Why turning off comments is bad form (and what to do instead)

Written by Shanna Crispin

Managing social media in the public sector is not an easy task. Your community can’t take their business elsewhere if they’re unhappy, which results in people venting frustrations online.

But disabling comments is not the answer. Neither is investing time and energy into winning over people who are openly against you.

Here’s what you need to know about managing an online community in a public sector environment, and what to do instead of turning off comments.

Be social

If your organisation is on social media, you need to play by the rules of the game. That means engaging in the two-way conversation that social media was built for.

The option to disable comments is tempting, particularly when faced with the dreaded pile-on that can be seen across many public sector social media pages.

But using a conversation platform for broadcast-only purposes will only frustrate your community and further alienate those who are already dissatisfied.

You’re essentially telling your community they’re only allowed to talk to you through specific channels – not a great move if you want to build trust. A stronger position is to demonstrate transparency, integrity and a genuine willingness to listen.

But you need to establish clear boundaries.

Implement Social Media Community Guidelines

Establishing clear expectations for your online community and what they can expect provides a tool for taking action when activity is inappropriate.

Community guidelines should outline when your page is monitored, how it will be used, and what moderation action will be taken in certain circumstances.

They should also be reflective of, and refer to, existing Community Standards for the platforms you are publishing on, such as Facebook’s, found here.

To help get you started, you can download a Social Media Community Guidelines template here.

Focus on the masses

There is a lot of focus given to detractors. Often this is accompanied by leadership pressure to stop the negative comments from active community members – I know, I’ve been there!

But focusing on the squeaky wheel is rarely a productive use of time.

Confirmation bias means that people who hold a strong negative view often interpret new information through an existing belief or experience. Attempting to convince them, particularly in a public forum, can be an uphill battle.

A more productive approach is to focus on the quiet observers.

Most social media conversations are happening in front of hundreds or thousands of people who are watching how you respond.

This is an opportunity to demonstrate integrity and transparency to those observers who are forming opinions about your organisation every time they see an interaction. In many cases, they matter far more than the person making the complaint.

Establish an escalation process

A clear process for dealing with problematic situations makes life easier for everyone.

If you have social media community guidelines in place, your communications team can be empowered to take action when comments or activity are not in line with the guidelines.

The next step is to establish an agreed process for managing repeat offenders. A good approach that I’ve implemented before involved people receiving warnings that they would be removed from the organisation’s page if the behaviour continued.

Getting leadership buy-in to this process helped demonstrate a strategic approach to social media management and supports a transparent position that can be clearly articulated.

Train your team

The bigger conversation is that social media management is not about vanity metrics and eliminating criticism. It is about committing to authentic conversation with your community.

Unfortunately, many leadership teams still see social media primarily as a broadcast channel. In reality, it is also a customer service and engagement channel that shapes how people perceive your organisation.

Turning off comments might reduce visible criticism, but it doesn't reduce dissatisfaction. If anything, it can reinforce perceptions that your organisation isn't willing to listen.

The organisations that build trust on social media are the ones that consistently show up and demonstrate transparency when conversations become difficult.

If you're facing pressure to turn off comments, the conversation you need to have is how to demonstrate your organisation is listening.

That's where trust is built.