If you decide to hide every negative comment, it will be a failure — even if your first intention is to delete and hide a comment before anyone has seen it and forget about that ASAP.
Big companies have an in-house position of a community manager. And it is they who check comments and work with them — i.e., do not delete them but understand why the comment appeared and decide how the company can reply to get credit for its image.
Let’s inspect some cases where it is necessary to decide whether to delete the comment or leave it and reply to it.
Comments to be hidden
Sure enough, some comments and messages need to be deleted immediately without giving them a second thought.
Obvious spam: users with fake profiles make comments that can contain virus or malware links — delete such messages right away and protect your followers from accidental clicking.
Self-advertising: marketers say that commenting is a free tool for attracting your audience — and many users take that literally and make non-related comments to the post, writing something like ‘subscribe to my blog’ or ‘bring a friend and get $10’.
Inappropriate content: It means racial, homophobic, or misogynistic hate speech — the platform does not block such comments as spam every time, so pay attention to that.
Comments that you do not need to hide
Constructive opinion: If your audience voices judgment on the topic you have covered in your posting, this does not imply you have to delete those comments — try to build a dialogue and find out what caused such judgment instead. If such comments are about poor service or bad customer experience, thank the author for the feedback and offer them a coupon.
Questions on goods and services: On high-demand delivery days (say, before Christmas), your audience might be over agitated worrying about whether the gift is arriving on time without being lost on its way. Do your best in helping with track-numbers and offering discounts on next purchases. Be loyal.
Questions and inquiries on prices: Some brands give the prices only upon request as a part of their marketing strategy — but you have to reply to such comments. For example, can reply like this: ‘We sent you a direct message’ so that other users would not feel abandoned with no answer.
Strange as it may sound, users who have recently posted negative comments become brand advocates often — being connected to your audience and fixing their issues is priceless.
How to Hide Comments
To hide comments on Facebook* choose a comment to be deleted and place a pointer on it.
Press the drop-down menu, and you will see the two options — ‘Hide comment’ and ‘Embed’. Press ‘Hide comment’.
As soon as you have hidden the comment, you can delete it, ban the user from commenting on your page or undo the hiding.
Keep in mind that the author of a comment or any other users might notice the absence of his comment and start asking questions. Do not forget to clarify your reasons for deletion and/or hiding: for instance, you might say that the comment was abusing or violating your community standards. If you had your reasons — be sure to voice them.
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