Nobody likes trolls – there is a lady who’s known in several groups I’m in for commenting on everyone’s ads telling them to stop advertising to her – which unbeknownst to her is probably making her see more of their ads… so what can you do about it?
Harassment, negative comments, stupid questions and more can become annoying as you grow your business and reach more people. And while there is often an advantage to replying with a bit of sass and sense of humour, sometimes it’s too much to manage, or downright defamatory.
So what can you do about it?
Firstly, you can manage it organically by just removing the comments and blocking the repeat offenders.
However, if you already don’t have enough time on your plate, or the emotional drain is too much, here is where this tactic comes into play. We’re going to tell Facebook to filter out those words.
To do this you’re going to want to head to your Facebook Page (not the ads manager), and click on Publishing Tools.
Then across the top, click Settings.
Then, click Privacy.
Then, click Public Posts.
On the right-hand side, you’ll see Comment Moderation and two filters, one of these is to hide certain words, the other profanity.
The beauty of the ‘certain words’ filter is you can click edit and add a list of words to exclude that are coming up in troll comments, whatever that is for you.
A word of caution
While trolls are a drain, you don’t want to filter out every single negative comment ever left. As I mentioned earlier, there is real value in replying to negative feedback and having the space to explain yourself and business practices.
For example, if you get complaints that you are too expensive, having a conversation with someone about the value of your product and why it’s worth the dollars is worthwhile. Or if someone questions your manufacturing it can be a good learning experience for your customers.
You also don’t want to use this to remove comments about a dodgy product or bad business practices as that’s unethical – take the feedback and make your business better!
There are plenty of trolls out there though that just like to comment on ads for fun, and that’s not nice to experience as a business owner, setting up some core words to filter out can make your life just that little bit easier. And bonus this works on both your organic and paid posts!
Going into a meeting prepared is your best chance of finding a good agency or freelancer to manage your ads. There are some excellent sales people out there, doesn’t necessarily make them great at ads – but asking the hard questions you’ll put yourself in a much better position to find the right fit for your business and your goals.
Want to chat with us? Ask us the hard questions? You can contact us here, or book in a Free Strategy Session and we will review your ads for you!
Feature Photo by Jeff Hardi on Unsplash