Trolls never buy

Have you ever had a "troll" comment on your posts or videos?

If you had a brick and mortar store and someone came in and asked to use your bathroom, made a huge smelly mess in there, touched your product and said it reminded him of his Aunt Mildred’s toe fungus, and burped really loudly, what would you do?

You’d say, “Seems like this store isn’t for you. Goodbye.”

And maybe even have them removed from your business.

You would NOT try to convince them that your product is actually so much better than his aunt’s toe fungus.

You would not offer remedies for their burping.

You would not ask them to come back anytime to destroy your bathroom.

They are not buying from you.

Put your energy into the people who ARE interested.

An Internet Troll is someone who wants to provoke or irritate other people online—usually just for their own amusement.

They WANT you to feel emotionally attacked, offended, or upset.

They hope that their comment derails the conversation or steers it enough into contention and annoyance.

They are different than online harassment or bullying. A troll’s quest is to poke, get a response, and move on. They are not "your people" and never intend to connect, follow, buy from you.

How do you handle trolls when you get them?

STARVE THEM!

Seriously. "Don't feed the trolls" is a common phrase. Which means:

Don’t respond.

Don’t engage.

If it hurts your feelings, move on. I know, easier said than done. But for real, tell yourself that they don’t know you. They are trolls.

Consider it engagement. Restrict their account, if you must. But don’t comment back.

It's so tempting but DO NOT.

Spend your energy with those who are your people. Not the trolls. They want your negative energy. They want your time. They want to divert attention from the good you are putting out there to the chaos they thrive on.

I like to say out loud, “thanks for the engagement” and then scroll by. I don't respond with this. Just say it out loud and then forget about it.

Put your energy and time into YOUR people. Your community. Your customer. Your future client.

Not the troll who would never buy from you in the first place.

(Please note: This is not the same as a comment you think is negative. Or someone who disagrees with you. That’s not a troll. That’s feedback.

I tell my clients to respond to negative feedback NOT to win back that customer but to show future customers who you are. That you are willing to work things out. Improve.)

Trolls just troll. Starve them of the attention they crave. They aren't buying so don't spend your time selling them.