Dive Brief:
- Most social ads are designed to mimic organic posts on social media, meaning that any ad, good or bad, can be commented on.
- The negative backlash can sometimes be severe for brands — as seen with the storm of negativity surrounding the recent McDonald's Instagram ads — making the industry wonder whether comments on ads should be disabled.
- While many brands have requested that ad comments be turned off, the platforms insist that negative feedback fosters a two-way conversation that is critical to social media — Facebook reportedly told Krill Oil that negative social comments were “cheaper than using market research.”
Dive Insight:
An important thing for brands to remember is that whether or not a social media user takes the time to make a negative comment, that user could still actively dislike an ad. Disabling comments can not control a user's reaction to an ad. Facebook also has a point: The social comments allow for immediate feedback on any ad run. It should be taken with a grain of salt, as many negative comments are just a rebellion against ads at all. And there could be some valuable feedback lying in those comments. It would be interesting to see data on whether those negative comments made any impact on other users viewing the ad.
