Trolls. Beautiful (yet ugly) and laughable. They give life to our tales, ballads and legends.

Social media trolls?

Not so much. They wreak havoc.

All a troll wants is to inflict pain, ridicule, and humiliate a targeted person.

Left lonely, these little social media misfits will tarnish your make and reputation.

But… that doesn't mean you can't deal with them—effectively.

You can. I'll show you how.

Bonus: Read the step-by-pace social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

What are social media trolls?

They're people who deliberately provoke others online. By saying inflammatory and offensive things. They live to make people upset and angry.

People similar your fans and followers.

They rant, post death threats, spew hate speech. They attack an opponent's graphic symbol. And say things to entreatment to people's feelings (rather than their intellect).

They're foes— not friends—of your business organization. Clearly.

Don't mix trolls up with angry customers.

The internet is filled with people stating their opinions. Including upset folk wanting to share their negative, but sincere, beliefs.

Not so with these digital devils.

Trolls oftentimes don't believe a word they write. Just say information technology anyway, but to piss off the others.

Simply stated… social media trolls = online bullies.

Where can they exist found?

Trolls lurk online, wherever people comment, post and share with others. Like…

  • Social media, of course
  • Internet chat rooms
  • Email groups
  • Give-and-take forums
  • Blogs

Internet trolls are nasty. They crusade sleepless nights for you lot as a social media marketer. Same for your customer service agents.

So then, it's adept to know the departure betwixt a troll with a goal versus a client with a (genuine) rant.

Troll or upset customer?

Sometimes it's hard to tell.

Both might appear irked, peradventure even furious or enraged.

Fine. Stay calm. Expect at the substance of their words. That's usually the tell-tale.

Heed and think about their motivation. Exercise they appear frustrated, stating a seemingly authentic claim about your business, product or service?

Do they seek truth?

Practice they abide by social media etiquette?

Or… do they sound outraged, seething and trying to incite rage in your brand or in other users?If so, you've got yourself a alive, social media troll—an cyberspace misfit, in the digital flesh.

For the united nations-delighted customer, heed to them. They want to be heard. If you address and resolve their issue, they'll be satisfied and those unhappy messages will end.

But not the online troll. They won't finish until they're forced out or get bored.

Trolls aren't looking for resolution. They want to engage in battle, ane that nobody can win.

Whether a troll or unhappy client, they have something in common… both want to exist acknowledged.

Let's dig deeper to help yous make up one's mind if you're dealing with a troll.

v signs you're dealing with a troll

1. They'll try to make yous aroused

Trolls exist for the sole purpose of upsetting people.

Got someone on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat stirring up problem? By starting arguments or posting inflammatory content?

They're (probably) a troll. Especially if they appear to be insincere in their comments, posts, or statements.

two. They act entitled

Many trolls have an inflated sense of worth. They operate as if the world revolves around them (or that is should).

"Me, me, me… great, neat, groovy. And all you others suck." Or something similar that.

If you become this sense, you're probably infested with a detested troll.

iii. They exaggerate

A lot.

They use strong words like "never" and "every."

Where nearly others would say "infrequently" and "some."

Using extremes and superlatives are ways to inflame people.

And a skilful sign you have a troll to bargain with.

iv. They brand information technology personal

Discussions, debates, arguments—all safety game for healthy talks amongst your online users.

Until it gets personal.

Which is what trolls do.

Rather than discuss a matter, reasonably and logically, trolls set on an opponent's character. They'll call people names and say things to appeal to feelings and prejudices, rather than intellect.

5. They frequently tin't spell

Trolls seem to suck at spelling and grammar. They…

  • Spell words wrong
  • Use words wrong
  • Don't capitalize offset words of sentences
  • Avoid commas and periods
  • Mix up words that audio the same, but mean something different
  • Say "I" a lot
  • Same for "!!!" marks
  • Type in all caps
  • Utilize made up and goofy words throughout a nonsensical sentence

Cornell and Stanford researchers did a study about anti-social behavior online.

Trolls neglect standard, readability metrics for the stuff they write.

Including, using less positive words and more profanity.

fine that makes it WAAAY EEZIER to spot theez f!@%$%# digital SOCIOpaths!!! yaaaay happy shock!

As you can see, trolls give themselves away pretty easily.

Cracking. At present that y'all've confidently identified one… what do you lot do with them?

9 tips for handling trolls on social media

1. Establish a policy

Most social networks have community policies for 'beingness respectful'.

Create one of your ain, too, as reminder of adequate behavior for posts, comments and shares.

Then, if someone acts unbecoming or dastardly, signal them dorsum to your policy.

"Hey Joe, I'g nudging you with this friendly reminder most our community policy."

No need for them to accept it personally when it'south written out, correct?

Like how Lensman Brandon Stanton did with his Humans of New York project.

Brandon explained the annotate moderation rules in a Facebook postal service. This made it simple for fans and followers to know and abide by the community rules.

Humans of New York Facebook post about trolls

2. Ignore them

Trolls cause negative reactions in others, because they want attention. And then then…

But. Ignore. Them.

Don't fuel them.

They want yous to go upset. Don't give them the pleasance. Deprive them of their live force, so they'll get dig elsewhere. This works.

Sometimes.

While y'all, as the social media admin, choose to ignore them, other well-meaning members might not. Now the troll is gaining the traction it craves and feeds on.

Inactivity is no longer an pick.

No problem. Endeavor a different strategy to avoid a tragedy.

3. Reply with facts

Are your trolls spreading rumors, incorrect information, inaccuracies or outright lies?

Then disprove any tales told past trolls with facts.

Apple did.

With a response to #bendgate which began with this video. A lot of trolling followed rumors of the new 'bending' iPhone half-dozen.

Apple took a stand up. They admitted to an issue, which afflicted just nine customers in the first six days of going on auction.

Rather than deny, they accepted and disclosed. The controversy shortly went away.

Do the aforementioned for your brand. Confess and accost to rid the trolls of their fuel.

4. Diffuse with sense of humor

Easy to say. Harder to do.

Done well, humor can humanize your brand and diffuse a state of affairs.

Sainsbury's groceries got it right.

They used Jujutsu to go with, non against, the period when responding to a disappointing chicken sandwich.

Sainsbury tweet responding to a negative comment with humor

Sainsbury pulled this off because they…

  • Didn't ignore the customer
  • Recognized the problem
  • Apologized
  • Mirrored the criticism with a witty reply

However, if your joke falls flat, that could go along the troll on a roll.

5. Block or ban them

Nigh trolls, most of the time, are annoying. And usually harmless.

Nonetheless, sometimes trolls have things too far. Like escalating to threats or detest spoken language.

When they practice, you can use your social might to block or ban them. Besides, check the standards for appropriate content for that social network. If the troll'southward posts are in violation, submit a report.

6. Correct mistakes

Listen to what people say on your social media accounts.

If you catch a mistake:

  • Correct it
  • Permit the person know what you did
  • Explain why

If they're a disgruntled (and reasonable) customer, they'll almost probable appreciate it. Considering…

  • You lot listened
  • Yous responded
  • Y'all made them feel heard

Which is what we all want. And it can plough frustration into loyalty.

Unless they're a troll.

They'll not care.

Simply information technology'southward all good anyway. Why? Because…

  • Your community will hear it
  • Yous showed that you're listening
  • You re-enforced your standards for appropriate behavior
  • Anybody tin can meet how professional you handled information technology
  • Other trolls volition know non to mess with you

You can't control what'southward said. You can control how you respond to what'southward said. All good things for your brand.

vii. Don't exist baited

Like to ignoring them, don't feed them either.

If they're trying to be be funny, your response could be just what they want for their awaiting punchline.

If you don't reply, in that location'south no joke.

If y'all do respond, keep your absurd. With the means, and for the reasons, we explained above.

viii. Don't delete their posts

Because that can escalate their bad behavior.

Those Stanford-Cornell researchers say that taking extreme action against small infractions can heighten antisocial behavior.

They besides found that if 2 users wrote posts of similar quality, and one user'south post got deleted "unfairly," that user would exist more likely to write something worse in the hereafter.

9. Build a supportive, friendly community

Trolls are a fact of social media life.

Make them your friend.

Think, your community is waiting to see how you handle them.

Think carefully and thoughtfully about your response to a troll. Then, post it.

The others will notice. You've given them a risk to police trolls for you. They'll almost probable chime in to make trolls feel unwelcome.

Every bit Bradbury points out in his Guardian piece… Accept the high road. Whether it's a customer with a legitimate gripe, or a troll with no intention of a good upshot.

Being responsive and responsible volition help you build a supportive community of followers. Ones that will respect and stand past you.

This will make life for trolls hard. They'll most likely motility on to spill their digital bile elsewhere.

Want to grab those nasty trolls before they infect your audience? Set up your Hootsuite dashboard to listen, monitor and respond to them. Try it for free.

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