Latest / Social Media Marketing with Fexingo: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Platform Strategy / How Brands Use Social Media for Customer Service
Transcript
- Lucas: So, Luna, I was booking a flight last week, and the airline's website kept glitching out on the payment page. I was about to give up, but then I remembered they had a support handle on Twitter. I sent them a DM, and within ten minutes, they'd sorted it out and even gave me a small credit for the trouble. Luna: That's a great example. It's funny how we've come to expect that kind of help on social, but it wasn't always the norm. I remember when brands treated Twitter like a broadcast channel, and if you tweeted at them, you'd maybe get a canned response days later. Lucas: Right, and now it's almost the opposite. There's a stat that's been floating around for a while: something like 67 percent of consumers expect a response from a brand on social within a day. And a lot of them expect it within a couple of hours. That's a huge shift in how companies have to think about their social presence. Luna: So it's not just about marketing anymore. It's about being a functional part of the customer experience. Are we going to talk about any specific brands that are doing this well? Lucas: Yeah, I think the poster children are still Zappos and JetBlue. Zappos has built its entire brand around customer service, and they've been known to respond to tweets at three in the morning. JetBlue, on the other hand, has a dedicated team that handles everything from flight delays to baggage issues over Twitter. They've turned a potential PR nightmare into a loyalty builder. Luna: And it's not just the big players. I've had personal experiences with smaller brands that respond to Instagram DMs with actual helpful answers, and it's made me a loyal customer. There's this skincare brand, for example, that helped me pick the right product based on my skin type, all through a DM conversation. I still buy from them. Lucas: That's the kind of thing that builds real loyalty. But let's talk about the economics for a second. Setting up a social customer service operation isn't free. You need people monitoring, responding, escalating. So why are brands investing in this? I think it's because the cost of acquiring a new customer is so much higher than retaining an existing one. A quick, helpful reply can save a sale, and it can also turn a frustrated customer into a brand advocate. Luna: And a bad experience can go viral. We've all seen the screenshots of brands responding rudely or ignoring customers. That kind of thing can tank a brand's reputation overnight. So it's almost a risk management play, too. Lucas: Exactly. Now, one of the interesting trends is the shift from public replies to private DMs. Brands are increasingly moving conversations out of the public timeline. It's partly for privacy, but also because it's easier to get into the nitty-gritty of a problem in a DM. You can ask for order numbers, account details, that kind of thing without exposing everything to the world. Luna: But doesn't that defeat the purpose of showing other customers that you're responsive? I mean, if everyone sees a brand asking people to DM them, they know help is available, but it's not as visible as a public resolution. Lucas: That's a fair point. But a lot of brands handle it by replying publicly with something like 'Sorry to hear that, send us a DM and we'll sort it out.' So they're showing responsiveness without getting into the messy details publicly. And once they've solved the issue, they might ask the customer if they can share the outcome publicly, with permission. Luna: Got it. So it's a hybrid approach. Now, what about the actual team structure? Is it the social media manager, or is there a separate support team? Lucas: It varies. For smaller brands, the social media manager might wear both hats. But as you scale, you need a dedicated support team that's trained on the product and has access to the same systems as the phone support. JetBlue, for example, has a social media team that's integrated with their customer service operations. They have the tools to rebook flights right from their desks. Luna: That makes sense. And then there's the question of AI. I've seen more and more brands using chatbots to handle initial inquiries on social platforms. How do you see that playing out? Lucas: AI is definitely a big part of the picture. Chatbots can handle routine questions like 'Where's my order?' or 'What's your return policy?' 24/7, which is great. But the risk is when they can't handle something and the customer gets stuck in a loop with a bot that doesn't understand. The key is to have a seamless handoff to a human when the bot hits its limits. That's where the customer experience is won or lost. Luna: And that handoff has to feel smooth. I've definitely been frustrated by bots that force you to repeat everything when you finally get a human. If a brand can nail that transition, they're ahead of the curve. Lucas: Absolutely. And the human touch is still incredibly important. There was a study that found that when customers got a reply from a human on social, they were more likely to recommend the brand. So it's not just about speed; it's about empathy and actually solving the problem. Luna: Before we get too deep into that, I wanted to say something about how this show is funded. A lot of people ask us how we keep making so many episodes without ads, and the honest answer is that a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's literally what funds making this many of these. Lucas: Yeah, it's something we're really grateful for. It keeps this ad-free and lets us focus on the topics that matter to you. So if you've gotten value from these conversations, that's a simple way to support the show. Luna: And we're back to the topic at hand. So, the human touch. How do brands scale that without losing the personal feel? Lucas: That's the million-dollar question. One approach is to empower your support team with more autonomy, so they don't have to escalate every little thing to a manager. Zappos is famous for letting their reps do whatever it takes to make the customer happy, even if that means sending flowers or a personal note. That kind of latitude is hard to scale, but it sets a standard. Luna: And I imagine it helps to have a clear tone of voice for your social responses. If every reply sounds like it's from the same person, even if it's a team of twenty, that's a win. Lucas: Exactly. Consistency is key. Some brands even have a style guide for social responses, with phrases and tone indicators to keep things uniform. But you also have to allow for some personality. The best social support accounts have a bit of wit, but they always stay respectful. Luna: Let's talk about metrics. How do you measure the success of social customer service? Is it just response time, or are there other KPIs? Lucas: Response time is a big one, but it's not the only thing. You also want to look at resolution rate, customer satisfaction scores, and even sentiment analysis. Some brands track whether the customer mentions the interaction positively afterwards. And there's a concept called 'social care ROI' that tries to tie those interactions to actual revenue, like repeat purchases or lifetime value. Luna: That's interesting. I've also heard of brands using social customer service as a way to gather product feedback. Someone tweets about a bug in your app, and you can not only fix it for them but also log it for your product team. That's a two-for-one. Lucas: For sure. Social media is a goldmine of unsolicited feedback, and a good social care team is also a research team. They're hearing the unfiltered voice of the customer every day. If they're feeding that back to product and marketing, the whole company benefits. Luna: So what's the biggest mistake brands make with social customer service? Is it being too slow, or being too robotic? Lucas: I think it's a combination. Being too slow is a killer, but being robotic can be just as bad. If customers feel like they're talking to a wall, they'll take their business elsewhere. Another mistake is not having a clear policy for when to take a conversation to DMs versus keeping it public. That can lead to confusion and frustration. Luna: Right. And I'd add that some brands try to handle everything on social without integrating with their existing support systems. So you have a customer who's already on the phone with support, and then they tweet, and they get a completely different answer. That's a recipe for a bad experience. Lucas: Yes, omnichannel consistency is crucial. The customer should feel like they're talking to the same company, whether it's on the phone, over email, or on social. That requires some serious backend integration, but it's worth it. Luna: We've talked a lot about the 'how,' but what about the 'where'? Are some platforms better for customer service than others? Lucas: Twitter has traditionally been the go-to, because it's public and fast. But now, Instagram DMs and even TikTok comments are becoming important. A lot depends on your audience. If you're a fashion brand, Instagram is probably where you'll see the most complaints. If you're a tech company, Twitter and even Reddit might be more relevant. The key is to be where your customers are. Luna: And I imagine Facebook is still a big one for certain demographics. My mom prefers to contact brands on Facebook Messenger because she's not on Twitter or Instagram. So it's about covering the bases. Lucas: Absolutely. And as new platforms emerge, brands need to figure out if they're going to be part of the support mix. For example, some B2B brands are now offering support on LinkedIn, which makes sense because that's where their clients are. Luna: So, to wrap up, social customer service isn't just a nice to have anymore. It's a core part of the brand experience. Brands that do it well can turn unhappy customers into loyal fans, and brands that do it poorly can suffer the consequences. Lucas: Exactly. And the bar is only going to get higher. As consumers, we're getting more reliant on social for everything, and we're less patient with brands that don't show up. I think we'll see more brands investing in social care, and the ones that get it right will have a real competitive advantage. Luna: Well said. I know I'll be thinking about that next time I tweet at a brand and get a quick, helpful reply. Lucas: And if I'm ever in a situation where I don't get a reply, I'll just have to send you a DM and see if you can help.