Governance flowcharts: How to review and respond to social media comments

Examples of social media workflow to review and respond to online comments about a brand

I received this question by email, it describes a common concern of managing brand reputation given the growth in consumer comments in social media:

“I would be interested in any case studies or examples of controlling social media discussions, especially in a case of negative flow”.

The questioner went on to explain that in her case, in the health sector, and many health and looks treatments etc. create a lot of social media input. Experiences, questions, complaints etc. Also in some cases competitors are creating negative input. She explains that example is where companies have faced non-satisfied customers that are creating a lot of noise in social media.

Example flowcharts for managing social media marketing

To define how to manage the workflow for responding to social media I suggest drawing up a comment response flow chart like this one for Dell which was presented by Kerry Bridge when she was manages social media communications for Dell in Europe. You can read the case study of Dell’s social media journey at that time – it’s a little dated now, but still a great summary of the essence of a social media strategy.  

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@RichardSedley, one of our expert commentators at Smart Insights reminded me that this is only a derivation of the widely shared USAF response diagram.  It’s still excellent though.

See whether you can spot the difference between the USAF and Dell examples!

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You can review other examples of social media policies at the Social Media Governance database - you can select by sector – there is a good range of examples from brands and charities.

Dave Chaffey is a digital strategist who is author of Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. His latest Content Marketing Strategy advice is available from Smart Insights.