If you blog or are active on social media, you’ve likely come across a troll or two. They aren’t hard to miss. A comment from one sticks out like a sore thumb. This is because their comment usually has nothing to do with the conversation at hand. It exists solely with the purpose of ruffling a few feathers, whether that means pointing out a small grammar mistake, stirring up controversy, or using profanity. The first step to dealing with a troll, is recognizing that you have a troll on your hands. Not every negative comment has a troll on the other end, so it’s important that you can decipher between someone who is genuinely miffed and someone who is present with the intentions of upsetting people. Trolls have sadistic characteristics, deliberately offend, and crave attention. When you know for sure that you’re dealing with a troll, keep these following points in mind.
Don’t Feed the Trolls
Trolls want a reaction. They want to see you upset, flustered, and frustrated. Don’t give them the satisfaction. The secret to defeating a troll is to deprive them of what they want. Respond reservedly and concisely. State the facts, and move on. Or, better yet, do nothing. By responding to their comments, you are “feeding the troll”, or adding fuel to the fire. The best thing to do is ignore them. This is not advice we would usually give about responding to comments, but this is the way to go when it comes to trolls. They are not worth your time or energy.
Defend Your Readers
Sure, the internet is full of terrible people. But there are a lot of good people, too – people who will come to your defense in the comments section. While this level of loyalty is a rewarding aspect of blogging, it can quickly turn ugly. As mentioned, the best way to defeat a troll is not paying them any mind. Your readers may not know this, so they may unknowingly give the troll more ammo to cause harm. Your duty as a blogger, or social media administrator, is to have their back in the comments section.
Use Trolls to Increase Engagement
We’ve pointed at the importance of responding to negative comments in a calm and cool manner before, and while you should always be respectful, don’t be afraid to get a little cheeky here. Look for holes in their logic. Not only can outwitting a troll be enough to get them to back off, your sass may catch the attention of others.
Delete Comments
In a previous post, we recommended that you should avoid deleting a negative comment – it’s always an opportunity to show how far you will go to find a solution to a specific problem. However, if a comment exists with the only intent to hurt people or if it contains extreme vulgarity, then you should remove it. Deleting a comment should always be your last resort. There is nothing stopping them from writing another post.
Final Thoughts
At LinkNow Media, we urge you to be active on social media and blogs. Don’t let a few rotten apples keep you from starting a blog or creating a social media profile for your small business. As long as the internet exists, there will be trolls. Understand their behavior and know the appropriate ways to respond, and you’ll always come out on top.
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