Veganism can be, uh, divisive.

Unfortunately, dealing with trolls and angry people more generally is just a part of being a vegan business. Many plant-based businesses are lean operations with few employees, and it can be stressful to face hostile blog and social media comments on top of everything else you're responsible for. I, for one, take it really hard when I get mean comments on my posts, even when they're obviously just messing with me.

So, why are vegan businesses so likely to be the target of trolls and other haters? 

For one thing, non-vegans often perceive the plant-based lifestyle as idiosyncratic, extreme, or even threatening to their values and way of life. Vegans are opting out of a system that has a lot of stakeholders, from busy parents just looking for a cheap meal to people who work for or invest in giant agribusinesses.

Equally challenging for vegan and vegan-friendly businesses can be the wide range of priorities, motivations, and  approaches from within the vegan community. People choose a plant-based lifestyle for many different reasons, and that often means that vegan businesses are expected to align themselves with a wide range of beliefs. When vegan consumers think you're not living up to their standards, things can get downright ugly. 

When facing criticism, many small business owners fall into the trap of reacting with their personal feelings and beliefs (here's a particularly ugly example of conflict between pro- and anti-vegan factions online). As a business, it's in your best interest to respond differently than you might as a private citizen, but you can do so without compromising your ethics. 

Trolls vs. Other Haters

Not every instance of online aggression is trolling, and not every troll is trying to elicit the same reaction. Because different kinds of antagonists call for different responses, it's important to understand where people are coming from before you respond (or choose not to respond).

Here are the five most common types of folks who might be harassing your business online:

1. People who are trolling you for kicks and are looking for a reaction

2. Disgruntled customers who are haven't been satisfied through normal channels

3. Non-vegans who feel threatened by veganism in general and are on the attack

4. Vegans who are unhappy with specific elements of the way you do things

5. People who are making legitimate points in an aggressive way

As I'm sure you can imagine, these commenters respond to very different tactics. There will also be situations in which you can reject or delete hostile comments (such as on your website or a social profile you manage), and situations in which you cannot. We'll talk about both, and I'll go into detail about managing website comments toward the end of the post.

Dealing with Trolls & Anti-Vegan Haters

Anyone who works on the internet will tell you: don't feed the trolls. They just want a reaction, and if you give it to them, they'll only keep going. Trolls are often people who feel like they can't control some part of their lives, and they reclaim control by forcing people to acknowledge and react to them online. When you choose not to reply, they have no way of knowing if you even read their comments, and you take away their power. 

In many cases, trolling has nothing to do with your veganism. The trolls simply found an easy target (any minority group or lifestyle choice generally is, because more people will jump on the bandwagon); there's nothing you can do to change their minds, because the trolling has nothing to do with their beliefs.

Here's another reason not to respond to trolls: When you get in on the mudslinging, you will make a lot of your fans uncomfortable. I'm one of those people myself; aggressive and antagonistic tactics make me anxious, so I search out a more positive, constructive environment even when I agree with the general position someone is taking. There will be those who are cheering you on, but your focus should be on creating an environment that reflects your brand. 

What about people who aren't strictly trolls, like non-vegans who are hostile to vegans and vegan businesses because of their personal beliefs?

Unlike "true" trolls, they can give you an opportunity to address ignorant beliefs about veganism, but that doesn't mean it's always a good idea to address them directly. Make those decisions on a case-by-case basis, and try to understand where the individual person is coming from first.

These people may be threatened by the idea that they should make engaged choices instead of automatic ones, or they may take the vegan lifestyle as an implied attack on their personal choices, what they were taught, and their cultural values (not to mention favorite foods). Regardless, their reasons are probably personal and emotional rather than logical, so if you want to change minds and hearts, a little empathy is in order.  

Dealing with Disgruntled Customers & Angry Vegans

In many ways, dealing with trolls is easier than addressing real comments, particularly when they're coming from someone who has a real problem with your business. 

If an unhappy customer or someone with a legitimate point leaves an antagonistic comment, you have a great opportunity to turn that relationship around. From a customer service perspective, would you rather have someone quietly hating you and telling all of their friends about it, or would you prefer to have a chance at reconciliation? I'll take Option B, thank you very much.

The important thing is to avoid sounding defensive. They may not be expressing it in the most positive way, but these people have real concerns.

If you've made a mistake with a customer and they bring it up publicly, be up front about it and do everything you can to correct it. When you address the problem publicly, potential customers will see it happen and will be more confident that if something happens with their purchases, you'll take care of them.

Likewise, when you address a legitimate criticism from an angry person with tact and sensitivity, you build your authority and make the rest of your audience more comfortable trusting you as a source of information.

There's one more group to talk about, though, and it's the trickiest of the bunch—vegans who are angry because you aren't doing things the way they want. In particular, there will always be someone who thinks you aren't vegan enough. Always. I promise. You could get arrested for breaking test rats out of a lab and someone will be mad at you for not going after the beagles.

In these cases, remember that you're working toward the same goals. These attacks feel especially hurtful because they're coming from people you thought were allies, but don't let it become personal. Find the common ground and respond with your reasoning and your company's position, but be aware that you may not be able to resolve the disagreement. 

Preventing & Managing Hostile Comments

The first and best piece of advice for dealing with trolls is this: Decide in advance how you will respond. If conversation with your community is a big part of your business, you may want to document community standards and be clear about what kinds of comments violate those standards. Then, if you have to remove one and it causes a stink ("You're censoring me!"), you can demonstrate that you acted according to your stated policy.

You can also change your website's settings to require approval before comments are published. This alone will cut down on a lot of trolling, because they'll stop targeting you when they realize their comments aren't getting published.

The downside is that it limits real-time discussion, but that's not as big a concern these days as it has been in the past. Blog commenting is on the decline as people discuss content primarily on social media, and even blogs with lots of traffic often don't get many comments. You can also turn comments off altogether, but whether this is a good idea is very much a matter of your business and industry.

Don't be afraid to cut ties. If you're getting negative comments and attacks from people who are on your mailing list, for example, don't hesitate to remove them. On social media, you can also report repeat offenders and delete trolling comments, but be sure to follow your own community guidelines. This is NOT the right way to handle legitimate questions or criticisms, even when they're somewhat aggressive.

Be an active member of your community. When you engage with your fans or followers regularly, you build trust and set the tone for everyone's conversations surrounding your brand. The goal is to create a welcoming environment for legitimate engagement, and you're the role model. Even if you can shut someone down with a cutting remark, should you? Is that going to cultivate the kind of community you want?

One of the best ways to manage trolling is to cultivate a strong, kind, self-regulating community. (In my mind, the best example of this is the Nerdfighters). This doesn't mean you don't need to be involved when someone violates the community standards; things can still spiral out of hand, and you're on the hook for what happens surrounding your brand, even when it's not you typing it. But when you lead by example, your fans will know what to do next time.  

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash