Tips On How to Use Social Media Platforms For Customer Service

If the social media can be used for marketing, then it can be used for everything or most things related to the business process. One of such things that can be done on these platforms is customer service. Indeed, you can use social media platforms for customer service.

With the changes that have affected the 21^st century, most businesses and companies have social media handles. Some even make sales on the social media.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with having to use the social media platforms for customer service. There is no gainsaying the fact customers are the lifelines of any business and you don’t want to get it wrong with them.

You have to build strategies on how to get in touch in with your customers on social media as this will be another way to reach out to them or to be reached by them. It presents mutual benefits to both parties.

Social media is a critical marketing tool. Aside from posting photos or status updates, using social media for customer service can elevate your business to the next level.

A business should have strategies in place for handling customer service issues through social media, as this will be another, more convenient way to get in touch with customers and vice versa.

According to Lindsay Patton-Carson of PiperWai, “Customer service and social media have melded together. If your brand has social media profiles, you are absolutely going to have to perform customer service on social media. There isn’t a way to get around it.”

When customers come to you with issues that need attention, you will need to show them that you have what it takes. They will have to see that you are resourceful. How you attend to them will impact their decision to stay with your brand or to look for another.

In this article, we shall explore certain tips on you can use the social media platforms for customer service. We will talk in general terms and we will consider holistically, the many platforms of the social media.

On How to Use Social Media Platforms For Customer Service

You need to build real customer relationships

The social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest etc should not just represent the medium of self-promotion. You will need to respond to customers’ needs by replying to their comments and trying sincerely to be of assistance.

You have to engage them in real conversations and you can strike a good relationship with them.

Use a hashtag

According to Rosado, using a specific hashtag helps users search specific concerns under the hashtag. It makes things easy to navigate and organized. More so, you can put more information and curate content on the hashtag as this makes it more interesting for customers.

Create a customer advocate base

Creating a customer advocate base for the company on social media is one of the ways to use social media platforms for customer service. When a customer comes to the social media to talk about a bad experience as they would, it is really not cool to respond to negative comments except you understand the intricacies involved.

Rather than respond, you should focus on building a loyal and strong customer base that will have your back and advocate on behalf of your company when bad comments arise.

Have a voice

Many businesses just have platforms and presence on the social media but they are deaf and dumb. There is no voice to whatever people are saying. Remember customers love to be acknowledged and heard. When you respond with a message, no matter how short, or an emoji, it can make a lot of difference on the perception of the business or company by the customer. It shows you are listening.

Be present

You need be present on the social media platforms. It is one of the ways to use the social media platforms for customer service. But unfortunately, according to Cuttica, “more often than not, brands fall short on social media customer service because they simply aren’t actively listening to and engaging with customers.”

He went further to affirm that “Introducing automation through chatbots can help ease the burden on human customer service agents. Striking the right balance of automation and accessible customer service agents, working hand in hand, will help brands respond more efficiently and effectively to every meaningful conversation.”

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