors you need to consider before deciding whether or not respond to negative comments. For example: is it worth the risk? Will responding make things worse for them in general? And how close do they want their followers’ relationship with themselves on social media channels like Facebook or Twitter ?
If we were talking about your personal account then this would be an easy decision because every day could bring new people who might see these hateful words – but if you’re representing brands across different platforms (like Snapchat) then choosing what content goes out becomes more complicated.
I’ve never minded legitimate feedback and criticism, even the occasional hater, but I won’t tolerate lies. If anyone ever comes across something false on my site or app they can report it to me so that we get them removed from our library as quickly as possible.
There are many places you can report false or inaccurate content online, and it doesn’t stop at social media networks like Facebook. The Internet is regulated more than one might think- there are checks and balances in place on every level to keep things as civil and clean as possible.
So be sure to check out the website of any organization that says they want your personal information before handing over anything!
Bottom Line
It’s a known fact that trolls are everywhere online, but they can still be difficult to spot. One minute you might think nothing of commenting on an article and the next thing you know is defending your long-held beliefs because some stranger has taken it upon themselves to attack them for no reason whatsoever!
It’s best just to ignore these sorts of people whenever possible so as not give them any more power than they already have—they don’t deserve sympathy or attention when all they’re doing is trying to hurt others with words alone.
However, negative commenting can escalate to trolling, which means the commenter will use unethical and illegal tactics to disrupt a business. Providing an opportunity for negative commenters is never worth it because there’s always a chance they’ll take things too far and affect your company in the process. If this happens, you should respond as best you can while working on removing any inflammatory or malicious content from being seen by others online.
