“What if they say something bad about us?” Thing is, bad reviews and negative comments will always be there. Haters will hate. Few businesses escape unscathed without encountering anything negative that was said about them online, or dealing with misinformation. Starbucks has a whole site dedicated to it, where haters (or huge fans, as sometimes the case) gather to express discontent: http://www.ihatestarbucks.com/bb/

However, when a brand takes a proactive approach, monitors these conversations to put out fires early, does ongoing social media monitoring, blogger relations, online community building, due diligence and crisis prevention, keeps its ear to the ground, spends time to lay out the land and establish company’s values and openly engages in dialogue with consumers it is more likely to earn and generate goodwill.

If and when social media crisis hits, active social media presence and a solid crisis management plan will help contain and minimize damage.