UPDATE: Google removed the negative review discussed in the feature below as it was clearly unsubstantiated, however this article is critical for people to read and understand and you can still checkout the screenshot here if you want.
When you engage with the world using social media you will always have situations where people disagree with your point of view. Most of the time users of social media apps who might not agree with or don’t like something will scroll by and just move along. However, from time to time you get people who are either unstable or are dealing with mental health issues and stress, and feel the need to lash out against you over trivial things. This is called cancel culture.
The best course of action is to take it on the chin, stand your ground and use logic to navigate those situations. In the past we shared a very old video of someone jumping off the Lonsdale Quay stairs (below) and doing a back flip. Someone in the community didn’t like that we shared it, so they proceeded to email all of our business partners to try to impact our operations by making lavish claims that were unfounded. As well the same person spent days on the North Shore Moms Facebook Group spreading so much hate and misinformation that literally hundreds of people in the community were engaged with the narrative. Which is a good thing, as when anyone with logic visits our website they see it’s filled with love and positivity.
After that incident our website traffic was at an all time high and we didn’t need to spend any money on advertising to get the traffic, while at the same time reaching hundreds of new people in the community who have since become readers and email subscribers. It’s important to note that the RCMP stated jumping off the Lonsdale Quay stairs is not illegal.
Now fast forward to yesterday when one of the coolest businesses in the Lonsdale corridor posted something about vegan food. We had dialogue on the thread about eating meat and that was a different opinion then others which is fine. Having different opinions is allowed and people don’t need to get attacked for it. Nowadays it’s very common to get attacked online for differing opinions in a way that wasn’t possible many years ago.
This person who didn’t like that we ate meat went onto our Google profile to leave a negative review (and got others to do the same) about what she thought happened, however her review was edited many times with changing stories and context. Now it sits on our Google profile for all to see. Which is fine, getting negative reviews is normal, you can’t always be perfect or please everyone. Trying to do that leads to being burnt out and unhappy.
The “vegan incident” which is what we will refer to this as, has led to another huge spike in website traffic from free word of mouth marketing given this person wants everyone to know that we eat meat and she doesn’t agree with that. If you look at the net result of situations like this they almost always work out to be positive as people with logic tend to think for themselves when they come into contact with a business through a perceived bad situation.
Anyone who knows us or works with us, can appreciate that we love a good laugh and have tons of personality. You don’t have to be boring to be professional, and using profanity or being intense doesn’t make you unprofessional. Look at how Gary Vee talks online (video below), he sounds like a trucker and consults with some of the worlds biggest brands.
In closing out this short free form musing style feature, remember, be yourself and have fun. Don’t shy away from having differing opinions and don’t feel like you need to please everyone. The people who really know you can see through what the Karen’s of the world like to do. And at the end of the day, the more people that learn about you and your business the better. No matter what format that is in.
There are even people who go out of their way to get bad google reviews for growing their business. Why you ask? Human psychology is a funny thing.