Sadly trolling is part of online business and at some point you might see some negative comments on your ads or your posts.

Inside this episode I share tips on how to deal with these comments and how to stop it from happening again.

Tune in to hear more about trolls (not the cute pink fluffy ones)

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Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the new school of marketing podcast. Winter has arrived in Tasmania and the days are much shorter and the nights much colder. We haven’t had the woodfire on yet but I’m pretty sure that’ll change soon. 

We didn’t have a fireplace at our previous house but we always wanted one so we really love cold nights where we can have a fire. 

But enough about our idyllic Tassie winters… let’s talk about trolls. 

Not the ones with the fluffy pink hair, although they would be much nicer to come across, no – the ones that leave snarky comments on your Facebook posts or ads.

I was going through some of the comments left on a client’s ad last week and almost fell off my chair at how absolutely mean some people can be. 

It’s so sad that people feel so bad about themselves that they feel the need to lash out at another person, because let’s be honest, behind every business is a person.

Maybe some people forget that businesses are started and run by people, not robots that have no feelings. 

So in this episode I want to talk about how to block people from trolling your ads. 

Because I have zero tolerance for mean people that have no business commenting on your ads or your work.

So let’s put some boundaries in place and block people from trolling your ads. 

Firstly, we should look at what a troll is – at least on social media – a troll is someone who deliberately provokes others online by leaving offensive comments on posts. They basically live to make people upset or angry. 

Unfortunately it’s part of the package of being an online business. As soon as you decide that you run an online business, you’re going to be at risk of being trolled on social media. 

But that doesn’t mean that you should simply take it and suck it up, there are things you can do to protect yourself a little bit. Because let’s be honest, it always stings a little bit, even though you know that it’s more about them than it is about you. 

One tip I have for you is not to engage with negative comments.

Trolls are actively looking to provoke and thrive on responses and negative dialog, so the more you try to engage and possibly justify yourself, your business, or your particular post or ad, the more they will try to drag you down. 

They’re often irrational and will argue about anything they possibly can, even things that have nothing to do with your business or your post. So the best thing to do is not to engage and shut it down immediately. 

The way to do this is by blocking the troll and hiding their comment. 

Why not delete the comment you ask?
I’m yet to find solid evidence but it is said that when you hide comments they still count towards engagement whereas if you delete it doesn’t, and because engagement is good for your account the recommendation is to hide it. 

Another tip for you is to try to put your emotions aside and look at the comment from the writer’s side. Of course if it’s very snarky and illogical you should move on, but sometimes we find hidden gems in these comments.

Sometimes they’re actually feedback that we can do something with (but only sometimes). 

For example, I’ve had comments on my ads that said something like ‘another Facebook ads resource that promises the world’. 

My first reaction was to start typing a response about how helpful my free guide is for business owners and how many people have said this to me, but then I stopped myself and decided not to engage but use their comment to my advantage. 

Often when people leave comments it’s in response to an experience they’ve had, and in this case this person must have downloaded a few Facebook ads resources that were unhelpful. So I used it in my ad copy by saying something like ‘have you downloaded Facebook ads resources before, only to be disappointed?’

I literally use my audience’s words to speak to them. Because if one person has that thought, I’m sure there are others that feel the same way. 

So listen to see if they have a point/objection that you can use in your marketing

Can you make changes based on the feedback that’s left on your ads?

If it’s not helpful and it’s not feedback but simply a provocative comment, then ban them from posting and hide the comment. 

How do you do this?

To ban someone from commenting on your posts and ads you first go to your Facebook page settings. 

Then you go to people and other pages. 

Next you select Ban People and Pages from the drop down menu.

Then select + ban a person.

Type in the name of the person you want to block. Make sure the profile picture matches that of the person you want to block.

Then save your selection.

So far I haven’t ever banned or blocked someone. I generally hide the comment and get on with things. 

Remember that trolls thrive on arguments and they hide behind their keyboards. Don’t give it your energy. 

I hope you’ll never need this episode, but if you’ve been trolled I want you to know that it has nothing to do with you. Some people are trolls, and they have that label because they deliberately provoke by saying offensive things. 

It’s not you, it’s them. 

Ignore, hide and block them.

You’ve got better things to do.