Ep 52: Navigating Negative Comments in Your Online Community

Feb 14

Navigating Negative Comments in Your Online Community

When it comes to building a successful online community, one question that often comes up is whether or not to allow negative comments about your business or program. It's important to address this proactively, rather than waiting for an incident to happen and then trying to figure out how to respond.

Before we dive in, let's clarify what we mean by "negative comments." For this conversation, we're talking about complaints or criticisms about the business or program, such as issues with customer support or dissatisfaction with the training.

The Downsides of Allowing Negative Comments

Maybe you're like most people and you're thinking, well, of course you delete those Shana, and you may have a point. Allowing negative comments can have its downsides like escalating conflict among members. It can impact others' opinions about the program or the brand, and distract from the main topic of conversation inside your community. It's understandable to want to delete negative comments. However, silencing comments doesn't change the truth about your program and can do more harm than good. If negative comments are becoming a recurring theme and causing a lot of drama. In that case, it may be best to address the root cause of the issue and make improvements before people cancel.

The Upsides of Allowing Negative Comments

Allowing negative comments can be a valuable opportunity to learn how to improve and better serve your community. In many cases, your community members will address negative comments before you even need to. This can have a positive impact on the community as a whole.

When to Allow Negative Comments

There are a few situations where allowing negative comments is particularly beneficial. If your community exists to support the creation or improvement of a product, then you'll want to make sure to allow those comments. Additionally, if your community values honesty and transparency, it's important to model how to handle negative comments gracefully. If your community has a strong culture of kindness and respect, then allowing negative comments can provide healthy boundaries for feedback.

When to Delete Negative Comments

While there are many benefits to allowing negative comments, there are also times when it may not be the best choice. For example, if your community is new and the culture is not yet established, you’ll want to create a strong culture and community before allowing negative comments. If you have a culture that is a very positive, “high vibe” culture to protect people from the conflict and negativity online or one that is helping people process emotionally volatile subject matter, allowing negative comments could undermine that goal.

Making Your Final Decision

I want you to assume you are going to allow negative comments and ask yourself, what would allowing them make possible? And if you were to allow them, what would you need to do differently to maintain the brand and culture?

If you decide not to allow them, ask yourself what channel you have open to your members for them to provide negative feedback. You don’t want to shut that feedback down completely because when we hear about that early on we can make improvements and rectify the situation to keep people from canceling.

Whatever decision you make, don’t make it out of fear or uncertainty. We are cultivators. And cultivators are intentional about the decisions they make in their business.

Deciding whether or not to allow negative comments in your online community can be a difficult decision, but it's crucial to weigh the pros and cons and consider the culture and values of your community. With a strong culture in place and a clear understanding of when to allow and when to remove negative comments, you’ll be one step closer to creating a thriving community.

Shana Lynn