5 Pitfalls of Social Media Customer Service

Social media may only make up around 2% of contact centre traffic, but with conversations happening out in the open, there’s really nowhere to hide if you get it wrong.

So, what are the biggest mistakes being made right now? And how do you get it right when you’re in full public view 24/7? We asked the experts to find out…

1. Filling Your Social Media Feed With “Let’s Take This Offline” and Other Similar Comments

The Mistake

Afshan Kinder, ICMI Thought Leader and co-author of 3 books – including ‘Call Center for Dummies’ — Afshan Kinder

We all see things like, “Oh, I’m very sorry this happened. Let’s take this offline,” but very rarely does anyone go back to publicly close the loop and confirm the issue has been resolved.

Whilst this may be managed perfectly well internally, from a customer perspective, all they see is that you’re quick to respond.

They can’t ever be sure of what the resolution and the level of satisfaction was, or if it’s worth their time to reach out via this channel.

Even with the best of intentions, it can look to some like these queries are just disappearing into a black hole!

The Solution

You need your customers to support you on this.

So, why not train your agents to close off conversations by saying, “Thank you! If you’re happy with the support you’ve received today, do you mind just closing the loop on your original message to say I’ve resolved your query today?”

And even if the customer doesn’t get chance, it shouldn’t take your agents too long to go back and message on the original thread to say “Happy I was able to help you today” or similar – just to show that they actually helped that customer.

This all reinforces the perceived usefulness and purpose of the channel, as a place that is supported by a real team that is there to help!

Contributed by: Afshan Kinder, Thought Leader and co-author of three books – including ‘Call Centers for Dummies’

2. Only Using Social Media as a Gateway to Other Channels

The Mistake

This is closely aligned with the mistake of only implementing omnichannel solutions that ultimately require customers to use another channel for resolution (e.g. social moves to email, chat moves to voice, etc.).

Not only does this create a perception of a customer service black hole on your social media feed, but it can cause incredible frustration for your customers too!

The Solution

If you’re going to implement social media channels in your contact centre, then make sure you are setting that team up to succeed!

Quite simply, give your social media team the power to resolve issues there and then in the customer’s channel of choice. Your agents represent your brand on social media, so thorough training is key.

Ensure they have clear guidelines on tone, language, and escalation procedures too! They also need the right skills and resources to resolve issues effectively.

3. Assuming Agents Who Understand Customer Service Will Automatically Understand Social Media (and Vice Versa!)

The Mistake

Mark Saxby, Social Media Consultant at Status Social — Mark Saxby

Customer service being run by people who understand customer service but don’t understand social media – or people who understand social media but don’t understand customer service – can create problems.

This typically occurs because of bad hiring decisions or a lack of training for customer service teams.

Often, customer experience leaders do not understand the nuances of social media, as it is not purely an expansion of customer service over email or the phone – as some assume.

The Solution

Empathy is more important than social media skills when it comes to hiring. You can train people in social media but not how to develop empathy.

Recruit customer-focused team members and then upskill them in social media customer service!

Contributed by: Mark Saxby, Social Media Radical

If you are looking to refresh your recruitment strategy to get the right people through the door, read our article: 10 Ways to Attract Fresh Talent Into Your Contact Centre

4. Expecting Your Agents to Multitask When Managing Social Media

The Mistake

Michelle Spaul, Customer Experience Management Consultant at Delta Swan — Michelle Spaul

Trying to do two jobs at the same time and doing neither well is like juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle on a tightrope – you’re bound to get burned and fall off! Yet too often, social media teams are asked to do exactly that!

Be careful here… Social media is a megaphone. It repeats and amplifies your brand messages. It engages new customers and keeps existing customers close. You really don’t want your agents to be distracted and making mistakes.

The Solution

Take social media as seriously as any other channel! For example, you might use a triage system to identify the right person to respond to a customer’s post or message.

Also provide straightforward answers to common questions, encourage curiosity and empathy for unusual requests, and be sure to use different quality standards to support the personal development and performance of your teams, such as:

Does your customer service team have access to up-to-date information?
Can they escalate issues while remaining the customer’s point of contact?
Does your organization ask the team what needs to be fixed, listen to their answers and take action?

Social media shouldn’t be a side-hustle. Give your agents the time and support they deserve to get it right.

Contributed by: Michelle Spaul, Customer Experience Management Consultant

5. Forgetting It’s a Game of Brand Reputation and Loyalty Too

The Mistake

Most people don’t record their phone calls, but anyone can grab a screen shot of a bad response online and post it all over their social platforms! So don’t be blasé about it!

Social media customer service isn’t just about resolving customer complaints. You also need to use social media to increase your brand reputation and loyalty.

The Solution

Invest time in showcasing your brand personality and values too – sharing positive stories and testimonials, engaging with customers regularly, soliciting feedback, and rewarding loyal customers.

Collaborate with marketing if you need to! This will create a connection between you and your customers, build a community around your brand, and show that you value their opinions.

This comes down to monitoring social media properly too – making good use of available social listening tools for any mentions of your brand, so you can promptly address any issues or concerns raised by customers.

After all, when you can engage with customers in a timely and respectful manner, you demonstrate an ongoing commitment to excellent customer service.

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