3 Tips for Using Social Media as a Customer Care Tool

It can be very easy for businesses to begin using their social media accounts for customer service. Free services that have already connected  you to your customers – what could be better? However, there are many ways to go about properly using social media for customer care. Here are three main tips:

Avoid Arguments

People who use your products will sometimes complain – sometimes very loudly – on your social media channels. The best way to handle such a situation is not to ignore them, but engage with them openly, with the intent of resolving the issue quickly in the current medium. If that can’t be done, then you will need to move the conversation offline. When this happens, try to get them on the phone with someone who can help resolve the issue. If possible, try to mention the resolution online without mentioning the customer, in order to give closure to the issue for anyone who might be following the conversation.

Be Smart with Your Engagement

Don’t try to engage everyone who mentions you or your product. Along with complaints, others will hopefully be raving about your products or services, and it helps to thank them, but you don’t need to thank them all the time. For Twitter this can be a simple favorite or retweet, on Facebook you can re-share their post – get permission first! – or quote them in your own post.

Use a Ticketing System to Stay Organized

Make sure you have a way to track the resolution of customer issues that are discovered through social media engagement. The old saying “You can’t manage what you don’t measure” applies very strongly here, and you’ll want to measure how many and what kind of problems you’re able to solve through social media channels. This is valuable not only for metrics and to see where customer engagement is happening, but you can also use these interactions and their solutions to create a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).

By following these 3 guidelines, you can use social media as a customer care tool that will really propel your business.

Please contact us for more social media marketing tips that your business can easily implement and see a positive impact.