When handling online communities, you can ALWAYS expect to have some negativity around. Don't panic – and don't forget that this is not a bad sign, nor a sign of an unhealthy community.
So what can you do if one or more members of your community are bringing in negativity? Below I'll explain some general steps you can take to first identify where the negativity is coming from and then to turn negativity into a resource.
Why is some negativity in your community not that bad?
Well, imagine a place where everybody is happy; there are pink unicorns and candy everywhere, and everybody agrees all the time. I think I'd get diabetes immediately. It would also be a very boring community, as there'd be no discussion or challenges – nothing worth coming back for. With human behavior, people are more willing to say online what's wrong and what's bad, rather than what they find good. How many times have you ordered stuff on Amazon, for example? Like many of you, I've done this loads of times. When it comes to reviews, I would only write a positive comment occasionally if I was happy; but if I was dissatisfied with the product, I'd almost always write a negative review. Generally, we are more motivated to share bad feelings than good ones. And yes, people tend to read the negative reviews and comments first. And this is typically when a discussion gets started. Negativity can be used to promote engagement and activate discussions, so don't feel too bad about negative comments or feedback. It's natural.
But what if it's more than one or two comments? What if there are members who are actively trying to escalate the negative mood? How should you respond?
#1: Identify the root causes
Before you're able to react to negative comments and negative behavior, you need to identify the underlying reasons and find out what lies at the heart of the matter. The easiest way to do this is to answer some questions.
Am I sure I fully understand the member's message?
There may be times when passion kicks in and the feedback you get from the community is not clear enough. Ask questions! First, it will help you to understand the problem better. Second, it will show that you're paying attention to them, which can already be a big step in the right direction.
Did the members expressing negativity change their behavior at a certain time? What happened at that time? Is there a real reason that can be tackled, or is it just coming from some unhelpful troublemakers?
You need to find out if something caused the behavior or whether it's just how the users normally behave. This will help you identify which type of member you're interacting with. If there's a reason that triggered the behavior, there is probably also something you can do to improve the situation.
However, if this is simply the normal behavior of certain players seeking attention. Review the history of that member. Does he/she actually also add value to the community with helpful or interesting contributions, or is he/she just trying to get attention and repeatedly disrupts the environment? Take actions accordingly.
#2: Act fast
Once you've identified the problem, you should act and make your action public, so that the community can see that you have acknowledged the problem, have understood it and that you are taking steps to improve things.
One of the most important actions here is messaging. It should be clear and contain some important information:
A summary of the reported issue that is causing the negativity
A statement acknowledging the fact that it's causing the negativity
An explanation about what action you intend to take to improve the situation
Always remember to update the community about progress – even days or weeks after.
#3: Take the public conversation private
There are specific cases when negativity is typically only coming from a certain community member. When all other actions fail, try to get more personal and talk with the person in private. If you have the opportunity to voice chat, this can be rather beneficial. Sometimes, people just need to get a strong assurance that they've been heard. Use this time with the person to understand the issue better and let them talk.
Write down keynotes so that you can comment on them in the conversation and convey an even stronger feeling that you are listening to the individual. There's a high chance the person will calm down very quickly and perhaps the situation can be resolved together.
Remember: Do not lose your patience!
#4: Convert negativity into a resource
In my experience, the majority of cases where a member shows strong negativity and leads others in this direction is the result of disappointment in product development following a very high level of engagement. As this kind of member usually has an influential voice in the community, you can try to turn them into a resource, give them something to focus on, and offer them a special role within the community. For example, you could make this person a "recognized voice" and ask them to collect feedback from the community and prioritize them. Show them that you're willing to make changes and improve things – and actually follow through with this. You don't need to do EVERYTHING as requested by the members, but do offer at least a few quick changes. If some of the requests from the community do not fit with the product development plan, then just explain as clearly as you can the reason why you're not implementing the requests. Contact the "recognized voice" first, so that they can offer you some public support. I personally adopted this technique three times, and it worked out pretty well. In one instance, the negative person became one of our best and most supportive influencers.
Managing negativity is not an exact science, and in many cases, you'll need to trust your gut feelings and use all your emotional intelligence. I'll try to offer extra help by writing some more articles with even more tips in the future!
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