How to manage social media backlash after a bad event

Do not provide a generic response

Providing a generic response will really annoy the guest and cause further frustration. A good way to make the message more personal is to address them by their name and give them a specific answer to their problem. You could direct them to the relevant customer support teams and clearly state your apology for such inconvenience. It’s always best to be transparent and honest with your customers… they will respect you more.

Do not delete negative comments

You may be tempted to delete any negative comments and I can see why – you don’t want it to ruin the reputation of your brand. However, deleting a comment will frustrate the customer even more and it can sometimes lead to other customers joining together to harnish the look of your brand in turn.

Instead, it’s best to contact them directly with an honest response and express your apology. Ideally, you want to be responding to comments very quickly, especially when it is negative.

How to handle a negative comment:

Don’t act defensive – just be honest.
Listen to your customers concerns
Reach out to them personally via message

Create an FAQ page

Especially in the events industry, customers always have a load of questions such as time, location, directions, or parking. These are all general enquiries that you could answer once for all of your attendees to see. Share a link to your FAQ page on your social media leading up to your event and make sure that all guests know what to do on the day.

Have a crisis management plan

If something does go wrong on the day of your event (Let’s hope it doesn’t) who is responsible for handling the social media channels?

You need to have a clear plan in place and be prepared for this situation if it occurs. Planning a crisi strategy in advance will put you in a better position to cope with any event day problems.

Finally, just see it as a learning curve. Things do go wrong or unexpected events may occur but as a business you need to learn to deal with them most effectively. As stated above, you need to have a very clear plan in place for who is responsible for your social media during the event and what to do if negativity starts coming your way. You should demonstrate a willingness to help your guests and resolve their issues immediately.

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