5 tips for handling a Facebook firestorm

Inevitably, people with (virtual) pitchforks will descend upon your brand’s Facebook page. How you handle the situation is up to you.

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1. Make sure you have a posting policy visible.

Some brands have their posting policy on a special “tab” visible in their apps section and some in the “About” section under Description or Mission. Just make sure it defines elements that are unacceptable and may cause a post or poster to be hidden, deleted, or blocked. Here is a good general example:

Posting Policy:

Thank you for liking the official ______________ page. We’re glad you’re here.

We are committed to creating a community that encourages self-expression and mirrors the values of _________ including respect for the rights, dignity, and property of others. We ask all fans to do their part to help us achieve the goal. In doing that, we ask you not to post content that:

-is threatening, abusive, obscene, indecent, or objectionable;
-is deceptive, false, or misleading;
-violates the intellectual property rights of other people;
-is illegal;
-references a third party website or is self-promoting spam;
-is inappropriate, offensive, or hateful.

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