Emotional Intelligence on Social Media

Truth is……The use of social media can be a tough platform to balance for small businesses. At some point, you will be tested by someone on one level or another. I know I have struggled personally—and I admit—at times didn’t make the smartest decisions with how to address bad vibes online.

The truth is… trying to stay calm and professional on the internet can be a full-time job. As an entrepreneur, your messaging is highly important—and whether you realize it or not—social media exposes your emotional intelligence, or lack thereof to the world.

It doesn’t matter if it is on your personal or business page, the message you send is tied to your brand.

So how do we deal with this?

Let’s say a client is unhappy with your product or service and uses social media to let everyone know. Do we allow the negative or confrontational comment to stay? Do we give the person a piece of our mind?

Before we get into that, let me ask you a few questions:

1. How important is your messaging to you?

2. What are your projected plans to grow your business online?

3. How do you handle face to face negativity when it is directed towards your business?

I asked those questions to get to the heart of why you want to respond with emotional intelligence each time. Keep in mind the way you respond can be the very first engagement you have with potential clients, sponsors, or overall supporters. Nothing should be more important than your brand.

Here are a few suggestions to assist you with negativity online:

1.     Don’t ignore the negative comment. Address them and let them know that if they provide you with their email or phone number so you can contact them directly.

2.     If the situation warrants it, apologize online for their experience.

3.     If the comment has vulgar language let the person know that this isn’t acceptable and that you will be removing in within a certain timeframe.

4.     Add some messaging to your branding about the customer experience for your company.

#TruthIs you should take full responsibility for all interactions online. The verbiage you use can be the gap between you and the growth of your business. Never let your ego win, use emotional intelligence.

Are you emotionally intelligent? Take the quiz here and tell me what your results were in the comments below!

Until next time! #TheOutCrowd

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