Best Practices When it Comes to Responding to Instagram Comments

Do you respond to comments on your Instagram posts? How often do you monitor them? A lot of business accounts often ignore comments under their own posts. Although the rise of Instagram bots and spam accounts may deter us from responding, it is still important to check them and reply to real commenters, because it shows other people browsing your profile that you actually pay attention to your community. It is always a good idea to encourage conversations on your posts, so here are some great ways to respond to different types of comments!

• One-word or emojis
  Sometimes, users will comment on posts saying things like “very cool,” or they’ll simply comment an emoji with no other words. In this instance, you don’t really have to reply to the comment. You can like the comment to let them know that you saw it, but that’s all you really have to do. Of course, if you wanted to, you could thank them for the comment or respond back with an emoji, but that’s totally up to you!
• Positive reviews
  These are the best kinds of comments. If you can tell someone spent time writing out a compliment, and it seems genuine, thank them for it. For example, if someone were to comment, “I absolutely love your products, they have improved my life so much!” you could reply with a “Thank you, that is great to hear!” or you could even go more in depth, whatever feels right to you! Also, by responding to praise, you are building trust, because potential customers will see that you care enough about your current customers to reply to them and show your appreciation for them. Showing your gratitude will improve your reputation and encourage even more praise. 
• Negative reviews
  Sometimes, unsatisfied customers will turn to social media to express their anger with your business. No matter what the negative comment says, stay polite, and remember that you are representing your business. Give it some thought, and think of a good, professional response.If the negative comment discusses an incident they had with your product or service, try to get to the bottom of it. Although, the comments section is not the best place to do so. Give them an email address where they can explain their grievance, or reach out through direct message and ask for their contact information, and from there your customer service team can work it out with them.

  This will show that you remain professional and care about your customers’ complaints, but do so in a private manner. Oftentimes, customers will delete these comments after they’ve been assisted as a way to thank you for taking the time to resolve this issue, so again, handling these issues the right way is extremely important!

• Questions
  These are very important comments to look out for. If one of your followers took the time to ask you a question, respond to it! If it’s a simple question, you can type out a short response or send them a link with the answer. If the question requires a more wordy answer, ask for their email address in the comments and send the full response via email. Or, you could even ask them to contact you by calling if that’s easier. You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to show your followers that you have a high level of customer service, so don’t just rely on them contacting you. You could send them a direct message, and then post a public comment letting them know to look for your DM. And, if you are receiving a lot of questions, you could even host a live Q&A session to answer all questions and to encourage engagement. There isn’t a right or wrong way to do so, as long as you are responding to them!

Responding to Instagram comments can seem challenging, but it just takes time to learn what is right to say in any given situation. If you are ever really stuck, consult your teammates or look at competitors to see if they’ve dealt with something similar before. As long as you put the customer first and stay true to your brand, you will be able to respond to any comment that comes your way!