When an article you wrote or a video you made gets negative comments, your first reaction may be emotional, and that stems from the fact that you put significant thought and energy into making that content available.
However, when you break it down rationally it becomes clear that there are different types of negative comments and different strategies that you can take to deal with those negative comments and maximize the potential benefit that can result from them.
That’s right: You and your audience can benefit from negative comments. First off, let’s be sure to identify spam and obvious trolling, and if the comment is offensive or abusive, it may be best to remove or not publish the offending comment (if you are screening comments). If your content involves a hot topic or controversial position, you may expect to get negative feedback of all types, both topical and abusive, and much of this is because the audience may be reacting emotionally. By having the cooler head, you can moderate the discussion so that it remains constructive.
Beyond the abusive comments that can be dismissed, negative comments may provide the creator with feedback that may lead to an improvement or the need for more content on an element of that topic. Perhaps something was unclear in the information you presented, and this may come to your attention because of a negative comment.
In that case, you first have an opportunity to engage with the person who commented and clarify the information. You can answer their questions, which is often the purpose for which your target audience is looking up your articles or videos. You have an immediate opportunity to turn that negative into a positive, and the rest of the audience can also benefit. Think of how you can both teach and learn as a result of the comment.Yes, you may approach future related topics differently based on what you learn from engaging with your audience.
While we deal with serious and professional topics much of the time here at Media Blitz, we also deal with entertainment and the arts; criticism of live performances and existing music, movies, and television shows can serve to make individual performers and creators become better at what they do. When we review artistic works, we always try to include constructive feedback, if only in appreciation of the care it took to create a given work. The sum of feedback and artistic interaction over time affects the trajectory of artistic movements and niches. The same can happen with professional content and thought leadership.
Of course, there are many stories of business professionals and popular artists who pursued their own direction in spite of critics who told them to give up or that they couldn’t be successful. They pursued a tangent with their own vision and made it a success. Sometimes either ignoring negative feedback or dismissing it can be the way to go, and that is a judgment call you may have to make.
Other times, there are many personalities in modern mass media that seem so wrongheaded and out of touch with reality that they need to start listening to their critics. You don’t want to be that guy, neither. Or, maybe a little criticism from their audience could get them back on track… You can probably think of a favorite band that changed its sound over the course of several albums, and their longtime fans may want a return to the sound with which they first fell in love…
It’s great if you have a target audience that loves you. It is important to give that loving audience the quality content they deserve, and that is also a way to build loyalty. By listening to commenters with constructive negative feedback and reacting appropriately, you can help everyone to win, and this helps you to grow the effectiveness of the body of your content and your platform.
Nadya Khoja at Content Marketing Institute has a recent article relating to the topic of negative criticism, which is worth a read: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/02/manage-negative-feedback-positive/
If YOUR target audience has moved online for the information they are seeking and YOU want to give it to them directly where they are searching for it, CONTACT Media Blitz Publicity to discuss how our Video Content Marketing CONSTANT CONTENT FLOW programs can help you give them that information on a consistent basis!
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The Best Ways to Deal With Negative Comments and Feedback
When an article you wrote or a video you made gets negative comments, your first reaction may be emotional, and that stems from the fact that you put significant thought and energy into making that content available.
However, when you break it down rationally it becomes clear that there are different types of negative comments and different strategies that you can take to deal with those negative comments and maximize the potential benefit that can result from them.
That’s right: You and your audience can benefit from negative comments. First off, let’s be sure to identify spam and obvious trolling, and if the comment is offensive or abusive, it may be best to remove or not publish the offending comment (if you are screening comments). If your content involves a hot topic or controversial position, you may expect to get negative feedback of all types, both topical and abusive, and much of this is because the audience may be reacting emotionally. By having the cooler head, you can moderate the discussion so that it remains constructive.
Beyond the abusive comments that can be dismissed, negative comments may provide the creator with feedback that may lead to an improvement or the need for more content on an element of that topic. Perhaps something was unclear in the information you presented, and this may come to your attention because of a negative comment.
In that case, you first have an opportunity to engage with the person who commented and clarify the information. You can answer their questions, which is often the purpose for which your target audience is looking up your articles or videos. You have an immediate opportunity to turn that negative into a positive, and the rest of the audience can also benefit. Think of how you can both teach and learn as a result of the comment.Yes, you may approach future related topics differently based on what you learn from engaging with your audience.
While we deal with serious and professional topics much of the time here at Media Blitz, we also deal with entertainment and the arts; criticism of live performances and existing music, movies, and television shows can serve to make individual performers and creators become better at what they do. When we review artistic works, we always try to include constructive feedback, if only in appreciation of the care it took to create a given work. The sum of feedback and artistic interaction over time affects the trajectory of artistic movements and niches. The same can happen with professional content and thought leadership.
Of course, there are many stories of business professionals and popular artists who pursued their own direction in spite of critics who told them to give up or that they couldn’t be successful. They pursued a tangent with their own vision and made it a success. Sometimes either ignoring negative feedback or dismissing it can be the way to go, and that is a judgment call you may have to make.
Other times, there are many personalities in modern mass media that seem so wrongheaded and out of touch with reality that they need to start listening to their critics. You don’t want to be that guy, neither. Or, maybe a little criticism from their audience could get them back on track… You can probably think of a favorite band that changed its sound over the course of several albums, and their longtime fans may want a return to the sound with which they first fell in love…
It’s great if you have a target audience that loves you. It is important to give that loving audience the quality content they deserve, and that is also a way to build loyalty. By listening to commenters with constructive negative feedback and reacting appropriately, you can help everyone to win, and this helps you to grow the effectiveness of the body of your content and your platform.
Nadya Khoja at Content Marketing Institute has a recent article relating to the topic of negative criticism, which is worth a read: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/02/manage-negative-feedback-positive/
If YOUR target audience has moved online for the information they are seeking and YOU want to give it to them directly where they are searching for it, CONTACT Media Blitz Publicity to discuss how our Video Content Marketing CONSTANT CONTENT FLOW programs can help you give them that information on a consistent basis!