Gone are the days when customer service was just about picking up the telephone or sending emails.
In today’s digital age, most customers have social media accounts and expect to interact with different brands online too.
Companies are now scaling to also offer social media customer service to ensure they meet their customers across all possible communication platforms.
Engaging with customers on their favourite social media channels offers an excellent opportunity for businesses to build relationships, provide fast and personalized replies to customer inquiries, and create positive experiences.
In this article, we’ll explore the concept of social media customer service, share practical tips for implementation, and provide real-world examples to inspire you.
What is social media customer service?
Social media customer service refers to the process of providing support to customers through social media networks such as Facebook and X.
Offering good support via social media starts from how you respond to customers’ questions in the comment sections or direct messages, how you follow up or get feedback online after issue resolution, the tone you use, and more.
A report from LLCBuddy states that 63% of consumers believe that companies use social media for customer service.
Giving clients the option to reach out for help on their preferred social media platforms ensures no stone is left unturned, which can win them over.
It also presents a great opportunity for companies to publicly showcase how good they are at offering support, attracting more users to do business with them.
Common social media platforms for customer support
Social media serves as an excellent resource for connecting with your customers. Below are some of the most widely used social media tools that can assist in improving customer service.
- X – (Formally Twitter)
- WhatsApp messenger
How to improve social media client service for your business
Delivering good social media customer care is both easy and cost-effective, particularly when dealing with a large client base.
However, achieving success requires a planned strategy for your objectives. Let’s look at some practical techniques to improve your social media customer service:
Keep in touch with customers on their preferred channels
79% of clients expect quick answers to their questions whenever they get in touch with a company.
To deliver exceptional customer service, it is essential for businesses to stay in touch with customers and prioritize being readily available on their preferred social media channels.
Start by identifying where your customers are most active. Monitor interactions such as upvotes, tags, likes, and @mentions to pinpoint the platforms they use the most, including popular channels like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
Leverage an easy-to-use omnichannel inbox to integrate social media platforms, ensuring all interactions irrespective of any social media channel are managed in a unified platform.
Tailor your responses to match the unique expectations and tone of each platform, enhancing the overall customer experience.
By being present on the platforms your customers prefer, you show genuine care and commitment to meeting their needs.
Educate and equip support agents with the right skills and tools
During onboarding, focus on hiring skilled support agents specifically for social media customer support.
Empower these agents with strong communication and problem-solving skills to handle customer issues effectively and professionally across various social media channels.
Invest in social media listening tools to help monitor customer sentiments and brand mentions, enabling proactive engagement, personalized responses, and early resolution of potential issues.
Additionally, implement a comprehensive internal knowledge base software to give team members access to the information they need to fast and accurate responses to customers reaching out via social media channels.
Empowered agents who have access to these tools and resources are more confident, and satisfied in their roles which helps deliver positive interactions.
Integrate your social media channels and other service tools
Streamline your social media support by integrating all channels with your existing service tools.
Manually monitoring every social media platform is inefficient for support teams and social media customer care.
Instead, leverage tools like a help desk software to connect with systems you already use, such as CRM software, billing platforms, and communication tools.
Additionally, integrate your social media platforms with tools like live chat, help desk ticketing, and contact management systems to create a unified view of all customer interactions on various channels.
Prioritize the use of social media analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns and send targeted messages tailored to your social media audience.
These integrations ensure consistent, efficient, and personalized support, enabling your team to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Personalize your customer service responses
Always using generic, repetitive messages on social media customer service can make customers feel bored and disengaged. Instead, personalize your responses to show customers that their issues are important and handle them with care.
Use customer data to create tailored responses that address individual needs effectively on different channels.
For example, respond to inquiries or comments promptly, whether publicly or through direct messages, to ensure every customer feels valued and heard.
This personalized approach not only enhances the customer experience but also reinforces your brand’s commitment to exceptional service.
Scale up with AI and automation for faster response times
Customers expect quick and efficient assistance on social media customer service platforms. When businesses rely only on manual responses, sometimes it can delay replies.
However, utilizing advanced tools such as automation and AI enables businesses to handle common inquiries instantly, providing 24/7 customer service and reducing wait times on social media channels.
Automation can analyze customer sentiments, deliver tailored responses, and handle repetitive text like sending welcome messages, SLA notifications, or follow-up alerts.
For example, automated messages can engage customers after hours, ensuring they feel supported even when agents are unavailable.
Businesses can also create canned responses and customize email templates to maintain engaging and personalized interactions that match the customer’s tone and specific issue.
This approach helps preserve a personal connection on social media channels, allowing agents to focus on resolving more complex problems.
Watch your tone and attitude while engaging with customers
If you have a social media customer service platform, don’t always expect to receive positive interactions, you will find negative comments as well.
Some comments may be strategically placed by competitors or displeased customers and taking them personally can cloud judgment.
However, not every comment requires a response or action. Irrespective of the type of consumer you are dealing with, aim to keep your reactions simple and friendly.
The tone of your support team’s project on your social media channels communicates a lot about your business. They must always acknowledge the customer’s frustrations respectfully and maintain a solution-focused approach.
Interacting with your customers in a friendly manner can create lasting customer connections and enhance your brand’s image.
Redirect issues through private channels for more personalized engagement
Not all issues need to be addressed publicly, and not every question requires an online response, as some may need a more detailed resolution.
Some customers prefer to discuss their concerns privately, especially when dealing with sensitive or difficult issues.
Encourage support agents to seamlessly transition such conversations to direct more secure messaging platforms.
You can also include popup redirect links in your social media profiles or an alternative WhatsApp link and AI Chatbot widget to enable other support teams to manage specific channels.
Redirecting customer interactions enhances security matters and clarity improving social media customer service.
Collect customer’s feedback and act on them effectively
Customers on social media channels are vocal and opinionated especially when airing their suggestions or opinions.
This makes it easier for businesses to collect information from them about the pain points and how they perceive their brand.
Organize ways to connect with clients after they successfully interact with a support agent.
Consider implementing customer follow-up strategies to find out how their experience was or how the product helps after the purchase.
In addition, encourage consumers to openly share on social media by sharing a positive experience or upvoting helpful customer interactions to show appreciation.
Maintain transparency in social media interactions. Avoid selectively posting only positive comments, as this can raise suspicions and diminish customer trust.
Instead address negative customer feedback openly and constructively, turning potential negative experiences into opportunities for improvement.
This not only builds a stronger community but also demonstrates the value your brand places on customer satisfaction.
Track and manage your customer support volume
The most effective way to understand what is working and what isn’t in your company is through monitoring customer service interactions, tags, and @mentions on social media channels.
Many businesses find it difficult to track all social media interactions. However, leveraging analytics tools can help them track the volume of inquiries, allocate sufficient resources, and implement systems for prioritizing and managing support tickets.
Social media listening tools can help examine brand mentions, customer sentiment, and emerging issues.
You can set up keyword alerts to ensure no critical conversation in the social posts is missed.
Assigning specific agents to monitor designated channels further streamlines operations and ensures focused attention.
For greater efficiency and valuable insights, consider combining all customer interactions into a unified platform to make it easier for support agents to offer quick assistance.
What not to do on social media platforms
While social media customer service can be a great way to build customer relations for businesses, there are also some drawbacks to avoid. Here are some of the things businesses should not do on social media platforms:
- Ignoring customer inquiries or complaints: Failing to respond to all customer questions in time may cause the customers to be irritated and provide or spread negative feedback leading to a negative brand reputation.
- Deleting negative comments: Customers always notice when negative comments are removed from the chat. This can backfire and make your brand appear dishonest. Instead, try addressing each issue openly and transparently.
- Using automated responses: Sometimes automation can be helpful but when businesses rely too heavily on automated responses alone, it can make your interactions feel detached and robotic.
- Resolving customers’ issues with excessive information: Customer wants their issues resolved as fast as possible. Be direct and give responses in bullet points when answering their questions.
- Engaging in arguments: Try to understand customers’ emotions at all costs to avoid engaging in arguments with them on social media channels. Instead, strive to resolve conflicts peacefully, apologize to clients where necessary, and maintain a positive tone.
Why should you use social media for customer service?
Back in the day customers often struggled to get instant and accurate responses to their issues.
Nowadays, social media customer service has transformed the way businesses and users interact, offering more engaging and dynamic experiences. Here are the key reasons why providing customer service on social media channels is essential.
- Enhances customer satisfaction: When businesses Addresses customer inquiries or issues quickly and effectively on social media, it increases customers’ happiness, improving overall customer satisfaction and retention rates.
- Contribute valuable customer insights: Monitoring end users’ interactions on social media platforms provides valuable insights into customer sentiments, pain points, and trends. This data helps businesses make better decisions.
- Increases brand loyalty: Positive customer interactions on social media can strengthen customer loyalty and encourage repeat business.
- Boosts brand awareness: When satisfied customers offer positive reviews on a social media channel’s page, other potential clients will read the reviews, positively impacting them. Publicly showcasing excellent customer service can also attract new customers and improve customer perception.
- Drives customer engagement: Social media allows for immediate assistance and incentivizes your customers to show appreciation for your products and services. Additionally, it provides a streamlined way to engage with and address both positive and negative feedback, enhancing customer involvement.
Excellent real-world examples of social media customer service
Several businesses are now known for their greater social media customer service. As a result of involvement. Below are a few real-world examples:
Sephora
Sephora is a global cosmetics retailer known for offering a wide range of beauty products, including skincare, makeup, and fragrances.
The company effectively uses social media customer service to quickly engage with customers on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, answering questions about products and availability.
Sephora combines friendly and knowledgeable responses with personalized assistance, often directing customers to online resources or providing guidance on orders.
Through proactive outreach and timely support, Sephora strengthens its customer relationships and enhances the overall shopping experience.
Apple
Apple is a global technology company known for its modern products, including iPhones, MacBooks, and software services.
It uses social media customer service primarily through its X account, @AppleSupport, where it offers quick, tailored assistance to customers facing technical issues or product inquiries.
Apple’s support team is praised for its professionalism, empathetic tone, and effective troubleshooting, often resolving problems efficiently and guiding users through complex solutions.
Microsoft
Microsoft is a multinational technology company that develops, manufactures, licenses, and sells computer software.
It has mastered the art of using social media for customer service by using multiple platforms to meet different user needs, from professional LinkedIn updates to real-time troubleshooting via its X account.
The company constantly publishes educational content, tutorials, and updates making their audience convinced and dependable.
Encourage social media customer service to build lasting relationships
Social media customer service is more than just answering clients’ questions. It is about creating a strong online presence and building rapport with customers to foster stronger relationships.
When you use social media to communicate with customers, they expect real time responses. In fact, most highly competitive companies around the world have this setting as a bare minimum.
Without social media customer service software, you risk falling behind your competition and losing potential customers.
Why don’t you book a live demo to witness how BoldDesk can boost your social media customer service? You can also start a 15-day free trial on BoldDesk. For further information, contact the BoldDesk support team.
We would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on this article in the comments section below.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Metrics for measuring social media customer service
Would you like to determine the effectiveness of your social media customer service? Below are a few important metrics that can provide you with the necessary insights.
- Resolution rate: Indicates the percentage of customer problems successfully answered through social media platforms. A high-resolution rate shows efficiency.
- Engagement rate: This tracks customer interaction, such as likes, shares, and retweets, with customer service responses through social customer service platforms. Efficient interaction shows higher customer engagement.
- Sentiment analysis: Evaluate the support team’s overall tone, such as positive, neutral, and negative, to understand customer attitudes and improve service quality.
- Net promoter score (NPS): Measures how likely customers are to recommend your brand regardless of their customer service experience on social media platforms.
- Customer satisfaction (CSAT) score: Gathered via direct customer feedback, survey, or ratings on social media channels after engaging with the support team.
- Customer retention rate: Assess how many customers return to the social media customer service software after resolving their issues.
