Our Latest Webinar: Handling Social Media Backlash Like a Pro
In today’s digital world, managing your business’s reputation is more complicated than ever. You need a strong social media presence, but having one exposes you to dissatisfied clients and others who may seek to damage your brand. How you respond to criticism — online or elsewhere — can make or break your brand. Dog Handler Academy’s latest webinar, “Barking Back With Grace: Navigating Social Media Backlash and Negative Reviews Like a Pro,” offers expert strategies for maintaining a positive reputation.
Marketing expert marketing Joe Meyers, founder of Share Digital Marketing Agency, shares how to distinguish between a bad review and an actual PR crisis and offers the best strategies to handle both. You’ll learn how to stop managing your online presence from becoming a full-time job and how turn social media backlash into opportunities to build client trust.
Not All Negative Reviews Are a Crisis
According to Meyers, a three-star review is NOT a PR crisis — but an onslaught of negative comments, bad press, or viral backlash can be.
Bad Reviews: Customers expressing dissatisfaction with a product, service, or experience.
PR Crisis: A large-scale issue, such as a viral complaint or controversy, that could damage your reputation.
Your response matters more than the complaint itself. How you handle negative feedback determines whether you gain trust—or lose business.
Golden Rules for Handling Negative Reviews
Do This:
Respond quickly – Don’t give detractors the opportunity to go viral before you’ve even said a word. That said …
Respond professionally – Avoid emotional reactions. Learn more about the importance of a quick and professional response here.
Show empathy – Turn negatives into positives by showing empathy and moving quickly to problem-solving. And don’t take these complaints personally. They’re not about you, they’re about the situation. Offer a solution – If possible, invite the customer to contact you via private message so you can arrange away to resolve the issue privately. Use names in your responses – Using supporters’ and detractors’ actual names personalizes responses and helps build rapport. Speaking directly to your critics also encourages them to consider the truth and/or actual severity of their complaint before impulsively lashing out in the future. Encourage great clients to leave positive reviews – A strong base of great reviews will outweigh the occasional negative one.
Avoid This:
Ignoring complaints – Not acknowledging a complaint can imply guilt or that you just don’t care. Public arguments – Losing your cool and professionalism and engaging in a public dispute will only escalate the issue. Defensive responses – Even if you can concretely prove the customer wrong, focus on resolving the situation in a way that allows you to show off your professionalism and each of you to keep your dignity. Giving credibility to fake reviews from ex-employees or competitors – Report them as spam and don’t engage.
Handling Trolls & Fake Reviews
As every business learns, not all negative reviews are real or truthful. Some may come from competitors, trolls or even ex-employees. Here’s how Meyer says you can spot and manage fake reviews and criticism.
🛑 Signs of a Fake Review:
- Vague or extreme complaints or language, such as “This place is the worst!” Fair criticism is specific and constructive feedback about a real issue. Service was slow. Dogs seem anxious. Real issues that are happening. Trolls are vague personal attacks or clear attempts to provoke a reaction.
- No record of the person in your client database.
- A new account with no review history, or an account with a history of leaving bad reviews.
⚡ How to Respond:
- Mark the review as spam (Google, Facebook, and Yelp allow reporting).
- Reply calmly and professionally: “We cannot find your name in our system, but we’d love to discuss your concerns. Please contact us at [appropriate email or phone number].”
- Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews to counteract the negativity.
Social Media Crises: How to Maintain Calm and Control
What is a Virtual Assistant and Do I Need One?A minor complaint can spiral into a PR nightmare if it gains traction online. Here’s are some steps to handle it:
Steps to Manage a Social Media Crisis:
Stay calm and assess the situation before you respond – A prompt response is critical, but don’t let emotions get the best of you or match the commenter’s intensity. Let your anger subside before you craft a replu
Acknowledge but don’t argue – Publicly recognize concerns, then take the conversation offline.
Encourage your supporters NOT to engage – As much as it may make you feel validated, well-meaning clients defending you can unintentionally escalate the situation.
If threats arise, involve the proper authorities – Online threats should be taken seriously.
Have a crisis plan in place – Create a schedule to ensure your social accounts are constantly monitored. And craft consistent response templates to common complaints, so you and your staff are never caught off guard. BUT, make sure to add personalization to each response so recipients know they and their precise complaint are being heard and responded to.
Dog Handler Academy experienced the importance of having a crisis plan in place firsthand. Not long ago, we received a viral and extreme post from then-current client over a minor injury that had been properly handled. The post was shared over 1,800 times — including by former employees — leading to threats of violence and negative press. The DHA virtual assistant team swung into action, staying calm and professional, involving authorities and taking conversations offline, and the situation was controlled within 38 hours.
Proactive Strategies to Maintain Your Great Reputation
As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense! Here’s how to build and preserve your strong brand reputation before problems can arise:
Encourage happy customers to leave reviews. Make it easy on them and place signs in your entryway and in the lobby with a QR code that goes to your Google reviews. Send an emails that automatically goes out 24-48 hours after a boarding, training or other service with links to leave a review.
Monitor online mentions. Make it easy to respond as soon as possible by setting up Google Alerts for your business name.
Train your staff on review responses. Have templates ready for different situations that could arise, then show them how to individualize the response so every client feels .
Have a non-disparagement policy for employees and include it in your employee handbook. Free templates can easily be found and downloaded online. This helps deter former employees from leaving fake reviews. If you have an exit form for departing team members, you can include that policy or clause as well.
Negative reviews and social media crises don’t have to ruin your business. By staying professional, responding strategically, and building a strong online reputation, you can turn most bad situations into trust-building opportunities.
Remember: How you respond to criticism defines your business more than the criticism itself.
Want a PDF copy of this webinar? Find it here! Got any questions or stories to share? Leave them in the comments! 