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Best Practices for Managing Customer Service on Social Media


More and more customers are turning to a very different customer service desk when they need assistance from a company. They’re logging on to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media sites, where companies have begun to provide traditional customer service through a less traditional platform. From social media branding pages offering direct windows into customer sentiment (a surge of posts about a website page being down, for example) to two-way communication tools complete with multimedia capabilities (like direct messaging), there are numerous reasons for the migration to social media.


These trends also reflect changing customer sentiments, such as:


  • Zendesk’s customer service trends found that over 60% of customers thinking solving an issue fast is the most important

  • Convince & Convert reported that not answering a customer complaint on social media lowers consumer loyalty by 50% of good support; however, the opposite can increase customer advocacy by as much as 25%

  • 40% of customers who request service through social media expect a response within an hour’s time

Much like other arenas, social media can be a double-edged sword when it comes to customer service processes. It’s vital to develop a process or set of protocols for what customer service processes are best for you to handle this way, as well as guidelines for what and who you should respond to. While you can make some of these decisions based on your current business knowledge, it’s also a good idea to track customer interactions (or task your customer service agents to do it). After reviewing a number of those interactions, you should be able to answer questions like:


  • How many comments express frustration, and how did that change before and after the customer service staff responded? This can inform how your staff is trained to handle support requests through social media.

  • How many comments are technical or account-specific questions? Additionally, how many of those questions could be redirected to existing links, FAQs, or self-help pages?

  • How many comments provide useable feedback, either positive or negative?

  • What time of day are your customers most active on social media, and does that activity shift seasonally as well?

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In addition to measuring your customer outreach, social media offers an honest, unfiltered view into customer brand reception. Which images do clients share? Do they use messaging or remember value statements from promotional campaigns in the past?


While negative experiences can certainly be amplified through social media, a remarkably large number of positive brand mentions are, too. By truly hearing your customers, responding to their needs and concerns, and showing them a personalized and caring touch, you can create the same valuable connections and trust with new and existing customers that you would in-person.