My 15 Minutes of Fame: Transform Your Social Media into a Digital Customer Service Experience

Think about your current customer service efforts: perhaps you have a phone representative or email contact listed on your website. For today’s active online consumers, this will not be enough. The key to customer service is when multiple points of contact are set in place to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer’s expectation.

When you consider contemporary customer service, social media has become the star of the show. With brands directly connected to their fans through Facebook and Twitter, a new company + consumer relationship has truly taken off. It’s time to take your social media to new heights and deliver digital service to your consumer that is out of this world.

While social media provides a medium for public relations, marketing and advertising, these networks also heavily involve customer service, customer relationship management, sales, operations, human resources, plus research and development. At the forefront of all digital communication, social media does much more than just advertise. Realistically, there is no way to successfully leverage these networks if your strategy only includes marketing.

With millions of users tweeting and commenting about products they use or brands they love, develop a social media customer service plan for your business around what fans are saying. Whether that means a positive comment on Facebook, a fabulous review on Yelp, or re-tweet from an A-list celebrity, when consumers are sharing their experience, take note. What is key about the relationship with social media and consumers is that when integrated correctly, these networks open opportunities to positively boost the overall customer experience.

The first step in transforming your social media into a digital customer service experience is by being open and transparent with your fans. Listen to what they have to say about your brand or product and be authentic in your delivery. By being true, fans will become more comfortable with engaging and interacting. Remember,building a brand starts with building a voice and be sure you are keeping conversation cohesive when asking fans to participate online.

Another aspect of developing an awesome customer experience is by using social media in all customer-facing circumstances. Do you sell products using e-commerce? Turn your Facebook page into another online shop where fans can browse and purchase directly on your page. NastyGal.com, a contemporary + edgy online women’s clothing boutique, uses their Facebook page as another way for fans to shop and stay in touch.

Have a storefront location? Incentives for online customers encouraging them to visit your business can happen easily by offering exclusives redeemable if they stop in. Taco Bell, the nation’s famed Mexican-style late night restaurant chain, recently re-branded themselves with the slogan Live Más. Using their Facebook page, Taco Bell continues to evolve their new logo by including user-generated content from fans. Their most recent Facebook campaign for the Doritos Locos Taco includes Instagram photos with snapshots of their fans enjoying this new Taco Bell favorite for a chance to win big bucks.

If you are a company looking to build a reputable brand and create a user friendly experience on Facebook: get detailed.

The /excelamktg Facebook page was built to promote fan engagement, as well as offer downloadable resources, provide company information and built-in mailing list registration. Currently, our Social Media Makeover campaign lets fans sign-up to win a Facebook and Twitter re-brands by the awesome /excelamktg creative team. In addition, you’ll find bits and pieces of what our work culture is all about!