A few months back I woke up to someone having an absolute hate party on my Facebook business page. A picture of me on the beach with a caption about bringing your vision to life had triggered something and sent the person into a rant about how I should “get a real job” and that I looked like a “giraffe”. Unfortunately handling internet trolls starts to become routine after you’ve started to show up and make yourself more visible.
This shouldn’t scare you from putting yourself out there. At the end of the day bullies are everywhere and you just have to shake it off and keep moving. Consider being bullied by a troll as a little initiation into success as an online business owner!
So how is the best way to deal with internet trolls? Here are a few things I’ve done to limit the offensive behavior that occasionally happens on my pages.
1. Ignore them.
At the end of the day what every troll really wants is a little attention. It’s crazy the things that otherwise decent people will say when they get behind a computer screen. My best piece of advice for this type of thing is always to simply ignore the comment and keep it moving. Depending on the comment sometimes I’ll even leave it visible on my page to show people that nonsense does not phase me. Eventually a troll will get tired of being ignored and move onto greener pastures.
2. Moderate and set restrictions on your pages.
Most social media platforms these days have the option to moderate the types of comments that are able to be left on your page or profile. Go into your settings and set your profanity filters to high and limit any specific words that you do not want to show up on your page. On your website you can change the settings so that all comments must be approved.
3. Defuse them with humor.
I’m not usually too interested in coming up with a comeback, but sometimes the craziness is so darn ridiculous that it calls for a comeback. Be good natured about the situation and you’ll demonstrate to others that you aren’t phased by a little (or a lot) of negativity. The ability to be strong is a fine quality to express through your brand, so it’s worth considering when it’s appropriate to make light of the situation.
4. Own your part.
If you’re finding that internet trolls are showing up on your pages on a regular basis, pause for a second and listen to what they’re saying. Is there any part of what’s going on that may be a result of what you are putting out into the world and attracting to yourself through your words or actions? Do you know any of the people who are trolling your accounts and is there something that you need to address rather than ignore? Pay special attention to cases where ‘trolls’ are showing up and saying the same thing over and over, because every now and then you may just need to own your part to defuse the situation.
5. Spend more time focusing on the good comments.
You have an audience to serve and when you focus on the good comments and the people who are loving your work you create a stronger sense of community. Do you know what a strong community means? More people to stand up to the internet trolls. Ever seen a celebrity’s fan club go ham on an internet troll…yeah, things can get crazy real quick! Build up your tribe and internet trolls will soon find a new person to hunt. Plus you have more important things to do like building your empire. Shake it off and keep moving forward!
