Really solid advice for brands. If I could add something…

This kind of situation can actually be a revenue generating/cost reducing opportunity for the brand, despite the sort of panic it can create.

What a negative comment free-for-all represents is the fact that a brand’s product or service — for lack of a better word — sucks. So, to find oneself in this position represents an opportunity to make the product better. It’s free product insight, a web-based focus group. It’s certainly a bitter pill to swallow but it can, indeed, yield a better product. Which, if transparently created and executed, can turn public sentiment around and generate revenue.

Keep those tips coming! Brands need to be listening to this kind of valuable information because too often they don’t get the “digital mind.”