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Want to respond to comments on Facebook dark posts? We’ll show the best ways to do this, so you can get started today!
If you’re a seasoned Facebook admin and have an active Facebook page, you’re probably pretty good at responding to comments on your organic posts.
But how quick are you to respond to comments on your unpublished posts (i.e., Facebook dark posts)? You know, those posts that don’t show up on your Facebook Page but do appear in users’ newsfeeds when creating Facebook ads.
Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Comments on Facebook Dark Posts
It’s a double-edged no-no if you don’t reply to comments on your newsfeed ads.
If you ignore the positive comments, you miss potential opportunities to gather valuable testimonials, pass along encouraging feedback to your teammates (or client), and build stronger relationships with the people who interact with your Facebook content.
If you don’t pay mind to the negative comments, your brand will look like a devil-may-care advertiser.
Even worse, the negative “social proof” of these comments will overshadow any brand awareness or call to action you tried to achieve in your ad.
In this example, those negative (sometimes inappropriate) comments will damage the effectiveness of the ad. They should be removed or hidden:
How would you feel if you were bumping into an ad on your newsfeed, started to show some interest, and then, the first comment you see under the ad tells you how bad the product is or looks like?
Would you be less likely to click on the ad to learn more?
(That’s what I thought.)
Crazy to think about—but an ad you spend money on can do more brand damage than good if you don’t take the time to spend a few minutes a day responding to comments on Facebook dark posts.
So, what does it look like when you monitor Facebook ad comments effectively?
Let’s take a look at some brands that are setting a great example.
Example #1 of monitoring Facebook comments well
Dollar Shave Club has figured out how to manage these comments.
As you can see, most of the comments it receives on Facebook ads are basically customer support.
Not responding to them would defeat the purpose of Dollar Shave Club running the ad in the first place.
Dollar Shave Club has seized the opportunity to reply to every comment on its Facebook dark pots. There are more than 490 comments on that single ad!
Example #2 of monitoring Facebook comments well
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) depends on donations to stay afloat and has infinite cute animal photos at its disposal. So, it’s no surprise that this nonprofit has nailed its Facebook Ad strategy.
The video ad below has more than 775,000 views and 690 comments, many of which the WWF has responded to directly.
As you can see, the comments bring up a number of issues. Some people want to set up a different type of donation, and other people need help with website errors. Still, other Facebook users want to know more about the organization before they donate.
No matter the issue, the WWF typically responds promptly, providing customer service and keeping the overall sentiment positive.
The Best Ways to Manage Facebook Dark Post Comments
By now, you know the pitfalls of ignoring Facebook dark post comments and the benefits of responding to those comments efficiently.
But how can you handle them without going bananas?
In some cases, you might not need to leave Facebook to manage dark post comments. If you meet all three of these criteria, native ad comment management could meet your needs:
- You manage dark posts for one Facebook Page.
- You’re the sole admin for the Facebook Page—or at least the only active admin.
- Your dark posts rarely get more than a handful of comments each day.
From there you can go one by one and address all your ads’ comments.
If you manage more than one Facebook Page or if you typically run multiple ads simultaneously, tracking dark post comments on Facebook is likely to get overwhelming. Instead, you’re probably better off using a third-party tool. But which one is right for your team?
Here are the best ways for you to manage dark post comments and avoid jeopardizing your Facebook ads investment.
1. Facebook
If you opt to stick with Facebook, there are a few ways you can manage ad comments.
Facebook Business Manager
First, use Facebook Business Manager to navigate to your Facebook Page, and click on Notifications. Then click on Comments to see comments for both dark and regular posts in chronological order.
When you click on an individual comment, Business Manager automatically takes you to the original post so you can see the comment in context.
From there, you can react or respond to each.
Alternatively, you can click on your Facebook Inbox and navigate to Comments & More.
Because this interface displays posts that have received comments rather than commenting activity, it’s less cluttered and easier to navigate than the Notifications tab.
You can identify dark posts in your Facebook Inbox and respond to comments immediately or flag them for follow up.
Pros: If you’re already accustomed to using the Facebook Inbox, Business Manager can be your one-stop shop for handling all messages and comments.
Cons: Although the Facebook Inbox is simple to use, its functionality is limited. You can mark items as spam or for follow-up, but you can’t add internal comments or track interactions with users.
Facebook Ads Manager
Open Facebook Ads Manager, and find the dark post you want to review. Then click the Edit link below the ad name to open the side panel, and click the Preview icon.
Ads Manager automatically takes you to the dark post, so you can read and respond to all the comments.
Pros: You won’t have to sort through regular post comments since you’ll only see Facebook Ad comments.
Cons: Ads Manager doesn’t generate notifications when ads receive new comments, so it’s tough to keep track of your workflow.
Also, clicking the Preview icon in Ads Manager opens the dark post on Facebook (not Business Manager), so by default, you’ll be reacting and commenting from your personal page. Before replying to comments, you’ll have to double-check that you’re responding as your Facebook Page.
Related: How to Start With Facebook Ads and More Expert Advice From the Digital Gal
2. Hootsuite
Hootsuite doesn’t offer robust support for Facebook Ads comments. But if you already rely on Hootsuite for social media management, you might be able to get away with using this tool to handle dark post comments, too.
Start by creating a new stream that contains your unpublished Facebook posts. You’ll see all your dark posts in chronological order. From there, you can click on each individual post to check and respond to comments.
Just want to read the comments without having to click on each dark post individually? You can track comments by creating a new stream that monitors activity on your Facebook Page.
But beware: This stream only includes a chronological feed of all Facebook Page activity, with no options for filtering by post type or accessing the original post. You’ll be stuck scrolling through an endless list of comments with little to no context.
Although Hootsuite has an inbox feature, it currently doesn’t support comments left on Facebook ads.
Pros: If you’re already a Hootsuite customer, this method gives you a basic option for monitoring dark post comments without the added cost of another tool.
Cons: Finding dark post comments on Hootsuite requires a lot of clicking around, which can be time-consuming. There’s no option to get notified when you receive new dark post comments, so it’s easy to miss opportunities to respond.
3. Sprout Social
Sprout Social does support Facebook Ad comments. To make sure the tool tracks your dark posts correctly, connect your both Facebook Page and your Facebook Ad account to Sprout Social.
Then navigate to the Sprout Social inbox to find your dark post comments. By default, Sprout Social collects all of the comments and messages from every social media page you monitor into the same Smart Inbox.
Fortunately, you can create custom filters to avoid having to sort through the Smart Inbox every time you want to find a dark post comment. Click Filter, select Ad Comments, and check the box next to your Facebook Page.
After applying the filter, you’ll see all Facebook Ad comments in chronological order. From there, you can click on the View Conversation button below each comment to see the original post and read or respond to all comments. You can also add tags or attach internal notes to each comment.
To save time, Sprout Social also lets you create custom inboxes for your Facebook Ad comments. That way you can see all dark post comments with a single click.
Pros: If you’re already a Sprout Social customer, you can access comprehensive management tools for Facebook Ads comments without spending extra. Sprout Social’s custom inbox tools make tracking your dark post comments easy and efficient.
Cons: If you aren’t a Sprout Social customer, this tool might not fit into your budget. Sprout Social charges by user, and the monthly fee starts at $99. If you need to get your team on board, you could end up spending several hundred dollars extra each month. Sprout Social can also pretty expensive if you’re managing your social profiles as a team because they charge per user.
BONUS MATERIAL: Free “Facebook 101” ebook
4. Agorapulse
Agorapulse also supports Facebook Ad comments, so you can track engagement easily.
LovePop Video Testimonial – Agorapulse
To prompt Agorapulse to retrieve your dark post comments, connect your Facebook Page and your Facebook Ad account.
By default, the Agorapulse inbox shows all comments and messages for your Facebook Page. Fortunately, you can click Ads Comments to view dark post comments only. You can also filter by bookmarks, labels, or review status to narrow down what you see in the inbox.
(In the event that you get Facebook dark post comments that are inappropriate or go against your community rules, you can also easily hide or delete those comments.)
When you click on individual Facebook Ad comments, Agorapulse automatically shows you the original dark post and the comment thread for context.
From there, you can reply to comments, send DMs to commenters, or assign responses to team members. You can also label, bookmark, or delete comments or view them directly on Facebook.
Each time you click on a comment, it automatically links to Agorapulse’s social media customer relationship management (CRM) tool.
There, you can review all of the user’s engagement history with your Facebook Page, including comments, posts, messages, and internal notes. If necessary, you can ban users from the social CRM, too.
To save time when reviewing Facebook Ad comments, you can set up automated rules using Agorapulse’s Inbox Assistant.
For example, you can automatically hide dark post comments that include URLs or negative words.
For a more efficient social media workflow, you can also create a rule that assigns comments with specific keywords to specialized team members.
Pros: If you already use Agorapulse for social media management, you can connect your Facebook Ad account and start tracking dark post comments with just a couple of clicks. Agorapulse’s full-featured inbox makes it easy to handle every aspect of dark post moderation, including assigning items, bookmarking comments, automating responses, and using the CRM to track engagement history.
You can even set automated moderation rules to automatically handle the obvious offenders automatically. Thanks to these automated rules, it’s easy to hide by default all comments containing a URL (http) or insults like the ones below.
If an answer to a particular comment is outside your expertise, simply assign it to another team member.
Agorapulse’s connection to Facebook’s Marketing API and Graph API means that comments are in sync 100% of the time. (If you want to learn more about how it’s done, this FAQ will definitely help.)
Cons: Agorapulse doesn’t offer custom inbox options, so you can’t access all dark post comments with a single click. Since you can filter ad comments with just two clicks, however, you can still find them quickly.
If you want to see exactly how to manage Facebook Ads all from one place? This demo can help.
In Conclusion
Ultimately, staying on top of Facebook Ad comments doesn’t have to be difficult. Find the right option for your team above, and start getting more out of your Facebook dark posts.
Take a peek at how Agorapulse can lessen the craziness of answering comments on your Facebook ads. Better yet, why don’t you start a free trial of Agorapulse and try it out with your own ads!
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Get started on saving time and energy on your own social media management! Check out our free trial of Agorapulse to help you schedule, track, and measure all your social media efforts.
Anna Sonnenberg contributed to the updating of this post.
