Social media started as a way for people to keep in touch with friends and family, but over the years it has evolved into a crucial marketing component for many companies. Now more than ever, customers use social media to ask questions, lodge complaints, seek assistance and find out more information about all kinds of companies and brands – and it’s vital that your company engages them.
Whether you receive questions, complaints or praise via social media, you should always respond. A company that has a Facebook page full of comments and questions from people that remain unanswered gives the impression that they either don’t care or aren’t monitoring their page; and in a world where customers expect responses in real-time, that simply isn’t good enough.
When it comes to your social media pages you should:
- Check them all at least once a day. It’s recommended to check your social media pages several times throughout the day, but if you don’t have the time to do that, check either first thing in the morning or around the end of business hours. There may be customers who have time-sensitive issues that they need addressed.
- Conduct searches for your company name. On a social media site like Twitter, searching for your company name is a great way to see what other people are saying about you.
- Respond to the positive, not just the negative. When someone leaves positive feedback on your page, make sure to thank them and let them know you appreciate their business.
Social media has evolved into an important customer service tool and companies who ignore it run a serious risk of loosing customers and giving the impression that they don’t care. Once your company’s social media presence is established, be sure that the pages are monitored and maintained on a daily basis. Contact WSI for more expert tips!