Social Media is Sexy

Let’s settle something right now… what do I consider sexy? Anything that improves your well-being and social media certainly does that for business, especially as a customer service tool. 

Later this week I will talk about utilizing Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn for your business. They aren’t just important for your businesses exposure, but they’re necessary for customer service and your reputation. People are having conversations about you online; don’t you want to be a part of them? Today I’d like to talk about how you can use social media to handle customer service issues.

Twitter: Simple and quick.

Example: Someone tweets you regarding a product or service you sell and an issue they’re having with it. Well now, the Twittersphere is watching to see if you respond properly. You respond promptly and ask them to email a certain email address or direct message you with more information. You need to publicly apologize to the customer and then handle the matter privately. 

Facebook: Can write more than on Twitter. Still quick and simple.

Example: Someone posts a nasty remark on your Facebook page, what do you do? Well, it kind of depends. If it’s something irrelevant to your business practices and they’re angry for some other reason, it’s okay to delete the comment and respond to them via Facebook message or email (if you have it). If it’s a general question they have for you or a legitimate complaint, respond (publicly) and apologize for the error and simply let them know how to proceed. If you want to go above and beyond (which you should want to) be a step ahead of them, get their account information pulled up and let them know how you’re going to have the issue solved for them!

These are the top two social media platforms I like to utilize for social media and how to handle customer service issues though them. Handle issues like this and you’ll get a great, sexy reputation with customers and consumers alike.

What do you think? Would you handle issues in a different manner? Do you think customer service is “sexy”? 

Speaking of Twitter, connect with me! See you there!

Social Media as a Customer Service Tool?

We all have used (or should be using) social media as another tool to connect with our customers. They love feeling that a company is accessible to them at any moment.  But what about solving issues for your customers via social media?

A trend that has had a slow start and is believed to sky rocket in 2012 is using social media as a customer service tool. One great thing about using social media for your customer service is that it’s incredibly quick andsimple.  Responding to your customers and solving issues via social media is not for everyone but it’s something to at least try for your company.  There is a great example I found on Eye for Travel’s site:

• Holly Burns, Manager of Social Media at Travelocity confirmed that the majority of their customer service takes place on Twitter and in just two months earlier this year, they closed more than 70 customer service cases through social media.

You don’t have to just solve issues with social media, you can also use it to get important news out fast.  Earlier this year when AirAsia had a plane go off the runway, they used social media.  They said they “used Twitter recently to contact their 122,000 followers to calm nerves and subdue additional fears”.  It’s a great way to contact your followers immediately.  If something happens, customers are more likely to check out your Twitter or Facebook than go to your site.

Social media makes following-up easier. If you read our previous blog, Follow Up = Happy Customers,  you know how important following-up really is. Social media makes it easy to ask your customers if they are happy with the service they received and or if they need anything in addition to what has already been done.

There are plenty of advantages to using social media as a customer service tool, there are also a few cons.  The main one to watch out for is making sure Twitter, Facebook, etc. are not your only means to handling issues. Sometimes social media does not allow for enough detail and a regular help ticket is needed. 

What do you think are pro’s & con’s to using social media as a customer service tool?

Using LinkedIn for Your Business

Earlier this week I talked about Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest as customer service and general business tools. Today, I’d like to talk about one more social media platform—LinkedIn. I have been using LinkedIn since college and I love it. I think it’s an amazing tool and I’ll tell you why.

LinkedIn seems to be a more influential and overall more educated audience than other business sites. 3 out of 4 LinkedIn members (out of the 150+ million global users) use the site strictly for business and networking purposes. 64% agree that LinkedIn helps develop relationships and grow new business. Why not let it grow business for your company?

I have my own personal LinkedIn account and I have found it to be an excellent place for making connections with people I personally know as well as networking with other professionals in my area, in the US and even in other countries. I may not meet these people in person, but the information I receive from them can be invaluable.

PhaseWare and The IdeaWall (companies I work for) both have their own group and company pages. If we have a current or potential customer who doesn’t have Twitter or Facebook, but they’re on LinkedIn, we connect with them there. It’s another great way to share our information and what we’ve been up to, as well as keep up with them and their company.

Do you use LinkedIn? How do you like it for your business?

How Social Media Will Improve Your Business

How do you gain customers? Different types of marketing (inbound, outbound, etc), advertisements, cold calling, direct mail—the list seems endless. Inbound and outbound marketing are wonderful tools and will bring you potential customers and expand your reach. One way to expand your reach and brand your business that some “old-school” marketers can miss out on is social media.

With social media, you might get immediate customers, you may not. What you are doing on social media is expanding your reach and helping with brand recognition.  The more active you are on social media platforms, the more your product or service becomes a common name.  PhaseWare (the company I work for) was active on social media before, but we’ve really kicked it up a notch in the past 6 months since I started there, and I’ve seen an amazing difference.  People know who we are; they’re recommending us to friends, etc.  If they see a PhaseWare advertisement online, they notice it now and know exactly what we do.

With the right people to manage it, and the right content mixed with time and patience, social media can exponentially extend your reach and improve your brand, along with your reputation.

Stay up-to-date on new forms of social media. Learn as much as you can about the different outlets and start using them to your advantage!

Top 3 Social Media Platforms for Business

Social Media is a wonderfully innovative tool which can exponentially improve your business if used correctly. There are a lot of different platforms you can use, so which one is right for you? Today I’ll talk about some of the top social media platforms and how they can work for your business.

Facebook: Nearing 1 billion users, Facebook has endless opportunity for you to get your businesses name out there. The friendly timeline allows you to share photos and information easily with your fans. The great thing about Facebook is that there is not a limit to how much you can share, unlike other platforms.

Facebook Tip: Be interactive. If someone asks you a question… answer it!

Twitter: This is an amazing way to share small, quick bits of information. Yes, you’re limited to only 140 characters but you can add links to your tweets and pictures. I love using Twitter for business, it’s a simple way to get your name out there and a quick, efficient way to improve customer service and handle issues.

Twitter Tip: Brush up on “Twitter lingo”.  Share other peoples content if you want them to share yours!

Pinterest: If you follow me on Pinterest, you know it’s my new obsession… to put it lightly. Pinterest is a virtual pin board where you can share photos of different products, DIY crafts, food, apparel, etc. These pictures will take you to the original site. At first I thought it was just fun for personal use but it’s really great for businesses as well. We share our blogs, products we sell, products we like, things we do on the weekend and more. It’s just another great way to give your business a personality.

Pinterest Tip: Don’t over-think it. Some users quit shortly after trying to use Pinterest because they make it more difficult than it needs to be.

These are currently my top three favorite social media platforms. There are plenty more out there and I’ll be sure to write about them later this week or early next week!

Which social media platforms do you use for personal use? What about business use?

Social Media: No Excuses

Something you may not know about me is that I’m completely in love with ABC’s “The Biggest Loser”. It’s inspiring to say the least. This season, the theme is “No Excuses”.  There are plenty of excuses in life for not exercising, not walking the dog, not calling your crazy relative back, even for not engaging in social media. I still don’t understand why people don’t engage in social media, but I have heard my fair share of excuses. Today I’m going to share three of those excuses and why they’re not qualified for businesses and social media.

Excuse 1: “I have no time”.  When it comes to social media and business, you need to make time. Designate 10 minutes after lunch (or however long you need) to respond to all of your posts, tweets, messages etc. As long as your consistent and make some sort of effort, it’s worth it.

Excuse 2: “I Don’t Care”. Basically, the answer to this is that… you need to care, social media is revolutionizing the way companies handle business and customer service. You don’t necessarily need to understand it through and through but care enough to find someone who does. Social media will skyrocket the reputation of your business and communication with customers.

Excuse 3: “Why would I Want people I don’t know following me?” This is a legitimate concern if you’re just using Twitter or Facebook strictly for personal use. However, these “unknown people” want to know you and your business. They could be a potential customer (or have thousands of connections to potential customers) and they could be future business associates. Think of every connection via social media as a networking opportunity. You don’t need to tell them your life story or personal information, but keep them informed about your professional life, your business and what you’re doing. 

Do you utilize social media? If not, what is your reasoning?