Elevating Customer Experience Through Social Media: A Universal Guide for Brands

Social media stands as the cornerstone of customer service for brands across all industries. From tech giants to boutique operations, how you interact with customers on these platforms can significantly impact your brand’s perception and bottom line.

This article explores the universal strategies brands should employ to not just meet but exceed customer expectations through social media.

Understanding the Modern Consumer

Modern consumers seek more than transactions; they crave connections.

As the most-quoted line in my book states ...

People aren't starved for content; people are starved for connection.

Consumers favor brands that not only listen but respond with empathy and efficiency across all social channels. This is where the power of social media customer service comes into play, transforming potential crises into opportunities for brand loyalty.

A Guide Through the Social Media Customer Service Labyrinth

At B Squared Media, we use our patented C.A.R.E Method to both attract and retain customers for our clients on social media channels.

Obviously, our program goes into serious depth on each letter, but I'll lay out the five steps any brand can use to get to similar results.

1. Start with Listening:

Active social media listening goes beyond monitoring mentions. It involves understanding sentiments, identifying trends, and preemptively addressing potential issues before they escalate.

It's not enough to rely on social media monitoring, which is reactive (and entirely different from social care!). Your strategy must be proactive.

Tools like Sprout Social and their social listening and/or social care insights can shape your 'C' in customer care strategy effectively.

2. Engage with Authenticity:

Engagement is the heart of social customer service. Whether responding to a complaint or a compliment, the key is to be authentic. Tailoring your approach to fit your brand’s voice and your customer’s expectations makes interactions feel more personal and genuine.

You must get past clichés and facts with your social media content. The best brands are getting innovative with their two-way dialogue and using opinions and feelings to collect voice of customer (VOC) data.

Then, they're using that data to deliver a better customer experience again and again.

3. Leverage Technology Smartly:

AI and chatbots can significantly enhance the efficiency of your social customer service. Platforms like Intercom and Salesforce Service Cloud enable brands to offer instant, personalized support, making customers feel valued at every touchpoint.

But! Do not, I repeat, do not implement an AI strategy that doesn't involve humans at every step. If you do, you could end up like Air Canada (with costly court fees).

4. Measure, Analyze, and Adapt:

The beauty of digital platforms is in the data they offer. Measuring the impact of your social customer service efforts through KPIs like response time, customer satisfaction scores, and resolution rates provides actionable insights to continually refine your strategy.

Below is a view of Sprout Social's Customer Care & Team Performance reporting.

Managing your customer support tickets, or cases, on social media is just as important as doing it through your call center. In fact, it's also cheaper when you handle service inquiries on the customer's channel of choice.

If their channel of choice happens to be social media, it's usually about 12 times cheaper to close the loop on social media (versus the traditional call center).

5. Cultivate Connections:

Finally, the art of customer service on social media is about building lasting relationships.

Creating an online community, encouraging user-generated content, and engaging in meaningful conversations can turn customers into brand ambassadors.

How many brands can you think of where their customers are giving shout outs to the brand's customer service? Not many.

This factor alone is a HUGE differentiator for brands.

Why Every Product Brand Needs a Solid Social Media Customer Service Plan

Your customers expect immediate responses and resolutions -- even on social media channels.

A solid social media customer service plan not only meets these expectations but also significantly enhances your brand’s reputation, encourages customer loyalty, and even drives sales.

Social selling based on brand conversations and intent signals should be a part of every social care program. If not, you're leaving money on the table!

The B Squared Media Promise

With a focus on delivering exceptional social media customer service, our mission is to empower brands to forge stronger connections with their customers.

Through strategic insights, innovative approaches, and a commitment to excellence, we help brands navigate the complex landscape of social media with confidence and creativity.

We're constantly asking for, and finding, what we call 'opportunities to care' -- these opportunities enable us to strategically meet our clients' business objectives through our outsourced social care program.

Are you ready to transform your brand’s social media presence into a powerful customer service engine?

Let’s chat . Together, we can craft a social media customer service strategy that resonates with your brand values and elevates your customer experiences well beyond the norm.