Should You Hide Comments on Your Facebook Page?

Hide Comments on Your Facebook Page: Social media has become the bridge of global connectivity and communication today. It not only serves the purpose of frequent exchange of information and ideas but also opens avenues for branding, advertising, and digital marketing.  

Since everything comes with a cost, social media networking sites carry their own set of boons and banes. From likes to dislikes, following to unfollowing every new notification or pop-up catches the eye.  In such an attention-savvy environment, negative feedback could come with its own set of consequences. 

Understanding the purpose of Facebook comments

Comments on a Facebook page serve a twofold purpose. Firstly, it registers your voice or opinion on a global platform. Secondly, it keeps the chain of interaction moving.

Often comments on your Facebook page could land you in a tricky situation. As a result, your reflexive reaction makes you instantly hit that “hide comment” option. 

If the comment is highly objectionable making it look obnoxious with respect to you or your profession then you could always choose to delete that post/comment/message.

Furthermore, comments which are made on tagged posts or pages can also be removed. Feeling relieved? Wait for the disclaimer! People on your friend list won’t be able to see the comment once it is hidden but friends of the person who commented can easily see the statement. 

The problem deepens more when you have common friends. Facebook at present does not have filter that are sharp enough to differentiate such minute details. You could go for another possibility by checking who can tag you on the post as this setting is very much available on Facebook. 

Think before you delete!

Deleting should be the last resort since it could have unforeseen repercussions ahead. It could infuriate the user and further aggravate the situation which will not be good for your image. It needs a close exploration on your part whether it is required or some other way out could be chosen.

Deleting or hiding a comment will never leave any sort of notification on the page of whose comment you deleted or hidden. But it does not end here, people are already aware of such moves.

They anticipate beforehand that such measures could be taken therefore they might keep proofs. It could be in the form of screenshot images so be careful before taking any step. 

For the time being, you can take a sigh of relief. You might have swiped the comment under the carpet for now. But it could bear long-term implications that you are ignorant of at present. Before delving into the implications in detail first let’s identify types of comments for better clarity. 

Interesting Read: How to Remove a Page from the Facebook Business Manager

What tools are in your kitty!

Besides hiding comments altogether isn’t the only solution. There are many other tools provided by Facebook that can come to your rescue which are seldom sought. Here’s what you can do.

Word block – As an administrator of the Facebook page, you are endowed with many powers. You can block the usage of particular words. This in turn saves your feed from turning a battleground. 

Profanity filter -it is also a good tool provided by Facebook to further prevent the awkward situation. This filter works by blocking obscene languages or\posts chosen from a database of frequently reported words and phrases.

It further segregates into two degrees that is – medium and strong. You can opt according to the intensity of trash that appears on your feed or Facebook page.

Report-Then there is an option of reporting any kind of activity that causes uneasiness to you or your commercial initiative.

Page ratings and Reviews – Facebook also helps you in dealing with page ratings and reviews. The review option on commercial Facebook pages comes in handy in identifying what goes around your social networking space.

Reviews not only help consumers or visitors in engaging with you or your business. It also lets you report certain reviews that don’t follow the norms of Facebook policies.

Interesting Read:- 10 Benefits of Using Facebook Business Manager Tool in 2021

Banning – this extreme alternative is a quite useful tool for hate mongers, trollers, and spammers. People that constantly post spam or unwarranted content can be banned from your Facebook page.

Doing so will permanently prevent such people from further causing harm to you or your enterprise. In addition to this, it saves you from a lot of unnecessary troubles (damage control).

Remove – Facebook gives you another tool to save your image in the form of removing people who like your page which you don’t want.

Pinning – this tool does not fall under the category of preventing any unwanted content that crops up on your newsfeed or page. When you pin a post you direct all queries and comments about a specific post to one single point.

This pinned post will serve as a common platform where a frequently asked question or comments is answered in a single space. This is a very useful feature especially in the case of Facebook pages related to some business organization.

Classifying comments, the hidden meaning behind them

Abusive /derogatory comments

Such type of comments include slandering language, explicit /sexual words, and hateful remarks and carry vulgar or vile undertones. These are comments which personally target you or your specific endeavors with a hidden motive. 

The malicious intent behind these comments is visible through the choice of words and the tone of sentences. The sole aim behind these kinds of hate comments is to malign the image of the person/organization and to cause harm to the reputation.

Complaints/criticism/evaluation-centric comments

Such comments highlights the grievances of the consumer (in the case of any business organization or service provider).  It may also include disapproval of something or someone’s point of view with judgmental overtones. 

The prime target of such comments is pinpointing the loopholes, errors, or faults of organizations or people. These are particularly voiced by customers who are not satisfied with the services of the proprietor (concerning business Facebook pages). 

Encouraging/positive feedbacks or comments

These comments are congratulatory messages showing the happiness of the customer or person. These comments include compliments, admiration, and praise.  

The underlying message is the appreciation of the efforts and providing valuable feedback. Such comments add to the value base of the business and increase the reliability. It boosts the trustworthiness of the establishment and the relationship between the consumer and the owner strengthens.

Redundant spam comments

Referral codes, cryptic messages, scripts, and hyperlinks that serve no meaning on the Facebook page they land. They are created to exploit the fame and name of the brand that they target and in turn reap benefits for themselves.

These could even pose security threats to the Facebook page they target and the victims that click them. Such comments have no direct or indirect relationship with the Facebook page they utilize for personal profits.

Well, hiding comments is a good option but tackling them is too. Here’s how.

Instinctively the first approach to deal with unwelcoming comments is to simply get rid of them. Hiding comments seems to be the easy way out, since we see no tangible after-effects of hiding them. Relax and pause for a moment to think. Was it required? Could there have been a better way to resolve it?

Resolving these issues includes a graded approach. First and foremost you need to identify the category of such comments.

Then analyze carefully how you could transform the situation on your side. This is vital particularly for enterprises that are building businesses using digital platforms. 

Another important factor that determines the course of action that you take depends upon your mindset. Not all comments deserve the inhumane approach of making them nonexistent.

You could turn the tables in your favor by either replying positively or showing your resilience. You could give a befitting reply to trollers and hate mongers to rest the debate in peace.

Analyzing comments on Facebook pages bit-by-bit

Comments using foul language, abuses, hinting at nasty intentions should be curbed on the spot. You cannot allow anyone to disrespect or hurt sentiments and cause damage to your reputation. 

Comments which indicate sexually explicit harassing content deserve to be hidden right away.

You can prevent such users from writing profanity and maligning your Facebook page by blacklisting such users Then there are comments which voice anger using hard or crash words against some faults. These require close attention. You need to first investigate whether the allegation hinted by the comment holds true. 

If it holds, then one way out is to boldly accept your mistake and politely ask for a chance with an apology. Another way out could be to simply post a soothing comment and asking the commenter to message in private.

By giving personal attention you could offer a remedial course of action. This way the problem could be handled maturely without causing harm to both parties. This goes a long way in building trust and drawing clarity of your business.

This could not only pacify your specific hater but calm many potential haters in the future. It could bring out a message to the world that you take responsibility and are ready to mend ways.  This could enhance your validity in the marketplace.

If the facts in the hate comment hold false. Then replying with an appropriate answer is the need of the hour. Highlight facts and figures if the situation demands. This goes a long way in reclaiming your integrity. 

Comments which criticize you or your initiatives could be tackled progressively. You could harness the evaluation for your good. Who says change is bad, it is for the better right? 

Trolling /repetitive spam comments just need no bothering of any kind. These are parasitic messages which feed off your popularity. They try earning free profits from the hard work of your efforts.  

 They need to be hidden and prohibited from visiting your Facebook page in the near future.  So no second thoughts, just a click, and here they go (away from your page and sight).

Social media – The boons and banes of it

You will still remember the days when social media was just in its infancy. Websites like Orkut, Twitter, and Facebook had just been launched as the face of social media interaction. Those were good and simple days when such sites were mostly used for connecting people across the globe. 

It was used more for bridging gaps than to advertise or broadcast. Soon it transformed into a platform that dominated the attention span of the human race. The transformation went so out of control that now things are turning very scary. 

Mishandling and misuse of social media platforms have opened a warzone in the world. It is a globally accepted phenomenon that the role of social media in shaping your opinions and judgments is so evident.   

The current scenario has become so sensitive that you need to tread carefully since you are unaware of what lies ahead. Every word that is typed or posted is censored critically. Gone are the days when they used to say think before you speak.

In the context of present situation the saying could be modified to “think before you tweet”/ type/ post/ comment. Cases of lives being destroyed due to social media interventions are quite prevalent among these platforms. Constant scrolling, updating, and publicity is taking their toll on the consumers. 

Conclusion

As the saying goes that every coin has two sides, so does social media. Earlier important issues of the society were either hushed upon or drowned in the waters of ignorance.  

Social media has its own set of pros and cons. We all need a balanced approach to differentiate between the good and the bad aspects of social media platforms. As they say that extreme of anything is not good. So is in the case of social networking sites.