Social media is one of the most important channels where you can actually understand and drive the message in a viral way. Social media is the place where information is shared often in byte sized chunks and opinions fly thick and fast.
Social media is the place where a company can drive the conversation in the direction in which it is looking to move towards, especially related to customer complaints. Social media can be a force multiplier for companies as customer service channels if used well.
As a company your social media interaction may be one to one but the message that you put out is broadcast to everyone of the page followers and thus has high chance of virality.
Here is a list of items that you need to keep in mind using social media effectively as a channel of communication.
Respond politely and effectively
Social media is a place where not only your reply to the post has a chance to go viral but also that it could be screenshotted and passed around leading to more virality. Thus, you need to respond to the customer complaints/reviews/feedback as professionally as possible. Admitting mistakes if they have occurred or accepting praise gracefully can go a long way to ensure that your business is viewed favourably.
Beware of the emotional status of the end user
People usually end up on social media when they have exhausted other channels of communications. When Emails and Phone support is proven ineffective, an aggrieved user tend to write the post on social media. The post contains details that are often the evidence of complaint and lack of response from the company.
Companies’ responses usually are robotic. They usually don’t take user’s grievances into account. A lack of response or a poor response may lead to more reaction and damage to the reputation of the company.
Create specialist team if you can afford them
Social media is a unique channel where not only complaints but also responses may go viral. A person well known in the way people behave in a social media context will be able to manage the situation more effectively. The team should be able to get the proper message out and perform damage control in shortest amount of time.
Be aware of the changing landscape
Every social media website has its own pros and cons. While Facebook is generally used by more senior population, Instagram is mostly used by millennials. Recent additions like Tik Tok are more favourable to generation Z. X (formerly twitter) on the other hand is used as the most viral channel. Pinterest on the other hand is the place where images speak the most.
It is important to understand where your client base lies and gets engaged. Choosing a different social media platform means not reaching the right audience.
Also be aware of any other trending social media where you can target your user base.
Avoid sharing personal data on public channels
I have seen countless times, people putting up either their order number or their phone number on the social media posts. While as a customer care team, one cannot stop people from sharing personal details, the next step could be asking them to share the details privately. If you ask them to share it on the post, most of them would carelessly share data for everyone to see. This could lead to privacy issues.
One way, companies avoid this fiasco is to send a link to their direct message or email. A user then doesn’t to share too many details online and risk jeopardizing their safety and privacy.
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