What to do when you are attacked online

Have you or your business been attacked in Social Media, received a bad Yelp review? What do you do now?

Social media has given a voice to anyone who wants to attack your business, and there are people out there who seem to revel in attacking for any reason — or no reason at all. If your brand gets bashed in an online forum, respond publicly, honestly and as quickly as possible. Don’t even think about creating an alias; you’ll get caught, and it will cause more damage to your reputation.

First, check the facts. Is this person a customer? A former or current employee? A competitor spreading rumors? Once you know the facts, offer to resolve any issues personally via email or telephone.

If you can, take the specific discussion offline. Then, as soon as it’s resolved, go back to the site where the negative review was posted and post an honest explanation of what was done to rectify the issue. If you can’t identify the person and you’re not sure the complaint is valid, post your policy on the subject and offer to resolve the issue.

Remember what your mother said: If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. If other people post personal attacks, take the high road. Never sink to their level.

Most importantly, rally the troops. Encourage friends and satisfied customers or clients to post positive reviews. (Ideally, this happens long before the first negative posting happens. But in the real world, do it as soon as you can if you didn’t get there before a negative posting occurred.)

Reaching out to satisfied customers and asking them for permission to share their comments and experiences can transform social media into a powerful marketing tool that will have a positive impact on your bottom line. There are two parts to transforming a negative online review into a positive marketing tool – Great tips from Retail on line integration