When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, he envisioned it as a tool that would be used to increase transparency amongst individuals and industries. His theory was that a more transparent world is a better one and that Facebook was the key to unlocking a more honest and open future. Facebook has been credited for winning elections, starting revolutions and learning that Johnny is in a relationship…no wait…now he’s single again. At this point it’s safe to say that if you don’t want people to see it, don’t put it on Facebook.

As much as transparency can be a catalyst for good, it can also be dangerous. Whether it’s a potential employer seeing unflattering pictures from your sorority formal, or a jealous ex noticing your newly updated relationship status, Facebook has opened up our personal lives in a way that we’ve never experienced.

 This goes for our brands as well. We work hard to perfect their look and feel, agonizing over every aspect of the image we want to portray, only to find that someone has taken our slogan and turned it into an obscene innuendo. We put ourselves out there for public scrutiny and opinion, so isn’t this just social media at work?

Some people would say you have to take the good with the bad, and hope that positive reactions far outweigh negative ones. Others may say that the best way to avoid such issues is by disabling the interactive features of your pages.

But stifling the free exchange of ideas is counterintuitive to the tenets of social media. Social media channels have provided us with free isolated case studies and communications checks that were never accessible before. With the prevalence of social media, the phrase “everyone’s a critic” has never been truer. What’s important is to take what people are saying and move forward with that input to improve your brand.

Social media lets us all have a say, so instead of getting offended, think of it as an opinion democracy—everyone gets a vote, and every vote counts towards bettering your brand.