Along with transparency, the messaging and tone of a brand's response needs to be sincere, appropriate for the situation, and consistent with the overall voice of the brand. Also, argues Barenblat, because social media is about people interacting with people, a response should sound like it's coming from a real person -- not like boilerplate verbiage from the PR department.

"People expect a certain level of humanity, even if you are speaking on behalf of the brand," he elaborates.

"Tone is everything," insists Braswell. "It's not a response -- it's yet another installment in the conversation." He adds that a brand's tone should be "organic" and that crafting any response with the assumption that it's going to be a one-way conversation is the first misstep down the path to failure.  

Rubel suggests observing any good sales clerk to get an idea of what an appropriate tone might sound like. "It's much like the best people in retail," he says. "If people are ranting and raving, the first step is to make it clear that you've listened and you take it seriously. No matter what it is, you have to say you take it seriously. And by simply responding, you are. Then you try to work toward a win-win solution that's going to please everybody."

Carr makes the point that tone is only part of the equation. "At the root of it all is being consistent." Being overly jovial one day and then extremely formal the next can come off as inconsistent and inauthentic, he explains. Carr recommends adopting the same level of consistency you'd have with a friend, where one day you might joke around; the next, you might be a bit more somber or serious -- but your overall tone remains consistent over the course of the friendship.