Customer Service and Digital Marketing
The social media boom has brought customers closer to businesses than ever before. If you have purchased a faulty product, want to complain about a service or simply want some advice or technical assistance with something you’ve bought, then having access to somebody who works in this department is essential. However, historically this hasn’t always been an easy process which has inevitably left many people frustrated. Thanks to our ever-evolving digital era, it’s now possible to have real-time conversations online with the relevant person of a company. That’s a dramatic change from writing letters or spending a large amount of time on hold to reach someone by telephone.
Customer service from the perspective of the customer is now fairly simple; it has also become much easier for businesses to reach out to their customers. However, this has to be executed in a professional and strategic way in order to maintain the positive image of the brand and avoid causing any PR disasters. For example, if a customer was to make a complaint on a company’s Twitter page, then it would be in the best interests of that company to respond in a timely fashion with a resolution. Ignoring people or choosing not to engage in a positive manner can cuase much bigger problems than the initial complaint.
In addition to responding to complaints and queries that are directed through social media, it is also important to reward your customers for staying loyal to your brand. This could be through offering them discount codes to be used on future purchases or even freebies for completing an action (such as sharing or liking your page). It is also important to be consistent when considering your social media schedule. Each platform and its audience are very different and what works on one site isn’t likely to have the same effect on the other. Consider the following rules for your social media strategy:
Facebook – Post high quality content every three to four days. The majority of these posts should be inviting some kind of interaction from your customers. Always be sure to check any messages to your page and respond as soon as you can.
Twitter – On Twitter it is okay to strive for quantity over quality but ensure that the things you are tweeting about are still relevant to your brand. It’s a good idea to follow customers back when they follow you and also always respond to direct tweets from existing or potential customers.
LinkedIn – You should be posting to LinkedIn once or twice a week but always with relevant high quality content. It is particularly useful to share interesting information and statistics to LinkedIn.
Google+ – It is okay to post to Google+ once a day, or more if you have something truly of worth to share. Always ensure that the content you post is relevant to your brand and make sure you optimize your Google+ profile so that it gives the best possible image of your company.
Pinterest – Posting four or five images to Pinterest throughout the day will give your brand a decent amount of exposure. Always use original images with a caption that will grab the attention of your audience.
Following thie effective but simple rules will make sure your following grows across all of the social media networks and also that you create a strong brand image that is customer service friendly. When people see your brand appear on their networks frequently, they will know that you are social media focused and easily accessible.
Alix Jones
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