Comment Sections can be a Problematic Road for PR Pros to Navigate

The digital society we live in today is paved with numerous roads that PR pros can use to help clients voice their message or shape the public’s perception. A website’s comment section is a fork in the road that can present interesting predicaments. Negative comments and false information can ruin the efforts of a PR pro. So the question remains: Should PR pros engage in comment sections?

A recent article featuring points and counterpoints on this topic revealed some insight to how this question should be answered. Here are some of the valuable takeaways from the story:

Jeffrey Zack, manager of strategic communications programs for RF Binder, disagreed with engaging people in comments sections. He wrote that there are a variety of options to carry out your client’s message. Comments sections are among those options but are riddled with people just looking to rant on a subject.

Though he asserted that comment sections should be avoided, Zack did note that if information is incorrect, comment sections are a good place to set the record straight. PR pros should consider other approaches before rebutting in the comments section, though, such as requesting a correction if the information is incorrect.

The argument in favor of commenting, written by Paul Rand, Ketchum’s chief digital officer, pointed out that PR pros should be allowed to clarify or correct wrong information in the comments section. Letting this incorrect information sit on the Internet would be a mistake. Rand points out that comments should be left only if it makes strategic sense.

Forming responses to comments should be done cautiously. It is vitally important to not get worked up over irrational, negative, and sometimes even violent comments. You cannot stoop to the commenter’s level, because what might be a witty comment back could risk your image and or the image of your client.

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