Social Media Is What Social Media Does: Social Media As A Service

Social media trends are a bit like fashion trends. Some people can show up to the Grammy’s in a dress that looks like a goose (Bjork) and others would look more like a goose wearing a dress if they even tried (Lady Gaga)! I’m challenging the notion that you can just “follow the latest social media trends” and instantly look like a social media marketing star. Because if you aren’t doing these trends right, then put your hands up and step away from the internet — you might be doing more harm than you are good.
One marketing fad making its way across social media channels is engaging with your audience. This sounds easy enough, but companies of all sizes have trouble with it. Usually because of one key thing: consistency. But, when done right, audience engagement is an incredibly great way to create a strong brand image, bring in new leads, and gain the trust of your customers and followers.
When I see this potentially great tactic executed poorly, my marketing side starts to scream. And my consumer side clicks to unfollow. So, because I’m TIRED of seeing my marketing pet peeves come up so often, let’s look at what you should and should NOT do, so you can pull off this social media trend like a pro.
Rethinking Social Media as a Service
Having a social media page up and running isn’t enough anymore. Users expect to be seen online and to be able to interact with your business. This has led to the popularity of online customer service, chatbots, and showing authenticity.
Customer Service Pro Tip #1: Always Respond
Social media is now a means for customer service. Customers expect to be able to give praise and voice concerns online. And when they need help, they want a response ASAP. Businesses who respond in a timely and appropriate manner can expect their customers to spend more with them. Businesses who don’t respond at all can expect many of their customers to go elsewhere.
Pet peeve: The sound of crickets online.
One mistake I frequently notice when going through new clients’ social accounts is that they have multiple old messages from clients that no one on their team ever took the time to respond to.
OUCH.
Ignoring messages online is one way to make a good trend get ugly fast. As soon as you offer something as a means to help your customer, you need to make sure you are following through.
So, PLEASE, make sure you are responding to your customers. I’d argue this is more important than posting at all. Respond to direct messages and all manner of social inboxes! Do so quickly and authentically.
When they make a negative or rude comment, your first reaction may be to write back something snarky (or is that just me?). You may even consider deleting their comment completely. Neither of these choices is the way to go. Take a breather (but a short one), and then promptly respond to your customer in a way that is sympathetic to their concern and offers a solution when available.
Keep in mind not every problem can be resolved in one simple reply. You may need to direct someone to a phone number or email address where you can speak with them directly without the world watching. However, do your best to respond in the same way that someone contacts you. If they are contacting you on social media, it is probably because they DON’T want to chat on the phone. (I have proof from this gone-viral blog post I wrote back in 2014 about this very pet peeve of mine.) Have respect. If you have to for legal or security reasons get that person on the phone, explain that to them.
When a customer or follower gives you positive feedback, thank them. Consumers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals, so nurture any positive relationship you have going online as much as you can. This will keep customers happy, and generate new leads as they recommend your business.
One final tip is to keep a list of links readily available to help people with their FAQs. This will help you get into a pattern of how you should respond, instead of searching for the right words every time. And if you see certain problems coming up again and again, you might take note and ask if there is something you need to change.
Customer Service Pro Tip #2: Enable Chatbots
Chatbots are the next big thing, they said. Everyone needs a chatbot, they said. I even said it myself. And perhaps to our own fault, businesses listened. Already, 80% of businesses say they are using or plan to use chatbots by 2020. They can resolve customer service issues quickly, provide assistance with information and navigation, and even perform tasks such as placing orders.
But while businesses listened to the fact that they should have a chatbot, they haven’t always listened to what that chatbot should be like.
Chatbots should be easy to find, easy to use, not overbearing, and should come with a little personality.
Pet peeve: Chatbots that are really bad at chatting.
I cringe whenever I am using a chatbot and it says the same things over and over. When their responses have little to no variation, I can’t help but wonder if the designer only came up with a handful of phrases. Even worse still, is when the bot’s vocabulary is so limited it doesn’t understand what I’M saying. Is it hard to wonder why “I’m sorry, I don’t understand… I’m sorry I don’t understand… I’m sorry I don’t understand” could be a pet peeve of mine?
For more information on how to set up your chatbot the RIGHT way, read this.
Customer Service Pro Tip #3: Be Authentic
Of course, as soon as you set goals for “how you can be authentic” you seem to start to lose your authenticity.
BUT, there are certain practices you can at least avoid to stay authentic.
Pet peeve: One-size-fits-all customer engagement.
Let’s think back to our last two examples, with customer service and chatbots (which is really just another form of customer service). Imagine you are a customer looking for help on a company’s social media sites, but start looking through past comments and responses to get an idea of what you can expect. If you see that every customer comment is met with the same automated (probably chatbot) response, or that the tone of comments never changes even depending on the situation, you might feel skeptical. As a customer, you want to feel like you are individually recognized and that you aren’t just going to be met with generic feedback.
If you are using chatbots, make sure they aren’t saying the exact same thing for every customer, or that they are responding in a way that may not fit an actual scenario. If you are responded to social media users personally, don’t feel like you always have to be wearing a suit and tie and giving a strictly business answer. Of course, you’ll want to stay professional, but you can also have fun and be playful based on the personalities of the comments you are receiving.
I hope you have observed how useful social media marketing can be for audience engagement. I also hope you have learned how not to be the trigger for someone else’s pet peeve online. Do you have any social media pet peeves? If you do, I can bet that your customers have many of the same feelings. Put that into your work, and let your social media go to work for you!