Our Social Media Marketing Team are the experts in handling client’s social media channels. In this journal, they share their top tips for ensuring your social media customer care is outstanding.
Be Reactive
If a customer came into your brick and mortar shop and commented on one of your products, asked a question or complained, you wouldn’t ignore them; you would react. However, so many companies do not respond to comments, questions or complaints. Questions or quibbles sit on your social media pages for all the world to see, read and judge! Treat your online customers with the same attitude as you would if they walked through your shop door. If you can’t reply to comments or messages in a timely fashion, then pay someone who can and will! Social etiquette is everything!
Keep Your Customers In The Loop
Planning on having a flash sale or an event? Then ensure that you let your social media customers know. Promote it to both your followers and also to your email subscribers. Remember your social media posts have a limited shelf life, so not all of your customers will see your posts. Putting some marketing spend aside to serve your social media community and inform them of a forthcoming promotion or event makes sense.
Take Down Disused/Old Social Media Accounts
Undertake a brand health check and review all your platforms. There could be social media platforms that are old or that your business has now grown out of, so delete them. Removing them will ensure that they don’t appear in internet searches and ensure that customers contact you on the active platforms and get seen and heard in a timely fashion.
Don’t Always Use Auto-Respond
Auto-responses can kill the conversation and remove the personal touch to your business. However, if the bot is well executed and creates a variety of options for the individual, which leads finally to a human, then they can work well for bigger businesses as the first point of call. Social media care is a conversation with your customer.
Take It Personally
If a social media customer is making a complaint, and it is not a simple one to resolve, ask them to pick up the conversation away from the public eye. Once you have picked up the conversation privately, it should be much easier to discuss the issue and hopefully resolve it. Don’t underestimate the power of a screenshot, so ensure that your correspondence is always truthful, realistic and helpful.
Keep Your Brand Voice Consistent
Even when it comes down to customer care, make sure your tone of voice remains the same with a personal touch. Often people forget that they are messaging a real-life person, so sometimes introducing yourself by name can help remind customers that a real-life human is dealing with their issues.
Keep Your Social Media & PR Team Informed
If you have a separate PR agency and Social Media Team onboard, then keep them both in the loop when it comes to any campaigns, press mentions or production issues. If a journalist spots a problem on your brands’ social channels, they may very well contact the PR agency. If a consumer sees a product in the press, they may well inquire about it through your social channels. Keeping both teams informed is vital.
Don’t Skimp On Social Care
Very often, businesses will try to juggle too many elements of the company as a cost-saving exercise, and social media management is one of them. However, in the long term not only will your business growth, social media reputation and presence suffer, but the time and effort that you are sinking into social media could probably be better invested into other areas of the business. Appointing a professional will free up your time and supercharge your social media presence!
