While contact centers have steadily added customer contact media in recent decades: fax in the 80s, e-mail in the 90s and Web chat in the last decade, social media has had the most impact. While customers were once limited to one-to-one complaints (or praise, for that matter), or sharing with just a few friends, now disgruntled (or happy) customers can let a few thousand friends know all about it with just a few clicks.

While it’s always been important to maintain a good relationship with your customers, in the days of Twitter, Facebook (News - Alert) and other social media, it’s more critical than ever. Customers certainly love it and find it convenient.

According to an AOL original article published this week, people are increasingly choosing social media to air their opinions and grievances when it comes to dealing with companies and service providers. According to a survey by social media research firm NM Incite, 47 percent of social media users "actively seek" customer service through social media channels, and 30 percent say they prefer that method to the traditional phone call.

"It's a very public channel," Randy Brasche, director of marketing for customer service software firm Genesys told AOL (News - Alert). "When you're on the phone, it’s one-to-one. On Twitter, it's one too many."

Because it’s so public, this has broad-reaching ramifications for customer service. If a company doesn't resolve a complaint to the customer's satisfaction, it isn't just losing a customer -- it's also potentially facing a public relations disaster, according to AOL. (The social media world is full of instances of high profile customer grievances that went viral and caused a serious dent in a company’s image.)

For all these reasons, it’s important to get social media right.

In an upcoming Web event sponsored by KANA, thinkJar’s founder Esteban Kolsky will explore the answers to some of the most burning questions around social media and how best to embrace it in the contact center. The Web event will present answers to often-asked questions such as:

How many organizations are using social media for business? For customer service?

What are the benefits of implementing customer service using social channels? How about just social media?

Which social channels are better for customer service? Which ones have the most promise going forward?

Is social the future of customer service? Is social a fad?

Find more information about the one-hour Web event, which will take place on November 13, 2012 at 2:00 pm EST, by clicking here.