Comment moderation for a Shopify brand means deciding which Facebook and Instagram comments need a reply, review or removal. Keyword rules can reduce repeated spam handling, but they need testing: the same word can appear in a scam, a product question or a real customer's complaint.
A good workflow protects useful conversation. It removes clear abuse or spam according to your moderation policy while giving shoppers a reliable answer about products, delivery and support. This guide includes example decisions and a worksheet you can adapt to your own comment history.
Separate spam from support
| Comment | Suggested handling | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Repeated unrelated promotional link | Review, then moderate under your spam policy | The same pattern may be suitable for a narrow rule |
| “My parcel still hasn't arrived” | Acknowledge and move order checks to private support | This is a customer issue, even if the wording is negative |
| “Is this the same product I saw elsewhere?” | Answer factually or investigate | A comparison question is not automatically spam |
| Impersonation asking shoppers for payment | Prioritize review and appropriate removal/reporting | Customers could be misled |
| “Does the small size fit a 13-inch laptop?” | Answer from confirmed product information | A useful public answer helps other shoppers too |
Write these decisions down before enabling automation. Your team should be able to explain why a comment was moderated. “It contained a negative word” is a weak rule for distinguishing a genuine complaint from spam.
Choose precise keywords and test false positives
Start with recurring spam phrases or specific unwanted destinations observed on your own posts. Avoid broad terms such as “refund,” “late,” “scam” or “cheap” as automatic deletion triggers. Customers may use those words when they need help.
Competitor and marketplace references deserve context. A repeated unsolicited sales link and a shopper asking whether two products differ are different situations. If your rule would catch both, narrow it or keep those comments for manual review.
Respondro's keyword matching uses case-insensitive text matching. Test a word inside a longer word as well as a standalone word. For example, a rule for “ali” could match “quality.” Case changes, spaces, shortened links and alternative spellings can also change whether a rule catches the intended content.
Download the comment moderation test worksheet (CSV). It includes synthetic spam and legitimate-support examples, a place for the expected action, and columns for what happened. All examples are invented for testing; no customer data is included.
Choose the action before enabling the rule
Hiding and deleting are different actions. Confirm the visibility and recovery behavior on the specific connected platform before choosing either. Use a controlled test comment you own, and inspect the result from an appropriate viewer account as well as the management view.
Begin with manual review for ambiguous rules. If your workflow supports hiding and it meets your moderation policy, test that before committing to deletion. An automated action attempt is not proof that the comment disappeared: permissions or a disconnected account can prevent it from completing.
Keep a record of the matched rule, attempted action and actual result. Review errors separately from successful moderation, so a broken connection does not create the impression that spam has been handled.
When are native moderation tools enough?
Instagram already offers native filtering. Meta describes Hidden Words and custom word lists for filtering unwanted comments and message requests. If your comment volume is manageable and one person checks it regularly, start by reviewing those settings.
A shared support workflow becomes more useful when several people handle comments, the same customer contacts you privately, or you need moderation and response work together. Evaluate those needs before adding another tool. The reason to centralize should be clearer ownership and less missed work, not the assumption that native filters do nothing.
Using Respondro for comment moderation
Respondro's Meta integration includes keyword-based comment moderation for eligible connected accounts. You choose the keywords and available actions for your workflow. Test each connected Facebook or Instagram account before relying on a rule during a campaign.
Pair moderation with a response process. A product question needs an answer; a delivery complaint needs support. Read our Facebook and Instagram reply templates and Shopify unified inbox guide to connect those tasks.
Book a demo to review account eligibility, moderation settings and the connected-channel experience.
A weekly review that keeps rules useful
- Sample comments caught by each rule, including legitimate questions.
- Check spam that escaped the rules without assuming every variation can be caught.
- Remove or narrow rules that suppress useful discussion.
- Check whether the platform action succeeded.
- Review unanswered support questions and repeated customer concerns.
Track false positives alongside time saved. A rule that removes many comments is not automatically a good rule. The useful outcome is less repetitive spam handling and more attention available for customers who need an answer.