Social Media is a very essential marketing tool in the modern marketing era, however, it can also elevate the customer service reputation of companies. All businesses and brands that are selling products or services have their own social media platform.
For instance, one of the largest telecommunication companies in the US namely Xfinity has its own Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter page, where they post content related to their services, promotions, discounts, etc. as well as allow customers to interact with them through their Xfinity customer service. Such channels of communication allow customers to build relationships with their brands.
There are strategies in place that can be used to manage customer service on the social media platform, and how to use it to one’s own benefit. A very well-developed customer service strategy on social media helps to boost a brand’s reputation and increases the opportunity for them to go viral. Hence, this article will explore what can be done to manage customer service on social media.
Is Customer Service Essential for Social Media?
Since so many customers already communicate with the brands through social media platforms, businesses of all sorts should work towards building their customer support efforts. Social media platforms can help to improve the way customer service issues are being addressed.
Moreover, brands also need to be aware of what social media platforms their customers are using and then focus their engagement efforts there. If most of the brand’s customers are available on Facebook, but the brand doesn’t have any online presence on Facebook, then that doesn’t bode well for the brand.
A successful customer service strategy would mean that brands are presented across multiple channels to suit their customers’ needs.
How to Use Social Media for Customer Service?
Following are some of the strategies that can be used as a customer service tool on social media platforms.
Building Customer Relationship
Many businesses often make the mistake of taking social media platforms as just another channel for promoting their products or services and don’t often respond when customers reach out to them through comments or tweets. This can have a negative impact on their brand images.
Businesses should use Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform to build relationships with their prospective and existing customers. It is also imperative that messages on social media platforms be responded to in a timely fashion.
Use Hashtags
Specific hashtags can be used to help users search for their concerns linked to hashtags. Hashtags are organized and easy to navigate through, especially on social media platforms called Twitter or Instagram. More information can be added and content can be curated to the hashtag.
Moreover, brands can also use hashtags to keep up with the customers’ comments about their products or services on the social media platform, and when needed, they can respond to their queries as well.
Creating Customer Advocate Base
If a customer has had a bad experience dealing with the brand’s products or services, he can post a negative review online. The concerned brand will need a business strategy that involves providing such excellent customer service that the brand’s loyal customer base will advocate for them and save their reputation from turning to ash.
Make Conversations Private
Many customers often post bad reviews on social media platforms out of anger or frustration, and these reviews are bound to be read by everyone on the internet. That is not good for the brand’s reputation, especially when internet users repost and share these negative comments.
While brands shouldn’t absolutely ignore such comments, they also shouldn’t handle these publicly either. Brands could try to send an initial response publicly just to show that their input is valued, and send a request to move the conversation to private.
For instance, if someone had a bad experience with a product and they tweet about it, the brand should send a tweet back apologizing for the same, and telling them that a customer support rep will reach out to their DMs or direct messages.
Separate Handle for Customer Support
Brands should have a separate social media account for their customer service. That way the regular account will be used for business purposes such as promotional content, discounts, and such and the customer service account will be used to deal with all customers’ concerns. Having separate accounts also help to organize customer demands and concerns, and flag them more easily as well.
Hence, the customer service social media handle should be used to respond to every customer complaint or message.
Final Thoughts
Customer service should always be the topmost priority of any brand, and social media is just one of the ways how brands can deal with the customers who have issues with their products or services. Through their separate customer service social media accounts, brands can learn more about their customers’ demands so that they can easily cater their services to their needs.