Social Customer Service Tips

The June edition of The Business Review Canada is now live!

By: K'Lee Banks

Today’s customers are tech savvy and use social media to a far greater extent than they did even a decade ago. 

In fact, a research company posted a December 2012 report that revealed more than 60 percent of men and greater than 70 percent of women use various types of social media on a daily basis for business, networking, and shopping.

Customers respond well to businesses that promote themselves using the major popular forms of social media.

Customers like to hear businesses say “Like us on Facebook” – “Follow our tweets on Twitter “ -  “Connect with us on Google+” – and customers gladly click, follow, and connect.

Maximize Your Social Media Outreach

Customers expect businesses to keep up with modern technology and take advantage of social media to accommodate their lifestyles. 

In fact, Forbes — one of the most reliable and trusted sources for business and financial news — agrees that business owners who want to succeed should take full advantage of social media platforms, especially Facebook and Twitter.

Here are Forbes’ recommendations:

Facebook: Because of its popularity and versatility, the Facebook platform offers businesses the opportunity to build relationships with customers through a number of options, including business pages, fan pages, and personal and professional profiles.

Facebook also allows businesses to create targeted ads and specify the demographics of who should see the ads; then choose the ad budget and amount of time to run the ads.

Read related content: 

• Should Employees Access Social Media at Work?
• Which Is Better for My Company: Facebook or Google+?
• Promoting Your Small Business

Twitter: Twitter, with its 140-character “tweets,” provides the opportunity for quick, ongoing communication, and is usually the first social media platform to buzz with breaking news. Twitter also makes use of hashtags (for example, #mysmallbiz) for targeted tweets and for tracking what people are saying about the business.

Twitter also has the reputation for “viral” tweets that attract hundreds, thousands, or even millions of views and retweets. What business wouldn’t want THAT kind of attention?

"The Others"

While not nearly as popular as Facebook and Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn are also considerations for your business to connect with customers.

Two of the best features of Google+ are the opportunity to hold virtual "hangouts" for customers and to leverage product reviews.

LinkedIn is probably the most professional of the social media platforms, but likewise allows businesses to connect with customers and garner more exposure to attract new customers.

How Sociable Is YOUR Company?

Do you promote your company via social media? Do you invite customers—current and potential future customers—to “Like us on Facebook” or "Follow our Tweets"?  If not, why not?

It’s time to be sociable by today’s tech savvy standards for the ultimate success of your company.

As a business owner, how do you use social media to better promote your company?

About the Author:  With more than 2,000 articles written by K'Lee Banks, many of them cover a range of business topics, including managing and repairing a business reputation.