3 Ways Your Business Can Use Social Media for Customer Service

Social media has completely changed how we communicate. Our connections are more global and efficient, and users can share their experiences and opinions faster and to a wider community.

And in terms of business, a customer can share their positive or negative experience with a brand to a network of potential consumers with greater immediacy. The power of information sharing can have a strong impact on your business. In our digital age, more than ever, it is vital for businesses to have a strong social media presence and active engagement. 

By leveraging social media, businesses can better promote sales, raise brand awareness, and improve their customer relations. Social media can be an effective marketing tool, but it can also help your business’s customer service flourish. The digital transformation of hosted call center solutions is making it that much easier to utilize social media. Here are three ways you can use social media to enhance your customer service. 

Chatbots

Web chat is one of the fastest growing communication channels. With increased spending on artificial intelligence, the first stop on a customer’s journey will likely be this virtual assistant.

Compared to traditional customer service agents (i.e. humans), chatbots are available 24/7 and are less expensive. It costs about one dollar per interaction to respond to customers’ questions and concerns on social media, while traditional phone support costs about six dollars per interaction to implement. Allowing chatbots to perform simple tasks can save your business time and money, and it certainly makes communications with customers more efficient. 

The general perception is that people prefer human contact, but in actuality, 76 percent of consumers say they want the option to interact with digital channels. People are increasingly turning to Facebook Messenger to reach out to a business faster, and chatbots can help. And live chat is the preferred form of support for millennials.

With generations growing up on social media, younger customers feel more comfortable with chatbots than conventional forms of communication like phone or email. 

Direct engagement with consumers

Social media gives you the ability to directly engage with customers quickly and effortlessly.  You can answer their questions in the comments and respond to reviews. Society lives on social media nowadays, and expects your company to live there too, so not responding to social media mentions promptly could put a damper on your business.

Responding in a few days won’t do. You need to make sure to respond in a few hours, if possible. Consumers are much more likely to make a purchase if their social media questions were answered quickly. 

You can also use social media to not only respond to queries but encourage feedback as well. Give your customers the opportunity to provide feedback in the comments on your sales, products, and services. Gaining feedback on social media is another way to measure your customer satisfaction and improve service. 

Start a Facebook group

Starting a Facebook group for your business helps build community and enhances your brand’s reputation online. It will increase your social media presence and foster a sense of community around your business and for your customers.

You can create a group for your existing customers to join where they can share reviews, ask questions, and start discussions about your products. Here, you can even better engage with your customers by responding to their concerns and queries on an exclusive channel.