Have you ever thought about using social media for customer service? Yes! It seems a bit absurd to use platforms like Facebook etc. which are basically made to socialize with family and friends, for customer service. But here’s a fact, Billions of people use social media platforms daily and your clients are also somewhere inside those billions of people.
Before we move any further, we should talk about the whole concept of customer service. So basically, customer service is all about providing your clients all the information they need and to keep in touch with them whenever they need you. Now, of course most of the companies have whole help desks for this task. But the question is, is it really necessary? Can’t we just interact with our clients on social media platforms?
After this question was asked, the trend of setting up social media help desks began and it’s still being used all over the world. Now that we know about the origin of this trend, we can go ahead and see how big companies use social media platforms for customer interaction.
When it comes to using social media as a customer care tool, there are some points that you need to work on. We’ll explain these points for you in simplest way possible so you can start implementing them as soon as possible.
Respond quickly
There’s nothing more irritating and tiresome than waiting for a help desk’s reply. Imagine being a guy who wants to know what the flight timing is and doesn’t get a response for half an hour. You’ll definitely be writing a negative review about that airline’s help service wouldn’t you?
Just like the timer which defines whether a broadcasting accident has happened or not, there’s a timer which defines whether the customer is satisfied with your online service or not. If you don’t reach out to your customer in that time then you can consider that you have lost a potential client.
Your online desk has to be active all the time. People prefer online methods because they’re faster than other methods. But if you give later service online then you’re running your brand’s online image. So, it’s vital to respond to your customer as quickly as possible.
Always know what to say
Remember that a customer with a question won’t be satisfied until he gets the answer he wants. Your social media help desk should be ready to answer all sorts of questions about your brand. And when we say all sorts, we literally mean all sorts of questions. Some people might come and ask you about the history of your brand or to prove that the products you’re making really contain the materials written on them.
These questions are of the type that most people don’t ask, but if you answer them efficiently then you have a shot at turning a potential customer into a customer. For always knowing what to say, you need to think like a sales representative. Why? Well because those guys know their way around in all sorts of situations.
They follow three basic rules:
- Listen
- Understand
- Answer
Now, if we apply these principles to social media customer service, they become something like this.
- See the question
- Understand the question
- Answer the question
Don’t start typing as soon as you see the question. Take a minute to understand the question completely and then start answering it. This will give you a complete understanding of what your customer is confused about and what would be the appropriate answer that would satisfy him.
Authentic customer relationships
Despite the wide use of social media as a customer service tool, there are still companies that take social media marketing only as platforms to improve their social presence. And while doing that they often forget to reply to their potential clients and interested parties. What happens if you don’t reply to an interested person on time? They leave obviously!
To develop genuine relationships with your clients you not only need to answer to their comments and messages but also come up with creative and out of the box content to keep them engaged.
Here are some tips to make engaging content for your audience:
Post videos
It’s a naked truth that users like to see videos more than they like to read the information off of a post. That’s why it’s very important that you post creative and attention grabbing videos with good voice over and editing. Videos are not only a better way to get Instagram algorithm’s attention but it’s also the most efficient way to convey your message to the audience.
Make timely posts
Most people are still not aware of posting content on the right time. Choosing the best time to post your content is very vital in determining how much attention your story will get. You need to research carefully about what are the timings in which the audience you are targeting is most active. This timing varies for different age groups and hence brands need to be careful about scheduling their posts accordingly.
Compelling Titles and Captions
If your post has a short and catchy title then it’s destined to get more attention because that’s what people dig. There are brands with think tanks which are dedicated to coming up with catchy and easy to remember captions and catch phrases. You can tell your whole story in just a few words by coming up with the right caption for your brand. Also, it’s very important that you constantly change and improve your captions. Your captions need to be aligned with the visual content you are posting, only then will they be most effective.
Conclusion
As you’re reading this line, billions of people are using different social media platforms. Millions of questions are being asked and millions of comments are being left. The game is already there, you just have to go ahead and take part in it. There was a time when having online support desk was considered a plus point for a company but now it has become a must have for every company.
That’s because more and more people are coming online every day with questions related to your business, your products or services, and you need to answer them if you want to boost up your business.
