How do you moderate a community on Facebook? Should the same policy exist as for a title's website moderation or do the disparate fans and friends it has there require different handling?
I use Facebook for content, for sharing information, for instant polls, news gathering and just taking the temperature of the public mood on an issue but wall comments can sometimes be horrific. From wildly inappropriate link-sharing to libelous comments to outrageous Anglo Saxon to attacks on other users or writers... I've seen these shoulder their way onto Facebook pages associated with newspaper titles at one time or another and have had to sort it out - sometimes with an un-friending and a block.
Don't...
I use Facebook for content, for sharing information, for instant polls, news gathering and just taking the temperature of the public mood on an issue but wall comments can sometimes be horrific. From wildly inappropriate link-sharing to libelous comments to outrageous Anglo Saxon to attacks on other users or writers... I've seen these shoulder their way onto Facebook pages associated with newspaper titles at one time or another and have had to sort it out - sometimes with an un-friending and a block.
Stretched newsrooms with small digital teams have to juggle the management of website comments, as well as the importance of participating in conversations on Twitter and managing @ replies and Facebook wall posts.
I've had a few Twitter mates DM-ing me recently for advice/thoughts/verbal chicken soup over dust-ups with members of the Online Community on Facebook (usually football or crime related, where emotions are running high), and I sympathised and offered some thoughts on what to do.
The new e-guide from Buddy Media: How Do I Respond To That? The Definitive Guide to Facebook Publishing and Moderation is useful; once you get past the corporate language and the fact that it's not written for newspapers but for business it contains some helpful advice.
The new e-guide from Buddy Media: How Do I Respond To That? The Definitive Guide to Facebook Publishing and Moderation is useful; once you get past the corporate language and the fact that it's not written for newspapers but for business it contains some helpful advice.
The Buddy Media report highlights, in a nutshell, are:
Don't...
- Forget to check your Facebook page regularly - you have a space where users are commenting in all sorts of language and ways that may or may not be appropriate
- Turn a volatile thread into a back-and-forth argument with someone
- Respond to one person but not others
- Ignore requests for information
- Automatically get rid of negative comments - respond and give the community a chance to engage as well
Do...
- Respond to comments on accuracy/ability of journalist
- Take advice on brand value/stance before you respond on issues (eg. political)
- Block haters; life's too short
- Moderate by communication; encourage the Facebook community to flag inappropriate posts
- Have a clear strategy so all page admin know how to respond in situations
- Create a written policy about what types of posts you don’t want to receive, and place it prominently on your wall or page
To which I'd add
- Turning Facebook chat on gets you lots of interaction
- There's nothing wrong with auto-posting links but do also show there's a human, not a bot, behind status updates
- Indulge in a little curation and share things from other media
- If you have breaking news in your status update, FBers will expect you to update them there too as it progresses
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