It's every entrepreneur's worst nightmare: you put yourself out there - finally! - and then a complete stranger on social media does something mean. Something unimaginable. Something weird.
In my case, someone was so offended by a Facebook post that I put some ad dollars behind that they took a poop, and posted a picture of said poop in the comments.
(And I'm assuming it was their poop - they said it was and I am not about to argue with poop-poster!).
Their point was if I was going to post sh*t in their feed, they were going to post sh*t in mine. Actually, that's some pretty tight marketing messaging...so I do want to give them poop props.
Poop! 💩
And I can see why they were offended. That post included three questions that I think help to ask before you do any marketing. I wasn't even selling a thing...just sharing information. I mean...the noive! I don't know what I was thinking....
I did a whole Facebook Live on the day it happened...you can check it out here:
This is a link to my Facebook Live where I tell you the whole story about the poop...and how I turned it into purpose.
I'm always surprised at how much it hurts my feelings when someone – a complete stranger who has no idea how earnest I am to help people tap into their marketing mojo – strikes out in a way that's intended to hurt. To use words and images to wound.
It sucks.
Thankfully, it's only happened a few times in the three years I've been promoting my biz online. But it still gets me. Here's what I do when mean people post in my feed:
Throw a quick prayer up to the big guy for the little guy.
I sent a quick prayer straight to the universe for the poop-poster. I know they think they're doing good somehow, saving people from me. And I pray that they use their powerful words and images as a force for good.
Report, ban, delete.
Simple. You don't need any of that nonsense in your business, especially from people who are harassing you (and if they're trying to get people to not do business with you, they are...thank you, J432 Media Law class at Ohio State!). All the social sites make it easy to do this so you're protected (believe me, they want to make advertising on their platforms a great experience for you).
Turn that poop into purpose.
I decided to turn poop into purpose by making a donation to the Food Bank of the Rockies in the name of Poopy McFacebook. Other times, I turn on the love for humanity and the world to counter that angst by sending a message to a friend or writing my mom a letter.
Let it go.
Do not spend one second more of your precious brain time thinking about someone who will make the time to be hateful. You have better things to do. Like build your business and bring your good work to the world.
Even when it feels like some people are against you.
(Not me, though. I'm 100,000% rooting for you! Even you, Poopy McFacebook!)
xo, Heather
P.S.
If you're wondering, the poop post has long been reported and deleted.
Click to play
IT'S EVERY ENTREPRENEUR'S WORST NIGHTMARE
Well, hello there. This is Heather Campbell is a little pro marketing advice because you know, when you know what the pros do, you can do what the pros do.
And today I'm going to be talking about the haters because sometimes you put yourself out there and there are going to be people on Facebook or on social media who are just going to do things that are so mean sometimes.
And, um, it does happen to me. So, and I am honestly surprised at how much it really. Hurts my feelings. And I was telling my husband today. It just said, gosh, you know, this is so I posted something on Facebook. And then I put a little, a little bit of ad dollars behind it to get a sense of, you know, how do people respond to the comments?
It was not controversial content. It was three marketing questions to ask if you want to be successful marketing, which is who's it for? What does it do? And why does it matter? Right. So nothing, nothing really crazy. And somebody was so offended [00:01:00] by that. They actually. I took a poop and took a picture of the poop and then sent me a picture of the poop saying, putting it in my feed, saying that if I was going to pay mark Zuckerberg money to put poop in their feed, they were going to put poop in my feed.
And I was just like, oh my God. First of all, a for effort. Oh, my gosh, I just, I got to give you a for effort for just really first of all, waiting until the time was right until you could take like a big healthy poop. And then to let me know that yes, you thought that it, mine was pooping. So this year is boom.
So I'm like, oh my gosh. Like I just love from a marketing perspective, that is some pretty tight messaging. So that is a very good from that perspective. Um, but it always sets me back when that happens. I was like, oh my gosh. You know, certainly I, I want to help people, right. That's not my intention. And I was telling my husband [00:02:00] today.
I said, gosh, you know, I don't know why it just hurts my feelings so much. And then I realized, well, you know what, when people are mean to you, when people are mean to you, it hurts your feelings. And so I was like, oh my gosh. So I just wanted to feel the feels. And one of the things that I just think is interesting about that.
I really do think like that somebody is that much on edge or that so full of angst that they, they want to take the time. Like literally take the time to use pictures and words, such powerful communication tools and use them as a, as a weapon and as a way to wound people. And it would just never enter my mind to do that.
I just can't even imagine a situation. Now my eight brothers and sisters would absolutely beg to differ on that one. And I know how to wound with words, but I like to use my words as a force for good. So one of the things that I thought could be interesting is if you are Facebook hater, right? So this person obviously had an issue with Mark Zuckerberg.
Does not like Mark Zuckerberg does not like Facebook does not like people who advertise on Facebook. Absolutely not. And I think that that is absolutely fine. That person is entitled to their opinion. And I think more power to them. I find it interesting that they're spending time at a place that. They don't like to let people know that they don't like them.
And I thought, wow, what if they use their words as a form for good. And what if they, instead of sending out something hateful, decided, wow, every time I have a hate, I feel like I want to send a hateful comment. I'm going to plant a tree or I'm going to buy a meal, or I'm going to make a donation to the food, but I don't know something.
Where you using it for? Good. And then what I would love to do is say, oh my gosh, do I hate Facebook? And I hate mark Zuckerberg. And I hate people who advertise on Facebook. So I track how many people I dislike and how many people I think got enough. And it planted, I have a [00:04:00] whole forest, you guys, and that is something that I'm like, oh my gosh, what if that person used that?
As a force for good, as opposed to a force for hurting. Oh my gosh, it does. It just hurts my feelings. So I deleted the post. Uh, so I always do that, but my friends were like, take a screenshot and I'm like, I will next time because it was pretty classic and again, really, really good marketing and tight messaging with all the poop and everything really, really brilliant.
Um, so when that happens, I absolutely delete those out of my comments because. We just don't need that kind of stuff in our marketing or in our business at all. And because I don't, I can't control what this other person is going to do. I am making a donation to the Rocky mountain food bank in the amount of $25 in honor of the person from Facebook who sent me their poop today.
Cause they thought that my. Post was poopy. And so I am turning that [00:05:00] bad into some good, and that is my ultimate goal. And so I encourage you people out there when you have a hater and they show up, I've had like five instances. I have dozens and dozens, even hundreds and hundreds of things that tell me otherwise, But boy does that just sort of cut through the clutter and really, really, again, just sort of get to you right here.
So, um, please know a net, your little poopy head that you're going to be feeding some families in Denver, Colorado, because of your comments. So I want to thank you so much for just raising awareness, allowing me to feel this, share this message with other people. Putting yourself out there is risky. And there are people like that who are going to take time to let you know how much they dislike you.
And when that happens, if they cannot turn it around to a positive, I am going to turn it around and make that a positive. So I am going to help feed some families today based on that little again, that little poopy head. [00:06:00] So they, you so much, and I see that Michelle is. The call. Yeah. She said the poop will fertilize the trees.
So if you guys come on, like let's use our words to, as a force for good. And so please know Michelle you out in California and wherever you are in this beautiful, crazy, crazy, beautiful, but sort of crazy world, including. The person who sent me their, their poop, a picture of their poop on my Facebook. Um, please know that there's someone right here in Denver, Colorado, who is 100000% rooting for you.
Take care guys, and I'll see you here next Thursday at 1130 mountain time. Take it easy. Bye.
