Social media tends to be the place of trial-and-error when it comes to marketing and brand management. But for some, it becomes an embarrassing lesson in what not to do.

Take the marketing and design staffing firm Aquent, for instance. Recently, on their Facebook page, they posted a note, telling all of theirs tans that, like Jerry McGuire, they were there to “Show them the money.”

Their fans, in turn, took issue with that statement, to the point where some of them posted comments about the lack of money, or even the common courtesy of a follow-up, for that matter, that Aquent had showed them in recent memory.

An ironic reaction, given that one of Aquent’s core competencies is to staff for such fields as online marketing. You would think that they could have this this potential backlash coming, especially since they experienced similar comments in previous posts.

Realistically, some attempts to get the word out about your organization can potentially have the same negative effects, especially if you happen to be a staffing agency in this economy (Which, we’ve actually posted about some time ago).

The issue is never if a problem arises. The issue, rather, is how you and your organization deals with it. There are typically three ways to go about it, two of which are, well, wrong.

The first way to address backlash from a social media campaign is to delete the negative comments altogether. While this might seem like a good idea, you open yourselves up for even more attacks, and from Web sites and social media you can’t control.

Second, which appears to be how Aquent has dealt with it, negative comments are ignored, and you go about your business. This poses a worse threat, as those who are bashing you will not only continue to do so, they will feel that they can do so without impunity. Pretty soon, more users will arrive, telling their stories, until you’re stuck with a mountain of complaints in your own venue!

This is why it’s recommended that you engage these comments tactfully. In a society where the customer is always right, you want to start out the conversation with apologizing for how they were treated.

From there, you want to proceed to ask questions as to how best the situation be resolved. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are there for the interaction. Go ahead an take full advantage of it.

If not, you’ll be in a similar situation as Aquent: Pages full of disgruntled users who will continue to inflict damage.

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