The best social media channels to improve your customer service

From ordering on the web to setting up online banking, customers can now do almost everything at the click of a button. So, it’s no surprise that convenience is key when it comes to customer service – and customers want to be able to do this online too.

Here’s where social media can help

In fact, social media has created a whole new expectation of customer service, with more and more people turning to the internet to publicly share complaints around the clock. It’s quick, easy and mostly effective, as businesses are likely to provide a better resolution in a public setting to avoid negative feedback.

And customers use this to their advantage, but you can make the most of this too. By replying publicly, you won’t only help solve the original query, you’ll show other customers you care about offering a good service – and you might just answer a question that other customers have too.

Using social media isn’t only easier for your customers, it’s easier for you too – as managing customer replies through your social channels means you can respond to your customers’ needs from multiple devices and work locations.

Now this doesn’t mean you need to reply instantly, but you should dedicate time every day for replying as long response times can lead to negative experiences – and 65% of people switch brands because of a poor experience.

But which channel should you use?

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter tend to be the go-to social media platforms for customer service. We recommend setting up accounts on all three, but it’s important to decide which channel will work best for you.

Facebook

Instant messaging

With Facebook Messenger, managing customer queries has never been easier. Customers can simply send your business a personal message, and you can reply within the same, secure thread. And, even better, you can set up an automatic reply message that identifies how long it’ll take for you to respond, so customers receive an instant response informing them their question has been received.

Public reviews

You can also ask for immediate feedback and customers can publish this instantly while giving you a rating out of five. Then, as your reviews build, you can promote them across your channel and attract even more customers.

Instagram

FAQ highlights

Get ahead of private messages by hosting live Q&A sessions on Instagram Stories. You can then save your responses in an FAQ folder on Instagram Highlights for customers to easily access. You can add to this highlight at any time to build out your portfolio.

Easily monitor mentions

Make sure you join conversations about your brand and offer helpful advice at every turn. You can monitor brand mentions by enabling notifications, and using hashtags to track those talking about your business.

Twitter

Dedicated customer support handle

Set up a separate Twitter handle dedicated to customer support to combine all queries. Then, tag your customer service account in the bio on your main account. In turn, this will create a FAQ hub, where customers can search for resolutions before asking questions.

Sharable feedback

By nature, Twitter encourages users to consume and distribute information quickly, so when you help solve customers’ queries, they’re more likely to share their experience with others. And with more shares comes more exposure.

Build your brand’s reputation

No matter which channel/s you choose, make sure you respond to all business-related customer queries in a timely manner. And pay close attention to online conversations about your business.

Remember that most interactions on social media are public – and they’re instantly shareable. Don’t compromise your business’ reputation by not responding or reacting negatively to customer comments. Rather, let each response become an opportunity for your business’ values, approach, and tone to shine through.

And using social media, you won’t only help customers resolve queries faster, you’ll boost brand loyalty too. After all, 83% of customers feel more loyal to brands that respond and resolve their complaints.

So, if queries are resolved in a timely, professional, and friendly manner, customers will likely trust and feel loyal to your brand, improving their experience and building your brand’s reputation all at once.

Learn more about becoming social media smart with these three tips for getting it right.