Your Customers and Their Trust: How Deleting Negative Comments Can Destroy It All

It’s interesting. I recently had a conversation with a colleague of mine over in a Linkedin group that I’m a member of, on the subject of GoDaddy and the crisis they faced last week. Here’s how it went down:

The interesting part is in fact the ripple effect. Companies often wonder what is so bad about deleting the negative comments on their social media channels in or out of a crisis. I mean it only protects their reputation after all, right? Wrong. The second you cast a shadow of doubt in the minds of your customers and fans, you risk always being second guessed by those extremely important and valuable people – and in a crisis, this can hinder you rather than help you.

Did GoDaddy lie about not being hacked last week? There’s no way of knowing and we definitely hope that they wouldn’t have. But, while I also had this conversation with my husband over supper a few days ago, it was interesting to see the impact that a small cover-up or deletion can have on the trust that your customers and fans once shared with your brand.

Casting a simple shadow of doubt can have long-term repercussions on your brand’s reputation in the minds of your audience. It’s just another great reason why honesty and transparency is so very important when it comes to your online communications.