Strategies To Deal With Trolls And Negative Comments On Instagram

Is your Instagram account encountering many trolls and negative comments and you are finding it challenging to deal with them?

Do not worry!

Here, we bring you an ultimate blog that will help you with strategies for dealing with trolls and negative comments on Instagram. Keep your Instagram safe from trolls and negative comments and handle them efficiently.

How Do Trolls or Negative Comments on Instagram Affect Creators or Brands?

There is no doubt that Instagram affects creators and brands in many ways. When Instagram helps brands and creators promote and engage simultaneously, it poses various challenges and risks. 

• Trolls and negative comments on Instagram drag the creators and brands into controversies and ruin their image and reputation. 

• Sometimes, many trolls and negative comments on a brand damage customer relationships and brand perception. 

• Negative comments and trolls mislead the audience by spreading false information, impersonating the brand, and tarnishing its image.

• Negative Comments create echo chambers, magnifying negative feedback and criticism, and leading to a distorted perception of public sentiment.

Overall, trolls and negative comments are never safe; thus, it is crucial to learn some fantastic strategies for dealing with them.

Effective Ways To Deal With Trolls And Negative Comments on Instagram

Instagram users are exposed to trolls and negative comments; sometimes, dealing with them can be overwhelming. Here are some of the best strategies to deal with trolls and negative comments on Instagram.

Let's begin!

How To Handle Trolls On Instagram Effectively?

Here are some of the effective ways to deal with Trolls on Instagram:

Determine If Someone Is A Troll

There is a difference between trolls and customers genuinely upset with your service or product. So, it is imperative to identify whether the comments are from trolls or genuine customers.

You can simply check the profile, as they usually create a fake profile with an anonymous username. They can also use a well-known personality’s name. See the pattern of their negative comments with offensive and abusive language. They are just on Instagram to cause trouble. 

While the unhappy customers' profiles are genuine and have invested their time and money in your product or service, they deserve a solution and a reply. So once you figure out the troll, ignore them.

Prepare Default Replies If You Need To Interfere

The idea is to create a crisis communication plan for Instagram trolls. Sometimes, situations get out of control and need your reply. 

So, for those times, prepare a list of default replies that reduces the last-minute hassle and helps you handle those situations. This method is a savage choice you can use to interfere in between the troll conversation to protect your reputation. 

Mute Or Restrict Account If Needed

Not all trolls are harmful, but when things escalate, you can establish a policy to help you handle your trolls in different situations. For example, you can mute or block them if trolls bash hateful and abusive comments. 

Also, to protect your community, you can block or delete comments that disrupt your posts. This will help hide their comments on your post unless you choose to view them and approve them to be visible to others.

Simply Ignore Trolls

The best thing you can do to deal with trolls is ignore them. Trolls always look forward to seeking your attention, and when you reply to them, you are fueling them directly. It is a rule that the more you reply to the trolls, the more they will keep doing such things.

So ditch their comments, do not indulge in arguments, and simply move on with your work. You should be strict about not paying any heat to the trolls. Otherwise, they may cause more trouble.

 Report The Harassment Or Hateful Comments By Trolls

If trolling is getting on your nerves, then it is high time to report trolls' harassment or hateful comments. Instagram is a unique social media platform that makes reporting inappropriate comments made by trolls easier. 

Instagram will take quick and appropriate action against it. If your report is successful then the troll may be temporarily suspended or their account banned entirely. 

Set Policies Around Blocking

One effective strategy for dealing with trolls is to prepare for them. You can set up rules and policies to handle angry customers, trolls, hateful comments, or irrelevant rants. 

The policy makes it easy to handle those situations, as your team is already prepared for them. It helps to refine your actions in every scenario and helps your team to be more prepared. Like, in the situation of continuous provoking, you can decide when to mute and when to block. 

 Check Your Privacy Settings

Keep a close check on your privacy settings on Instagram. You can also limit the ability to comment on your posts and hide offensive and unpleasant comments and messages. 

Make sure you block the trolls in case they harm you. You can also limit the ability to tag and mention you on posts, configure the ability of stories, and protect yourself from communicating with unpleasant followers.

 Filter Words

Another best thing you can do to deal with trolls is to explore Instagram's additional privacy settings. It will help you filter out comments and hide offensive comments.

All you need to do is go to your Profile, click on the three lines at the top, and choose Settings. Then go to privacy and select comments. Choose the manual filter and write the words or phrases you want to monitor. It is a simple way to protect your Instagram account from future trolls.

Add Moderators

Lastly, assigning a moderator to your team is an effective way to deal with trolls. A moderator will continuously monitor your feed and quickly help you understand the pattern of trolls.

If you manage your Instagram account, dedicate time to managing the posts' comments. Keep a close watch, and do not miss the Instagram trolls that are affecting your brand.

How To Handle Negative Comments On Instagram?

We cannot avoid negative comments, but we can take adequate measures to tackle them. Before things get out of control, let's explore the best ways to handle negative comments on Instagram.

Monitor Your Comments 

It is imperative to monitor your comments to identify and remove, spam and abusive comments that violate the instagram guidelines. For tracing and managing comments, one may utilise any tools or Instagram app to help find out and resolve any issues or grievances. 

This way, you can easily spot and respond to any issues, questions and complaints and also understand the pattern of negative comments.

Respond With Facts 

Trolls are never interested in sensible and polite discussions. They are not good at debating and their arguments are unreasonable most of the time. 

So if you are getting trolled for any factual information then maintain your composure and ask them for evidence and references. They will probably splutter into silence without any further comments.

Learn from constructive criticism

At times, you may encounter irrelevant comments that are indecent, rude or bitter. Be a keen observer and learn what these comments bring to you. 

Treat complaints as an opportunity to learn your pitfalls and grow more by resolving them, ultimately creating a sense of satisfaction among your audience. Do not always dismiss or ignore these comments; sometimes, you can appreciate and learn from them.

Consider negative comments as a source of information.

 It's not necessarily true that what seems wrong is always negative. There can be hidden value in learning. Likewise, a few negative comments may act as an absolute source of learning by providing priceless insights, ideas, or feedback that can assist you in improving your services. 

Be an optimist and show your followers you are all ears and wish to evolve.

Delete or Hide inappropriate comments

Don't let the negative comments hang around your profile for longer, as these inappropriate comments can harm your goodwill and disappoint your audience. Go for the delete or hide option as soon as possible if you find the upcoming comments to be vulgar, rude or repulsive. 

Swipe left and tap the trash icon to delete a comment, or swipe left and tap the eye icon to hide. You can also turn off commenting on specific posts or stories to protect your profile from negatives.

Respond to comments rather than reacting

Instead of being defensive, learn to be responsive. Answer politely and professionally, avoiding harsh and foul language. Consider all customer complaints and never be afraid to apologize for the inconvenience caused by your product or services. 

This will be evident that you are a listener and care. Your humble attitude can turn upset customers into happy and loyal ambassadors.

Learn When to Address Trolls and Their Negative Comment

When you are looking to grow your brand on Instagram, strategic dealing with trolls is the need of the hour. As every negative comment can not be ignored, learn when to address the trolls.

When people are watching

When people wait for your reaction you can consider engaging instead of ignoring or deleting the comment. 

As a social figure, you act as a role model for many, so you can’t clearly escape the situation.

When you get an opportunity to engage

Some negative comments allow you to grow, and you would not love to miss out on that growth by ignoring or deleting a comment. A negative comment can bring you enough engagement, and ultimately, engagement is the name of the game. 

When not responding looks like hiding

Another possible reason to address trolls and negative comments is when not responding is considered hiding. Though you may not be hiding, deleting the comments and not responding can make it look like you are hiding. 

When you need to apologise

Comments that say you have done something and now owe an apology: It is best to address these comments seriously. If you feel that there is some apology from your side then simply reply.

When you need to protect the reputation

Some comments can harm your reputation on Instagram; these comments need your interference. You should reply when you feel there is a need for clarification or correction to protect your reputation. 

Learn When to Avoid Any Negative Comments and Trolls

Conversely, there would be situations when you don’t feel like replying. Let us examine the various reasons when to avoid replying to negative comments and trolls.

When you expect others to have your back

When you feel that there is no need for your attention and people will defend you on your behalf, then there is no point in replying. 

This strategy works well when you have a personal or influencer account because your community can take the lead in attending to those negative comments and trolls.

When you don’t want negativity on your page

Ultimately, it is your Instagram account, and you have complete control over it. So, if you feel that there is no place for profanity, spam, random attacks that don’t make sense, aggression, cultural slurs, racial bias, harassment, or threats in your account, you can simply avoid replying. 

You can even delete the comments and block the trolls and others harming your peace.

Slaying the Art of Replying to Trolls' Negative Comments On Instagram

Whether you are a creator or have a brand on Instagram, slaying the way of dealing with trolls and negative comments will make you successful. 

The blog has skillfully determined amazing strategies for dealing with trolls and negative comments. Avoid the last-minute hassle of replying to trolls and negative comments. Instead, focus on creating a cheerful and loyal community you can always trust. 

Remember that not all negative comments are bad; they can lead to growth and help you build your desired empire.

FAQs

#1. How do I stop trolls on Instagram?

Firstly, determine whether someone is a troll and create a policy for dealing with them. You can ignore, block, or mute the troll. If you feel the trolling is going too far, you can report it to Instagram.

#2. How should I handle negative comments or trolls on Instagram?

Start by preparing a default reply for the negative comments, hire a moderator for your team to handle comments, and keep a close and regular check on comments.

#3. How to rebound from Trolls and negative comments on Instagram?

Craft your own troll-protection policy, troll with humor, Respond with facts, do not get into emotions, never take the abuse directed at your followers, or simply ignore the trolls. 

#4. How quickly should you respond to negative comments and trolls?

One must respond to a negative comment as soon as you receive it. The ideal time to respond to a comment is within 15 minutes, but you can consider responding within an hour.

#5. Why are negative comments or trolls on Instagram bad?

Trolls and negative comments can have an adverse effect on the brand and influencer’s image. They can easily take your business down and drag you into unnecessary controversies. Also, hampering your mental and physical health, too.