Who’s Socially Devoted To You?
As a business you can choose whether to take part in social media or not.
Whether you do take part or you don’t, it won’t alter the fact that the conversation will continue on regardless.
By taking an active role you have the opportunity to shape the conversation, make a difference and stand out from the competition.
Social media can be a very cost effective channel for customer service, when implemented correctly.
Which is why so many companies have embraced social media, creating accounts on various channels to provide a gateway for their customers and potential customers to reach them.
Nobody’s Home
There is something worse than not taking part though.
That is to open a social media channel, and by doing so inviting customers to use it to reach out to you, then when they do, totally ignore them!
This is akin to advertising a telephone support number and never picking up when it rings, not even an answer-phone message.
This is really happening.
Customer Service Fail
Mark Shaw has gone to some length to highlight this phenomenon on Twitter with his EngagementIndex. His aim? To raise the customer service bar.
Mark states on the website:
“Twitter is a game changer for businesses. Through EngagementIndex I want businesses to be able to track themselves so that they can see how they are performing, see if the resources they have allocated are sufficient and aimed in the right places…”
Socially Devoted
On Twitter consumers may attempt to talk to you even though you may not have set up an account. When it comes to Facebook generally consumers will approach you via your Facebook page.
Yes the page your company set up! So why then are companies failing to respond?
SocialBakers, who provide a social analytics platform, have launched their Socially Devoted website to draw attention to the below-average customer care in social media, specifically on Facebook.
Their aim is “…to encourage brands to shift their strategy towards more open and responsive social marketing.”
SocialBakers have produced the infographic below highlighting Facebook Page response rates by industry:
Who’s Socially Devoted To You?
If you’ve set up a presence on social media with the aim of using it to promote your business, don’t forget it works both ways.
So when customers use social media to reach out to you, ensure you’re there and respond accordingly.