Week 2A: Handling the Negative and "Liking" the Postive

Today's post is about positive and negative experiences on social media. Here are some questions to consider. There is a place to comment below. I would love to hear your stories of negative and positive experiences.

Have you ever experienced difficulty communicating with a business?

During every holiday season, I get a nice bonus. I had an interest in a company called Youngevity and wanted to sign on as a distributor. They sell different lines of supplements and convenient, organic food.

Because it is multi-level, I decided to find someone selling the products who was also prominent on Facebook. I needed a mentor, someone who knew how to make money using social media. All this happened about two years ago

I contacted a company on Facebook because I was interested in selling the product.  There was an initial conversation but no follow-up. I "liked" their page and waited for more information, but it never came. My bonus was spent on something else.

Last December, still interested in the product line, I contacted a company that is prominent on twitter and sells Youngevity. This was a more positive experience initially. They said they could send me start-up materials in the mail. I sent him my address. No materials ever came. I contacted him again. Nothing. I was very disappointed. Again, my bonus was spent on something else.

Does social media make it easier to get noticed or get your problem solved? 

In this case, social media didn't work to help get my problem solved. Moral to the story? It doesn't matter what communication device consumers are using. The mantra of all sales and customer service is Follow-Up, Follow-Up, Follow-Up!

However, there have been times when I reached out on social media and it turned into a private email conversation. That was nice.

Have you ever had a positive experience communicating with a business through social media?  

Once, I saw a contest on twitter. All you had to do is follow the account and you would be entered into a contest.  I won! The company followed up and sent me a bar of homemade soap and some lip balm. 

Home Run!

So, to repay their kindness, I made a little ad and sent it to the 25,000 followers on Facebook and twitter that I had back then. I wish the company the best. It was an awesome experience.
The photo of the ad is in the beginning of this post.

If it was your own business on social media, how would you respond to positive or negative comments?

The first thing is to decide if it is important to respond. There are many nasty people out there on social media just trying to get a rise out of you. If you decide to respond, respond with grace.  If the negative poster has a point, tell them you will consider what they have said. If they need more information, include a link in your reply. Apologize if you have been out of line. Once I did this and others commented that I took the high road.

And the high road is a great place to be.

Describe what made your experience negative or positive.

When people follow up on what they say the will do, it is always wonderful. When I reached out to a company twice on two different social media platforms with no results, it is frustrating.

The people who ran the contest quickly asked for my address and sent me the products. When the product came in the mail, it was a little thrill. The product was really nice. I was happy to reciprocate by spreading the word.

What are your positive and negative experiences? Tell me your stories below.