An Unexpected Benefit of Social Media Advertising

TL;DR – By being positive as I interacted with my audience, I accidentally made my advertising far better than I’d ever planned.

I’ve got a side project completely unrelated to small business online marketing. It’s a niche product, and the only thing I’m doing to promote it is building an email list via Facebook ads.

So far, by spending $1 per day, I’ve got a list of about 500 people eagerly awaiting the launch of my product.

Not bad.

When I began advertising (to this traditionally cynical audience), I got a lot of negative comments on the Facebook ad. “There’s no way this is real.” “Yet another marketing scammer.” “This is idiotic.”

The thing is, my upcoming product isn’t a scam or stupid – it’s a guide designed to help my audience find jobs. I’m pricing it low enough that it will pay for the advertising, but not much more.

When I got these negative comments, I didn’t get mad. I didn’t respond to abusive language with insults (even if the commenters were being abusive). I didn’t delete them (except for one that was exceptionally offensive).

I was as polite, professional, and understanding as possible. I tried to give the commenter the benefit of the doubt. Nearly every single interaction ended up positive – something that completely amazed me.

Even more amazing, the negative comments have stopped. Why would the naysayers suddenly stop commenting?

I think – and it’s just my thought – that by responding to these comments in a positive way, potential cynics can see I actually have good intentions. They read what others have posted, how I responded, and just leave it alone.

Now I’m still getting daily signups without the complaints. It’s a nice feeling.

And it makes me glad I took the time to respond to negative comments.

In the next issue of the TL;DR Report, I’ll share some strategies to create social proof like I did. Subscribe today, and be sure to get your copy when they go to print.