When posting on social media, you are opening up the door for people to comment whatever they want – sometimes negatively. No one wants to see negative social media posts, and responding to negativity on social media can sometimes be hard! You don’t want to seem unprofessional by responding back harshly, but you also don’t want them to go ignored, as it can be an opportunity to represent your brand in a positive light. As a business, how should you be responding to negative social media?
Well, the fast food chain Wendy’s has taken a very unique approach to negative social media. It all started with a tweet from Wendy’s promoting their “fresh, never frozen” approach to their food. A twitter user responded, stating that Wendy’s beef is frozen and everyone laughs at their slogan. Initially the brand responded normally with another tweet ensuring users that their beef is indeed fresh. After the twitter user fired back, Wendy’s decided to take an unconventional approach and use some sassy humor.
Since the initial tweet, Twitter users have been tweeting constantly at the company with negative social media comments regarding their food; but that hasn’t deterred Wendy’s at
all.
This is a very different approach to handling comments like these on social media. Many would consider this unprofessional and possibly inappropriate. But think about it. By responding to negative social media comments this way, Wendy’s has received a large amount of attention. The Twitter page alone has become a trending topic and users everywhere are flooding to Wendy’s Twitter to see the responses for themselves. By using humor and sass in responses, Wendy’s has now reached new audiences on their social media that they wouldn’t have before. Now that people are invested in their Twitter, they will now be exposed to tweets promoting Wendy’s products. Who wins here? Wendy’s.
Perhaps using some humor in responding to negative social media posts is the best method. When it is done tastefully, it will turn unfavorable comments into a positive light for a brand. However, it is very important to note the difference between sass and humor, and being offensive. If a brand takes the Wendy’s approach in dealing with negative comments, they have to make sure they are simply being funny and not crossing the line. The difficulty with this is that the line is a bit blurred sometimes between comedy and being distasteful. If a business takes this approach, it is definitely a risk. However, it is a risk that can be very rewarding.
