It’s no secret that social media is one of the most effective tools for creating a successful business model.
From ads specially catered to the viewers’ interests to the rise of influencers, social media has never been so, well, influential in helping people build businesses.
So many businesses start off online now, and the market is incredibly saturated.
Because of this, it’s the brands that work hard on getting back to their customers, replying to comments and messages, and creating informative content that wins in any given market.
People are so connected via multiple social media platforms, it’s clear that reaching potential customers and clients and expanding your platforms for social media customer service may truly be the best way to convince them to buy your product or service.
But how is this possible, especially if you’re not tech-savvy or familiar with the ways of the younger generations?
There are many ways to communicate with potential customers through social media, especially with all of the different platforms available.
Here are the 8 most effective.
Dedicate time to speak with your clientele
Social media should be just that: social, as claims social media manager Ian Smith from Essaytigers. When you receive a comment on a post or a message in your inbox, it’s crucial to take the time to respond.
via GIPHYSocial media is not simply another form of promotion. It is a way of connecting with customers, and when you spend time sending them a message back to clear up their question, or reacting to their support on a post, it shows that your business is run by real people, which is far more effective than simply posting into oblivion and waiting for likes to roll in.
Social media customer service through this type of engagement will help your media page grow, no matter the platform, and attract more customers.
People tend to expect incredibly fast responses, but will be far more convinced to buy from your company if responses meet those sometimes unfathomable expectations.
Learning to use hashtags
All social media now is incredibly hashtag dependent. While it may seem like hashtags are mostly used to describe what’s happening in the content, it goes far deeper than that.
Hashtags are at the root of the search and discover features on pretty much all social media platforms.
They’re the thing that marks certain posts as being popular for a certain type of viewer, curates feeds specifically for them, and allows potential followers to search for something within a certain niche.
Using hashtags for their intended purpose will help you better interact with your customers, provide more efficient social media customer service, and follow trends so that you know the right way to respond to their feedback.
For example, if a person searches #travel on Instagram, every post with #travel attached to it will come up for them.
So, if you’re a travel agency, using #travel will help you grow your business because the person who made that search might find your content while browsing for some vacation inspiration.
Hashtags also work to track posts, which is how pages like Instagram’s “discover” feature are made.
This allows people to have feeds full of pictures that are similar to what they already look at, allowing them to find new accounts to follow.
This means that your content will be reaching people who are actually going to buy your product, rather than just anyone, as a traditional TV ad would.
The use of hashtags doesn’t end there. You can also use them to promote content specific to your brand and identify your customer base.
For example, outdoor gear company REI uses #optoutside to promote their content. This hashtag has become specific to their brand, and they’re able to track it to see what their customers are into, therefore identifying trends in their advertising space.
Be honest
The truly beautiful thing about social media is that it allows you to communicate with people all over the world.
That’s incredibly cool, especially for someone trying to expand their business through social media customer service techniques.
Social media allows customers to interact with their favorite brands directly, so it’s only natural that they’ll be drawn to brands that celebrate their customers and encourage them to participate in their brand.
This could come in many forms, from hosting a giveaway to show your followers how much you appreciate them, to shouting out customers who have shown their support ten-fold.
This makes customers appreciate you as much as you appreciate them, and will keep them coming back to you with their business. It will also keep other people buying, in an attempt to be the next person to get a shout out.
Dedicating a page just for support
If you don’t want your comments thread to be flooded with customers asking questions about your products, consider having a specific support page.
This will allow your customers to have a place to go when they have questions so that your main branding page can function as a promotional feature.
This way, you can have a separate space for those pesky direct messages, and you can even hire a customer service team to run the support page and answer all of those questions for you.
Leverage multiple social media platforms
Every customer has a platform that they prefer. Twitter and Instagram are popular among millennials, Facebook is a favorite of the older generations, and new platform, TikTok is gaining traction with Generation Z.
Because everybody has their preference, it’s important to have a presence across multiple platforms.
This way, you’ll be able to reach a wider variety of customers and have plenty of methods for collecting data and feedback on your products and services.
Watch out for your competition
The great thing about social media is that it allows you to connect and interact with people all across the globe.
This includes your competition.
No, this isn’t so that you can spy on them so you can steal their great ideas, it’s so that you can keep an eye on your industry and what customers are saying.
This will greatly help you improve your social media customer service presence. If you have a product that’s similar to a product another company sells, it would help you to better address your customers concerns if you see the complaints and praise your competition is receiving in their comments section.
This can allow you to improve your products, and prepare for questions you might get about the same product.
Utilize the different types of social media ads
Advertising is a great way to communicate with customers, but this doesn’t just have to do with putting out a Facebook ad to reach a wider audience. Platforms like Instagram allow businesses to actually sell their products on their posts with embedded links to products in the photograph.
This is a fantastic way to directly interact with your customers that a product looks a certain way and does a specific function, as well as telling them immediately: this is how and where you can purchase this product.
This cuts out the middle-man of them asking questions like “where can I buy this shirt?” The answer is already in the post.
Another great form of marketing and communication through social media is to use links embedded in other types of posts and stories to promote your website.
Instagram allows pages with a following of 10,000 people or more to add a “swipe up” feature on Instagram stories, which companies can use to link a page they’re trying to promote. This allows for instant customer satisfaction.
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter allow for a site preview when you link your website in your posts, which looks more professional, and will, therefore, attract more buyers without confusion.
Hire a social media manager to streamline processes
All of this brings us to the most crucial step, assigning someone to specifically run your social media accounts.
Social media managers are a new type of assistant—they’re being hired to run your social media page!
People in a social media manager position will often be incredibly well-versed in site analytics, growth algorithms, and what makes quality content, and they’re here behind the screen replying to comments and clearing up confusion in the message box.
This person is not only someone to create content for you—they’re your go-to customer service representative, ready to be in touch with customers so that your brand will sell.
Summing up
When trying to grow your brand online, it’s a great idea to turn to social media as a platform of promotion, but when it comes to customer service, it’s easy to feel a little lost.
Due to the early stigmas surrounding social media about how the media platforms were distracting people from the real world, it’s easy to think that simply posting pictures of your products or describing your services will be enough.
However social media is an incredibly human way of creating a relationship with your customers and will help you to establish a presence that will keep them returning to you for products over and over again.
People like to buy things from real people.
When you establish a strong social media customer service base with your followers, you’ll be able to truly interact with them and get direct feedback on your products and services.
On top of that, you’ll be able to use social media to your advantage, allowing more customers to discover your brand, and keeping them around by being a great representative for your company.
