Sadly, trolling is common place in today’s online environment.

A troll is a person or group of people that deliberately engage in online forums and pages in an attempt to create havoc; they make unfounded claims, they ridicule and they try to discredit individuals and businesses. Read the following tips for dealing with trolls.

Don’t take it personally
Trolls troll because, for some sick reason, they want you to take it personally; they want to upset, anger and discredit you or your business. Getting emotional or biting back at trolls is one of the worst actions you can take. Remember, as much as it may feel like a personal attack, there is nothing personal about it; they are just looking for a negative reaction.

Avoid arguing
Arguing with trolls is a waste of time, energy, resources etc. They aren’t looking to prove you wrong or to be proven wrong, so no matter how logical and correct the argument you put forward maybe, it won’t stop the trolls. They will often make slanderous, confounding claims but discrediting them won’t mean you win. They don’t care about being right or wrong, they care about working you up and making you engage with them.

Employ moderators
If your business is of a large size, or you find you are frequently trolled, employ a moderator, or provide adequate training on dealing with trolls to your social media team and include this role in their job description. Even if you ignore the trolls, they might still target or attack your followers or customers. A moderator can set clear user and engagement guidelines and if these are not respected, removing or blocking trolls from the platform is an effective step.

Develop a strong community feel
Creating a community feel within your online environment is a great tool to discourage trolls from even bothering to mess with your business. And if the community feels invested in your business, they will shut down trolls without you having to.