Many brands are still finding a hard time in leveraging social media the right way. Is it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, or YouTUBE? Which works best for your business model? How do you leverage social media to quantify and measure your ROI? Well, these are actually some of the most common questions that I have been hearing in the last year or so. Various brands are making serious attempts and investments to identify if social media can be a space where they can succeed. You’re not the only one wondering the same question.
Leveraging Social Media as a Customer Service Tool
If you’re family with social media to some extent then there’s no need for me to explain how it serves as a communication tool. It’s quite obvious. One of the most important things you need to remember and keep in mind within your social social media campaign is to focus on your target audience. I’m going to use XYZ company here as an example to create a scenario and show you how you can leverage social media to monitor and protect your brand. XYZ company specializes in consumer products which are sold primarily in the United States Of America. Your current virtual presence on social media platforms consists of a Facebook fan page and Twitter account.
Using Facebook as Your Customer Service Tool
Your Facebook fan page serves as the virtual presence of your brand and perception it displays to others. It’s important that you are active and respond adequately to your target audience. Using the example scenario here are a couple of ways that you can leverage your Facebook presence to ensure proper communication with your fans.
- Info Tab – there’s nothing more frustrating than not having information about your brand available for public view. Ensure that your physical address and brief information about your company has been listed. Your fans want to know how they can reach you, what you’re all about, and the type of products you are offering.
- Welcome Tab – commonly known as an iframe page on Facebook these days. This should be the default page a non-fan will see prior to clicking that ‘Like’ button. In the case of XYZ this particular page should consist of something along the lines of information about your individual divisions (if you have several) and the type of products each offers. Remember that you want to capture those non-fans and give them a reason to ‘Like’ your fan page. Make a clear representation of your products so that your target audience has a firm understanding of what you offer.
- Your Wall – perhaps the most important of all tabs on your fan page. This is where your fans will post their comments and in this case opinions on your products most likely. Being XYZ company ensure that you’re addressing each comment or wall post accordingly. If it’s a negative response, don’t run for the hills. Step up to the plate and apologize if needed or respond with a comment to satisfy the poster or offer an alternative solution for their satisfaction. The overall goal here on your wall is to communicate with your target audience and address any concerns your posters may have. If a concern arises stating dissatisfaction on a particular product that you offer take action and diffuse the situation.
Leveraging your Facebook social media activity consists of more than just the above. Although at least it gives you a slight glimpse at some of the things you could be doing if you aren’t already to communicate with your customers. Fans = Customers! Keep that in mind.
Customer Service Using Twitter
Using Twitter as a customer service tool can be a hectic ongoing process that may perhaps even give you a headache at some point. Be aware that everything on this social media platform moves at 100mph – You snooze, you lose! That brings me to my next point of using social media tools to monitor activity and respond to tweets on your brand. There are various of those available out there such as HootSuite, SocialOomph, & TweetDeck just to name a few.
- Monitoring/Listening – other Twitter users are talking about your brand. You better believe it that they are on a full scale. How do you find out who’s talking about you? Put one of those tools to the test and a get a full overview of who’s talking about your brand. A good search tool to use is http://search.twitter.com where you can find out the latest discussions about the products your brand offers.
- Responding – if someone is talking about you it’s only common courtesy that you respond back. There are various marketing strategies that you can utilize to ensure proper communication with your target audience. As company XYZ other tweeps are most likely discussing the individual products your brand has to offer. Some tweets will be positive and others not so comforting. Take it to your social media management tools and respond in a kind manner.
- Build Your Fanbase – you’re bound to do business with people that are interested in your products. Engage in continuous building of your follower base by following other Twitter users who find your products useful. There are various ways you can identify interest from other tweeps in the Twittersphere.
There are various different marketing strategies that you can use to monitor and respond to your brand on the web. Above I’ve outlined how you can leverage Facebook & Twitter as a customer service tool using XYZ company scenario.