Should we try to reply to all Facebook posts?
June 20, 2011 11:19 AM Subscribe
What is the best practice as far as replying to Facebook posts on a brand's page?
We have a medium sized brand and try to respond to nearly all Facebook wall posts as there is a belief in transparency and engagement. Posts do not get deleted unless they are offensive. If its just a stupid comment we try to at least reply with a "sorry you feel that way...".
There are others in our organization who feel that we should only reply to a few posts.
Does anyone know of any report or data that demonstrates why a brand should reply to as many posts as they can and that more is better?
For example the Chipotle replies to 80+% of their posts. They say "“We think nearly everything warrants a response,” Arnold said. “For a company like ours where so much of the marketing is driven by word-of-mouth and things that feed word-of-mouth, these platforms are really great tools to use.”"
More quotes like that or data would be very helpful.
We have a medium sized brand and try to respond to nearly all Facebook wall posts as there is a belief in transparency and engagement. Posts do not get deleted unless they are offensive. If its just a stupid comment we try to at least reply with a "sorry you feel that way...".
There are others in our organization who feel that we should only reply to a few posts.
Does anyone know of any report or data that demonstrates why a brand should reply to as many posts as they can and that more is better?
For example the Chipotle replies to 80+% of their posts. They say "“We think nearly everything warrants a response,” Arnold said. “For a company like ours where so much of the marketing is driven by word-of-mouth and things that feed word-of-mouth, these platforms are really great tools to use.”"
More quotes like that or data would be very helpful.
And... upon preview, I realize that I didn't answer your question...
Yes! You should reply to posts! The more posts that we've responded to on our artist page, the more daily interactions, "shares" and likes we've received. Feel free to memail if you want specifics!
posted by raihan_ at 11:45 AM on June 20, 2011
Yes! You should reply to posts! The more posts that we've responded to on our artist page, the more daily interactions, "shares" and likes we've received. Feel free to memail if you want specifics!
posted by raihan_ at 11:45 AM on June 20, 2011
as a consumer i get a little jolt of AWESOME when a band/brand responds to me when i've tweeted/facebook messaged. i can't actually see a up side to not responding unless you want to make those you respond to feel extra super duper special, but it seems the pay off is better if you make everyone feel listened to.
posted by nadawi at 11:55 AM on June 20, 2011
posted by nadawi at 11:55 AM on June 20, 2011
I don't have any expert knowledge on this subject, but I respect retailers who respond to the wall posts regularly. For example, I visited Overstock's page and was impressed by the efforts that retailer was making to fix complaints. Some user comments were silly, but when I read the wall, I got a generally good feeling about the company's efforts and level of engagement with their customers.
I have no idea if some posts were deleted, but I think I'd rather see the dumb posts with your mature response (sorry you felt that way, etc) than evidence of behind-the-scenes deletions. The way I think about it, social networking is everywhere, anyone can say anything, but I definitely don't go post on a company's Facebook wall just to say hi. I like knowing that the social network behind a company is useful to me as a consumer and that my feedback is actually registering (whether good or bad). Unless responding is becoming a hardship due to quantity, I think it's a great company policy.
posted by Kronur at 11:58 AM on June 20, 2011
I have no idea if some posts were deleted, but I think I'd rather see the dumb posts with your mature response (sorry you felt that way, etc) than evidence of behind-the-scenes deletions. The way I think about it, social networking is everywhere, anyone can say anything, but I definitely don't go post on a company's Facebook wall just to say hi. I like knowing that the social network behind a company is useful to me as a consumer and that my feedback is actually registering (whether good or bad). Unless responding is becoming a hardship due to quantity, I think it's a great company policy.
posted by Kronur at 11:58 AM on June 20, 2011
I love King Arthur Flour's FB page (talk about responsive!), and just now found this brief discussion of the company's use of social media. The interviewee in the video claims that he sees a link between posts and upsells.
A question pitched to your social media team is an opportunity to build a connection and to mention products or solutions that might be helpful. Don't waste your customers' attention!
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:10 PM on June 20, 2011
A question pitched to your social media team is an opportunity to build a connection and to mention products or solutions that might be helpful. Don't waste your customers' attention!
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:10 PM on June 20, 2011
As both a page owner and a consumer, I think you should reply to as much as possible.
posted by radioamy at 12:12 PM on June 20, 2011
posted by radioamy at 12:12 PM on June 20, 2011
“Strategies For Effective Facebook Wall Posts: A Statistical Review” (free, but requires info) may help you make your case. Summary of some findings. I can't vouch for the study, but the findings are interesting.
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:30 PM on June 20, 2011
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:30 PM on June 20, 2011
This might be interesting: TechDirt article on the government of Iceland's Facebook page, where they are crowdsourcing their new constitution. A lot of commentary, both positive and negative, and the admin responds to almost everything.
posted by Infinite Jest at 1:25 PM on June 20, 2011
posted by Infinite Jest at 1:25 PM on June 20, 2011
Response by poster: These are all great resources. Thank you.
posted by UMDirector at 1:42 PM on June 20, 2011
posted by UMDirector at 1:42 PM on June 20, 2011
Admin for a page with 17K fans here. You definitely want to engage comments. That's one of Facebook's algorithms for what shows up in people's news feeds, plus it's what social media is all about.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 7:10 PM on June 20, 2011
posted by Short Attention Sp at 7:10 PM on June 20, 2011
Former admin of a page with around 13k likes/fans-- people love it when you respond to them, especially if you're funny. It's sort of the point of facebook-- you make your brand a lot more personal by interacting with your fans.
posted by NoraReed at 2:29 AM on June 21, 2011
posted by NoraReed at 2:29 AM on June 21, 2011
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The video embedded therein is a great test study on brand interactions within Facebook.
posted by raihan_ at 11:43 AM on June 20, 2011