Having an effective social media strategy in place will help your staff avoid making errors when posting content under your business’ name online.

However, there may come a time when a social media blunder occurs, and your business’ branding image is placed at risk.

Here are three strategies to consider when navigating a social media fail.

Unresponsive action
Replying to social media trolls is usually not the best strategy to take. A valid question or complaint requires a responsive action. However, responding to a troll will usually only escalate the negative comment and hurt your brand.

Act immediately
Whether that involves replying to users online or not, it is important to assess the situation as quickly as possible and develop a solution. Always own up to any mistakes your business has made, professionally. Avoid replying in a rude or angry manner as this will only add fuel to the fire.

Remove it
If your business posts content that ends up offending users it is imperative you delete it. In this way, you can stop the mistake from evolving into a social media disaster.

Is it cause for panic?
It is important to realise that you cannot make everyone on social media happy. If a post incurs a couple of negative comments, but a handful of positive ones there may be no need for immediate action. Instead, monitor the post to see if the negative comments grow. If they do, then this may be a reason to remove it.