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!

Be sure to stay tuned for more social media tips, and to download our free 95 E-Book for more information on this and other subjects .

Happy Socializing!

(via)

Related articles

• 3 Key Rules for Reputational Risk and Customer Service Questions
• Social Media Prospects for Education
• 78% Believe Social Media Is Big For Customer Service [Infographic]
• Think You Have What It Takes to Be a Social Media Manager?

Why Do Customers Use Social Networks for Customer Service?

Every day, an increasing number of connected consumers are taking to social networks to ask for help or express sentiment related to business or product related experiences; some do so to seek resolution from their peers, others broadcast questions or comments as a form of catharsis; and a smaller group of consumers actually hope to receive a response directly from the company. The reality is that social media is the new normal. A myriad of social networks, whether you use them or not, are now part of the day-to-day digital lifestyle with Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Youtube among others becoming the places where your customers connect, communicate, and engage around experiences. They take to these social networks and more because they can. The question is, what are you going to do about it?

5 Ways Strategic Social Media Can Help Small Businesses

1. Listen, Search, Walk a “Daily in the Life” of…

Take some time to search Google, Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Google+ for related keywords and geographies to your business.

Take notes of what you find…capture the trends, insights, activity, and the players that matter to you

Document the 5W’s + the H.E.: Who, What, When, Why, How, and to What Extent – it’s the only way to work toward ROI

Prioritize networks

Recognize patterns and behavior

Observe trends and themes

Tip: Also pay attention to what people aren’t saying or sharing

2. Define Your Online Brand: What do you want people to see and appreciate?

Take a step back to think about the value you can add based on who you are and the expertise or the unique service or solution that only you can provide

Define why you are different than your competition

Design the professional brand and the persona you would like to convey online

Describe “your” experience: What is it that you want people to see or think when they find you in social networks

Portray your brand, persona and the experience in your profiles

Tip: Don’t sell or overly promote…

3. Develop a Social Media Strategy: Make your presence matter

Write a vision statement for how you will use social media to build relationships, a community around your value proposition, and how social media will enable your strategy

Describe what social media success will look like

Customize your presence, goals, and what success looks like in each network

Create an editorial program that reinforces your value, your business, and your goals within each network

Understand what format to you love using AND what seems to be the formats your customers prefer

Curate relevant and interesting content that reflects your professional and personal interests

Tip: Find the balance between personal and professional activity online, it can’t be ALL business

4. Build and Invest in Your Community: Participate and earn affinity to become a trusted resource

Share insights in the communities that matter to your business and reach beyond the friends, fans, and followers you already have

Identify and talk to local online influencers who can help you spread your expertise and value

Ask and answer questions in your communities and across other vibrant communities hosted by others

Maintain a valuable and timely presence

Create a “linked” network of resources: Link to or recommend people who can also help your customers

Tip: Invest proportionally in social media, search engine optimization/digital and your real world activities

5. Learn: Repeat steps 1-5 over time to stay relevant as technology and behavior evolves

Learn from everything to improve experiences and your overall strategy

Ask your community what they’re looking for and how you can better help

Monitor activity using social media listening tools around you and in your areas of focus to stay on top of trends, themes, and needs

(via)

Related articles

• 90 Percent of Small Business Use Social Media [Infographic]
• How Do You Climb the Social Media Ladder?
• The 3 Worst Ways to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business (And What You Should Do Instead)
• Social Media Tips for the Wholesale Industry