In social media feedback, HopStop values the negative

Companies active in social media usually try to gin up praise from contented customers, highlighting shout-outs on Twitter or amassing “likes” on Facebook.

But what the city transit guide HopStop really finds helpful are the negative comments, says CEO Joe Meyer.

“A lot of companies both large and small don’t dive in head-first on social media and community and feedback in large part because they don’t want to hear the bad,” Meyer says. “They don’t want to hear their brand being spoken negatively of or their service being ripped on.

“For us, we value the negative feedback more than the positive feedback. … That negative feedback or that constructive feedback we can take action on to improve and evolve our service.”

That’s just one reason why HopStop has jumped in on social media and responds to the up to 200 mentions a day it garners on Twitter, Facebook, Yelp and Tumblr.

Popularity booming