In our years of handling active online communities from different industries, we’ve noticed patterns in the comments and commenters we respond to on a daily basis. From normal customer queries to outrageous essayists, trust that we’ve seen it all.
Here are the 7 types of people from an active community we’ve identified from one of our favourite brand pages Indomie Australia. Because… who doesn’t love two-minute Mi Goreng noodles?!
The GIF giver
What they do: Comment GIFs on almost all posts, and will occasionally make their own.
How to respond: This one’s the easiest out of the bunch. Send a GIF back or engage in some banter to connect with them!
The all caps rager
What they do: Comment on posts in all caps and are often confused about what’s going on.
How to respond: Empathise with their situation. These users are clearly frustrated and are trying to get in touch with someone who can help them. Communicate instructions clearly and don’t use jargon.
The essayist
What they do: Extensively comments questions and thoughts about your post (Can be positive or negative. Thankfully Indomie doesn’t get a tonne of bad ones!)
How to respond: Identify the key points in their post or comment. Reply thoughtfully and address their key concerns accordingly. They are expecting the same level of response, so do show that effort. After all, no one wants to receive a single emoji after sending a full-blown essay.
If it’s a positive comment, make sure to thank them sincerely and let them know how much you appreciate it.
If it’s a negative comment, empathise with them and address all their concerns. Make sure to offer a solution at the end.
The troll
What they do: Leave unnecessary comments with the intention of provoking the brand or other customers.
How to respond: Don’t. Our rule of thumb is to ignore spam or troll comments unless they are spreading false information about the brand. That’s when we intervene and respond with facts. Check out our Instagram post for tips on how to handle trolls.
The contributor
What they do: In the case of Indomie, the contributors comment or message their wonderful noodle recipes! (which we all love to see) For other brands, contributors often help other customers with their issues or comment on positive product reviews.
Contributors often generate a lot of engagement as they encourage other users to comment.
You’ve got a loyal and active community on your hands when people go out of their way to contribute to the conversation!
How to respond: Thank them for sharing and compliment them for their contribution. Be enthusiastic in your reply and show genuine interest. Continue the conversation to engage them further.
The tagger
What they do: Tag their friends in the comments to share the content. We love them because they make up about 70% of the comments we get for Indomie and generate a lot of engagement!
How to respond: You can react to their comments or jump in the conversation once the person they tagged has commented back. This is a great way to show your community that your brand loves engaging with them as much as they do!
The top fan
What they do: Comment positively on almost every post. We love these guys! Some of them wear the ‘Top Fan’ badge proudly and it shows.
How to respond: Make sure to actively engage and personalise your replies to your top fans. Don’t be afraid to banter around and continue the conversation too! It helps them feel more connected to the brand and will encourage them to keep coming back.
Remember, when the customer comes first, the customer will last.
Which of these commenters does your brand get on a daily basis?
Get your brand a community manager that can reply to all kinds of commenters with transparency, respect and empathy. Chat with us about our plans today.