One of the main goals of social media marketing is to raise awareness of your brand in hopes of bringing new customers in to your small business. But in the process of trying to draw in new customers, small business owners must remember to keep all of their customers happy with excellent customer service. In this social media training tip, we’ll go over the importance of great customer service on social media.
Responding to Comments as well as Questions
In addition to addressing questions and concerns received via social media, small business owners should get into the habit of responding to less urgent comments as well.
For example, if you post a picture on Facebook and someone leaves a comment like “great picture!”, thank them in the comment section for their feedback. Even a simple “thank you” shows a good rapport, and that you appreciate your fans and their feedback.
When relevant, you can take this a step further by engaging in a conversation. For example, if you posted a chocolate chip cookie recipe and someone commented “I can’t wait to try this!”, you could respond with something like “They are delicious! What is your favorite type of cookie?” or “You should definitely give it a try! Do you have any good cookie recipes?”
Obviously this is just a generic example, but it should illustrate the benefit of starting a conversation. Not only are you engaging the original commenter in a conversation, but you could open up the comment section to others to chime in too! There is no downside to friendly conversation with your fans and followers.
When to respond to questions publicly and privately
When someone has a question or complaint, they will often take to a small business’s social media page to address them. These situations give small business owners a chance to show their professionalism and attention to customer care.
If faced with a general question that may be applicable to others, you can answer the question publicly and thank the person for asking it. An example of this might be where they can find something specific on your website.
When the question or complaint is more specific in nature, you should politely exchange contact information such as phone numbers or email addresses in private and take the conversation off of social media. Getting defensive or into an argument on social media can hurt your brand, even if you feel that you are in the right.
Use discretion when addressing these situations. Remember that anything you post on a social media page can be seen by everyone, so you should always be carrying yourself in a respectful manner that puts you and your brand in a positive light.
Please click through to review all the Social Media Training opportunities in the University.