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You’re in the business of risk management, but what steps have you taken to insure your insurance agency against online risks? If your agents aren’t all working from the same social media playbook, you could be setting yourself up for an explosive situation.

I suspect you’d advise your clients to purchase health insurance before they get sick, car insurance before they’re in an accident, and errors and omissions insurance before they get sued. Likewise, your agency should have a social media risk management plan in place before the first internet troll takes up residence on your social media profile.

If we don’t have a social media profile, do we still need a plan?

If your agency has a social media profile, you can expect your clients to use it to share both their glowing reviews and their not-so-glowing complaints. Based on surveys conducted by Convince & Convert, 42% of those clients will anticipate a response time of an hour or less. If they were already irritated, leaving the complaint unanswered on your profile will only serve as a reminder of their dissatisfaction.

It could definitely be argued, then, that you’re better off having no social media presence than an unattended social media profile. However, that line of thinking doesn’t take into account the fact that your clients can still complain about you on social media. In other words, your agency will have a social media presence one way or another. By choosing to maintain and monitor a professional social media profile, you’re actually gaining much greater control over your reputation.

One way to lighten the burden of social media maintenance is by making it a shared responsibility. Assign each staff member a day of the week to man the social media profiles. Not only will this make the workload more manageable, it ensures that all agents are aware of what is being said about your agency online.

Can’t we just delete negative comments?

Of course you could simply delete negative comments as they arise, just like drivers can simply abandon the scene of an accident. However, this doesn’t solve the problem. In fact, it creates new, bigger problems.

When clients complain online, they’re usually not being disagreeable for its own sake. They’re attempting to right a perceived wrong. They’re actually trying to connect with you.

By deleting comments, you indicate to the annoyed client (and to every other client and prospect who happens across your profile) that you’re not willing to meet them halfway. That approach isn’t going to silence the complaint. Rather, the client will take the complaint elsewhere, like their own profile page where you don’t exercise control.

So when is it okay to delete comments?

This is something that you need to decide as an agency. It should be fairly comfortable ground for your agents - after all, you’re essentially defining potential risks. American Express identifies four types of feedback in their small business forum:

These offer a logical system for differentiating between legitimate complaints and the negative input of “trolls” and “haters.”

You may decide as an agency that it’s okay to delete spam or negative comments from trolls, or you may choose to respond professionally to all comments so long as they avoid abusive language.

Whatever you decide, you should make your policy public knowledge by posting it on your agency’s blog as well as all social media profiles. Clearly identify the language that will result in users being blocked, and then follow that protocol every time.

What’s the best response to a negative comment?

The same response that you’d give to a client who came to your office to file a complaint. First, remember that the client is always right (even when they’re wrong and especially when they’re airing their grievances publicly.) Then,