Word of mouth is arguably the most powerful form of marketing for your brand. Digital and social media amplifies word of mouth marketing to an extreme level – it’s instantaneous, accessible by anyone, and permanent. One comment can explode into thousands of comments seen by thousands of people in a matter of minutes. Plus, the Internet does not forget. Those comments are out there. Forever. That’s great if they’re good comments, but occasionally something negative may pop up – it happens to every organization in every industry. Fortunately all of those things that make social media so powerful also make it easier for you to act quickly and on a mass-level to handle the haters when needed.

So when the inevitable negative comment about your brand creeps up, don’t fret. Here are three things that will help you squash that negative sentiment and maybe even reverse it into a positive one that ends up creating a loyal member and stronger brand.

Monitor your brand

First thing’s first. Keep an eye on what’s being said about your credit union online. It could be as easy as Googling your credit union’s name or setting up a Google Alert for it. You may find some comments on Yelp! or other review sites that aren’t necessarily where your credit union is socially active. Make sure you have staff monitoring your social accounts like Facebook and Twitter regularly as well. There are hundreds of free social media monitoring tools out there like Hootsuite, Socialmention and Mention that will help you keep track of your brand in the social sphere.

Over half of consumers prefer social channels for customer service.

(Source: Conversocial Report: The State of Social Customer Service)

Respond quickly and publically

Members expect immediate response in this digital world. The longer you leave a negative comment sitting out there, the more upset your member gets, the further the negative sentiment spreads, and the less likely you are to turn an unhappy member into a loyal one. It’s important to respond as quickly as possible. Not only that, you must respond publically. Extend that extraordinary member service online for all of your followers to see. In doing so, you’ll show that you’re responsive and open to feedback as well as eager to take care of any issues that may arise. So when your next new member Googles your credit union, they’ll immediately find positive qualities, even though they may have stemmed from a negative member experience.

Why not just delete the comment? Because people will notice. You can’t hide much when everything is instant and everyone’s constantly connected. Even if you do respond to the person offline, to everyone else it looks like you’re trying to hide something or are actively ignoring them. Bottom line — your members will be able to tell – and will likely then tell everyone else. Whatever you do, do not ignore or delete any comments, unless they are clearly SPAM or inappropriate.

42% of consumers complaining in social media expect 60 minute response time.

(Source: Edison Research)

Be a human

Think of social media as just another communications channel. Your approach to handling member complaints or negative comments should, at the root, be the same as it is face-to-face in a branch or on the phone. Don’t just paste a canned robot response. Use plain English and speak (or type) like you would to another human. Don’t be defensive. Own up to mistakes, apologize and offer a solution. If a member were standing in front of you with a complaint, you’d never just walk away, ignore them, or simply apologize without offering a resolution. So why would that be acceptable online?

Nearly half of consumers say that a personalized response from a brand would strengthen their brand loyalty.

(Source: Conversocial Report: The State of Social Customer Service)

Remember, negative comments will happen. The great thing about social media is that it provides a platform to address them right away and not only help make that member happy, but also show others how well you provide member care, in any channel.