Social Scorecard: Radio’s top social posts this week, plus 5 ways to handle haters on social media

Haters gonna always hate.

If I had a dollar for every time there was some ‘negative Nancy’ I had encountered on socials trolling….well, let’s just say I’d finally be able to own a home in Sydney!

Unfortunately when comments pop up on Facebook it’s rather intense as everyone can clearly see it associated with your network or show’s online presence.

This week I want to arm you with some 5 crafty manoeuvres so that you can side step the hate, when and if it decides to pop up.

1. Kill ‘em with kindness

Your first instinct is to delete, trash or freak out at some obnoxious comment or Visitor post.

Take a deep breath and stop.

Responding to a nasty post could actually turn things around. I honestly believe you lot forget that it’s ok that your network or station can communicate to listeners with a human touch. You’ll win them over with personality and wit instead of boring, stock standard responses.

Listener is annoyed because they haven’t received their free movie tickets, rambling on for 3 paragraphs all over your Facebook page? Take it to their Inbox and reach out – Even offer to call them personally. Taking the convo out of the public eye is the best course of action to take.

You will occasionally get that one person who is happy to continually troll and draw attention.

At this point I like to disarm them with some tactful humour. Shedding light on their comment is not only acknowledging what they are saying, but defusing the situation.

2. Hide comments, don’t delete them

You should already be doing this. If you aren’t, time to start. Hiding the offending comment still appears to the user and their friends on Facebook, but the rest of your audience can no longer see it. Like the saying goes ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ right? Troll thinks they’ve won, you’ve killed off the situation and they would of lost interest. Problem solved!

3. Ban specific keywords

You can add keywords on Facebook that aren’t allowed on posts, including Visitor posts. Once you’ve added them, any comments that contain your banned keywords get hidden and no one can see them at all – except for the user who posted it.

4. Say bye-bye to the bad guy or gal

So your serial pest has been coming back more times than the cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ and you’re fresh out of ideas. If they haven’t gotten the message, go ahead and ban them from your page. There will be an option to ‘Ban’ where you ‘Hide’ comments. You can also do it via the ‘Settings’ for your page.

I strongly advise keeping a log of any banned users, which includes their ‘Name’, date, time, reason and a screenshot – just in case they call and complain (oh trust me, they will!).

5. Report your hater

If you’ve exhausted all other avenues and the user just won’t quit, don’t be afraid to attempt to get them suspended or deleted from Facebook.

I rarely have to use this option, but if you find that their comments have escalated and become abusive, offensive or they are bullying other users – Facebook may be able to take action, making it harder for them to target you online. You can find everything you need to know regarding bullying on Facebook’s Safety Tools & Resources page.

Our picks this week come from the Hit Network’s Hamish and Andy, Nova 106.5’s Ash, Kip & Luttsy and KIIS 106.5’s Kyle and Jackie O.

1. The Hit Network’s Hamish and Andy: Facebook – ‘When you give-away $10k by randomly dropping it from a hot air balloon’ (SCA)

Clearly I’m like others and just love watching these two in action, although the office doesn’t generally appreciate my loud laughing and table slapping. They are so utterly genuine and fun with their content; it’s a natural progression for listeners to be drawn to it. They are masters at striking up a personal connection with their audience. This video appears more ‘in the moment’ and human – not polished or overly produced. Their content demonstrates humanisation at its best and proves that networks really need to invest in this exact style of off the cuff content.

2. Nova 106.5’s Ash, Kip & Luttsy: Facebook – ‘Question Time’ (Nova Entertainment)

YAAAAAAAS! I’ve touched on this before – running Q&A’s to drum up engagement. Perfect example. It’s a simple and easy way to boost it via Facebook and Twitter. My only criticism? I can’t see any community management at all. If you are going to push out something like this, where you use some sort of call to action, you need to be on top of responses to keep the conversation going. Great concept regardless and a real standout!

3. KIIS 106.5’S Kyle and Jackie O: Facebook – ‘Kyle drenches Intern Pete’ (ARN)

I feel like Kyle Sandilands is coming across more and more as a loveable larrikin from social content like this – it’s making listeners want to engage and again, shows a human side. Always remember, your listeners want to feel like they are part of a community – watching all the action and in on jokes. Throw in a cross promo and you have a winner.

To submit your content to Radio Today’s Social Scorecard, send us an inbox message via our Facebook page.

Social Scorecard is compiled exclusively for Radio Today by Jess Frangelli.