On Monday, we had a great discussion about managing comments on your Facebook Page. When to delete, when to reply and when to flag.
In the comments, Steve Heye of the YMCA of Metro Chicago shared a "comment escalation flow-chart" to help staff decide how to respond to various types of comments - on blogs, Twitter and Facebook.
Five reasons why a decision flow-chart makes sense
- Scalability - Staff can be brought into the social media workflow quicker with simple directions.
- Consistency - A simple response policy means that you'll more likely respond as one voice, instead of many disjointed voices.
- Alignment - You can ensure that tactical responses on social media aligns with your over-arching business goals.
- Speed - The quicker foot-soldiers understand protocol, the quicker comments get responded to.
- Smarts - Granting the ability for staff to make decision on how to respond means that legal council can spend time on genuine legal issues.
Here's what Steve had to say about the bigger reason for the flow chart:
"Moderating comments may seem like just another task that has to be done b your authors. But in this particular pilot launch the authors are working with Teens. So when they take action on an inappropriate comment, they are actually working toward... reinforcing the program goal of strengthening [teens] self image."
You want your social media strategy to be sustainable. Flows charts like the one Steve shared are powerful tools to make social media practical, scalable, and sustainable. Download and print the YMCA of Metro Chicago chart here. Season to taste.