How to Deal with Negative Comments on Social Media: a How-To Guide

3 min read
18 January 2024

Everybody knows that social media do not only give us our dear friends and followers but haters as well.

What do encyclopedias tell us about them?

“Hater — enemy, foe, trouble-maker, hatemonger. Derived from the word “hate” which means “loath”. One who has strong negative feelings for some person.”

As a rule, they use the following phrases:

“I’m so sorry, but I have to tell you the truth!” “I am not a hater, but…” “Nonsense! /This is nonsense! / How this nonsense did appear on my feed!’

But to be honest, everybody left such comments on someone else’s page. Stop denying it, having a guilty look. It’s alright. Nobody is perfect.

What are the advantages of having haters?

Do not rush to ban these unpleasant people forever, you can always do it later. There are ways to make them work for your own good. The secret is not to take it all serious.

If you have not received negative feedback for a long time, it’s a sign that you are going around in circles and have not entered a new stage for ages. You have created a comfortable environment and are feeling euphoria because of the likes you have got, instead of moving forward. This way you will never get millions of followers.

Communication with haters attracts potential followers — everybody wants to watch a fight from a safe distance and maybe even take a small part in it. You can even post the most provocative piece of the conversation to amuse everybody. Online adrenaline makes life more exciting without risk.

If such a situation has happened on Facebook, you would rather not delete comments you do not like. And here are the reasons for it:

  1. The impeccable page looks boring and can’t be trusted because perfection is not real.
  2. Any comments make your post be shown up on feed, that’s why it is better to make fun of the hater spurring him/her to post a couple of comments more.

So, if next time you see some negative comments like “the author of this post is bad and brainless” on your account, do not ignore or delete them.

Say hello and start a casual conversation. Never be offended with such a person, because in this case you will easily cross the line and get personal, compromising your brand. Take it all as a game. Promotion on social media has many faces, and this is one of them.

Enhancing your sarcasm and rhetorical skills is good for your brain. You may laugh at this, but scientists made experiments which have proved that our brain uses more energy to interpret sarcasm and this means that in such cases it functions even better. The sarcastic dialogue intensifies abstract thinking and encourages you to be creative. Can you see the advantages now?

And here are some “security rules”:

  • If you are soft and delicate, make your account private and scan everyone who sends you a follow request.
  • Do not hesitate to block the most irritable hater: it is your account and everyone must follow your rules here. In the most difficult situations use the opportunity of administrative penalties imposing. Online hooliganism is subject to prosecution by law.
  • Apply verbal aikido techniques turning a person from your enemy to your friend, buyer, or partner step by step.

And never be afraid of haters, what if that hater is me or you? We all have two legs, two hands and a lot of hidden complexes, we all need to laugh and love chocolate biscuits.