Is it okay to delete negative comments on social media?

(watch the video…or to get the abridged version just skip the video)

Hi, I’m Rob Anspach, and I get this question a lot.

Can we delete comments from people responding to a post we put out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any social media network?

The answer is yes!

It doesn’t matter if the person is an acquaintance or a friend, if you don’t like their comment, it’s okay to delete it.

There is no Facebook etiquette or Twitter or LinkedIn Rules of Engagement.

Will your friends be upset that you deleted their comment? Probably!

Will they comment to you? Probably!

Just the other day I made a post on Facebook and one of my long time friends responded, then one of his friends responded and I found it was not in the best interest to keep their comment there because it was more…it wasn’t an argument more or “Rob I dislike that comment” it was more of an instigating post.

And my belief is to keep my wall, my stream clean and simple. I don’t mind a few bumps, arguments or disagreements, but of I feel that it’s turning into an instigation then I just remove the comment.

So I remove their comment and about 10 minutes later another comment popped up “Hey why did you delete my comment?“. Seriously? So I deleted that one.

Then a few minutes later I get a message to my inbox, “Hey whats going on? You’re not the real Rob”

Your social media, your wall, your stream is yours…do what ever you want with it. You can allow people to post whatever to it.

I just feel that if going to run a business using social media to promote your products or services or to build trust then you need to have your own rules. And if you feel that something just doesn’t jive, it’s okay to remove it. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.

Would love to hear comments. Have you ever deleted a friends negative comment?