‘He’s been taken in for questioning by the police.’
Woh! This was the outcome of a comment on Facebook that had been posted less than 24 hours before. A straightforward Facebook update generated a string of friendly banter — until one, very nasty comment. It was violent and sexually explicit.
The person monitoring the page immediately took a screenshot then hid the comment, the user was blocked and the issue escalated to the relevant parties including legal advisors. They then notified the police, who responded accordingly.
This was one of those very rare occurrences, but we were prepared for it. We had put in place a comment grading system, with appropriate responses and processes mapped out for each level. It was crystal clear what needed to happen when the comment was posted.
It’s sad that the process was required at all, but the potential for damage in social media comes from the unknowable scenario, the wild card, not just your regular complaints or what you’ve dealt with in the past.
There are 3 key factors here:
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Someone was monitoring the page and saw the comment.
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House rules were set on the page.
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A social media response plan was in place for all comments.
The 6 Critical Types of Social Media Comments You Must Plan For
