Should I respond to comments on my Facebook page?

When someone comments on your Facebook page wall, either in response to a post you have put up or as a stand alone post on the wall, they are taking the time and effort to write/type something. Think of it like them giving you a gift, when of course you would say “thank you”.

When you get a comment you need to respond to show that:

a) You are listening.
b) You are acknowledging that they made the effort.
c) You are appreciative/grateful/happy to help with the comment (depending on what it is).

But, you may be sitting there thinking, I get 10 ro 20 comments on each post I put up (well, lucky you!) do I need to respond to each person individually? The answer is no. You can respond to the group as a whole, you could say something like, “I love the comments, and thought that Pat’s idea about X was very amusing!” or something similar. So rather than saying, “thanks Clare, thanks Fred, thanks Peter, etc” you can address everyone with one comment, and single out one or two that made you laugh or struck a cord to comment on more fully.

Another question that often leads on from this one is, “Do I get notified if someone comments on my post or page wall?” The answer unfortunately is no.

As the admin for your Facebook page, there isn’t an automatic notification that comes from Facebook, as it does when a friend comments on your personal profile posts. One way to get around this is if you personally like each post you add, then because you have liked it you will get a notification when anyone else comments on it. Then you can go to your page and comment.

However, just remember that comments are not just made on your page wall, they can be made on any photo you upload, on the notes tab, on the discussion tab, on videos you upload and more. You need to make sure that you check these other spots on a regular basis, and no monthly is NOT enough, I’m talking weekly as a minimum.

You may be thinking, this sounds like a huge hassle, but remember that you are trying to build a relationship with people on your page, and ignoring them is not going to help the relationship!

Lara Solomon is the founder of Mocks, mobile phone socks www.MyMocks.com, founder of Social Rabbit – your guide in the world of social media www.Facebook.com/SocialRabbit and author of ‘Brand New Day – the Highs & Lows of Starting a Small Business’. Lara’s business LaRoo was the winner of the NSW Telstra Micro-Business Award in 2008.