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Businesses Should Re-evaluate Existing Social Channels Before Branching Out
We live in the age of omni-channel communications, so each new means of communicating we discover can only benefit our customers and our business interests, right? Social media is a definite asset when it comes to customer interaction strategies, offering a quick and easy way to communicate, answer questions, resolve problems and enable customers to “publicly” voice both praise and grievances about an organization. But jumping into new forms of social media requires planning and strategy in order to be fully effective, and businesses need to do their homework to ensure they are prepared.
When contemplating adding a new social media channel to what may well be an already full roster, businesses need to first figure out which channel will most effective. And in order to figure that out, organizations need to look at the channels they are already using and determine if they are using them to their fullest potential. For instance, a Facebook (News - Alert) account may be used primarily for promotions and events, but not as a way to engage in customer service. Perhaps customer service is being handled primarily on Twitter (News - Alert), but that account isn’t really used for marketing and promotions.
Businesses can help this process along by investing in a dedicated customer service tool to pull in and sort social media comments from a variety of accounts, aggregating marketing posts in one area versus customer service queries, for instance. Organizations also need to gauge how many messages and posts they are receiving on their existing channels. This data offers key insights about customer engagement and satisfaction as well as where company resources may be best allocated to respond to specific channels.
Another area where a customer service tool can be invaluable involves aggregating indirect mentions of a company or brand. Being able to monitor discussions and mentions of a company, brands and solutions that don’t include direct mentions is a major benefit to any company. Not only does it enable businesses to jump in and add value to relevant threads and conversations, but at a minimum it offers metrics and insights on engagement happening in the greater social media universe.
Once a business gets a handle on what is happening with it’s existing social media channels and ensures they are being used to their full potential, they can choose a new channel for branching out. The structure and tone of the new channel should be consistent with existing channels for a seamless branding and customer service experience. Agents also need to be ready to jump in and engage and respond to queries in the new channel, and a customer service tool can help by prepping a set of pre-written responses to common questions as well as by monitoring conversations and queries.
When it comes to social media engagement, quality is infinitely more effective than quantity. But businesses can certainly expand their range of omni-channel communications channels with proper planning and a comprehensive social media strategy.
Edited by Alicia Young