Hartzell: Social Media as a Customer Service Tool

Utilizing social media as a customer service tool is vital for business to engage with consumers, and enhance their brand.

1. By: Noah Hartzell Thomas Edison State University SOM-7020-MB900: Social Media Marketing Dr. David Castle Social Media's Transformation in Customer Service

2. The Evolution of Social Media in Customer Service Shift from marketing to customer service Traditional methods: phone calls, emails, in-person Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram now essential. Real-time response to customer questions and complaints

3. Interacting with Customers on Social Platforms Social Media Customer Service Immediate responses to inquiries within seconds to minutes Real Time Interactions Handling issues in public, enhancing brand reputation Public Visibility Key Ideas and Definitions

4. Importance of the Trend Provides quick, transparent, and personalized service, distinguishing from other companies. Service Offers insights to improve products and services. Insights For building stronger customer relationships. Essential Significant for future business operations. Not just a passing trend

5. History and Background Shift from marketing to customer service. Becoming more widespread through the years Social Media Begins Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Companies need to have social presence to promote themselves Big 3 are Essential for Marketing Social Media started to become a customer service outlet, now expanding to many companies becoming essential and more important than traditional outlets Customer Service 2000 2010 2014-Now Future?

6. Pros of Social Media Customer Service 01 02 03 04 Advantages of Social Media Include the following: Quick response times lead to higher satisfaction Transparent interactions visible to the public Valuable insights into customer preferences Example: Glossier’s customer feedback loop

7. Cons of Social Media Customer Service 01 02 03 04 Challenges of Social Media Customer Service Include the following: Risk of mistakes going viral and harming reputation Pressure to respond quickly can lead to incomplete solutions Resource-Intensive: requires dedicated teams and tools Balancing quick responses with meaningful interaction is costly

8. Successful Social Media Customer Service. Building strong customer loyalty through proactive engagement. 80% of consumers engage with brands over social media! Examples in Action Quick, personalized responses on Twitter Crisis Management and customer interaction JetBlue Airways Domino’s Pizza

9. Expert Interview with Julie Polack Insights from Julie Polack. A multi-media video designer and social media customer service agent. YOUR TITLE Evolution from marketing to customer service on social platforms Advantages: Personalized and accessible interactions Challenges: Managing high volumes and maintaining quick responses Effective strategies and useful tech include Hootsuite, Gorgias, and Tribe Dynamics. YOUR TITLE

10. Key Factors Shaping the Future AI and Automation Messaging Apps Social Listening Data Privacy and Security Emerging Markets 1 2 3 4 5

11. Future Implications The Future of Social Media Customer Service Growing Reliance on AI and Automation Example of Wren Kitchens utilizing new technology Integration of Social Media, messaging apps, and traditional channels Adapting to changing customer expectations with new technologies

12. Social media is now essential for modern customer service Businesses must embrace these changes to succeed Benefits outweigh challenges, strong customer relationships is key The future holds exciting potential for new technologies in this space Conclusion

13. References: References Avan, Z. (2024). Domino’s Social Media Customer Service performance. Juphy . https://juphy.com/blog/dominos-social-media-customer-service-performance Baird, C. H., & Parasnis , G. (2011). From social media to social customer relationship management. Strategy & Leadership, 39(5), 30-37. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878571111161507 He, W., Zha, S., & Li, L. (2013). Social media competitive analysis and text mining: A case study in the pizza industry. International Journal of Information Management, 33(3), 464-472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2013.01.001 Ross, L. (2020). The state of Social Media Customer Support – statistics and trends [infographic]. Invesp . https://www.invespcro.com/blog/social-media-customer-support/ Social, S. (2024). Social media customer service: What it is and how to improve it. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-customer-service/ Tuten , T. L.(2021). Social Media Marketing. SAGE Publications.

14. Any Questions?

15. PORTFOLIO SHOWCASE WRITE SOMETHING HERE Figure 1: Interview Question and Answers with Julie Polack 1. How has the role of social media evolved in customer service over the past few years, and what do you think has driven this change? a. This question aims to explore the interviewee's perspective on the broader trends and shifts that have led to the adoption of social media as a key channel for customer service. Response: Social media has become a central channel for customer service in the last few years. Companies used to use social media primarily for marketing and brand promotion, but it has been a smooth transition into using it as a customer service platform as well. With so many people on social media, it is only natural for customers to leave comments and send messages to brands regarding their products or services. Especially among younger demographics, these platforms have become the preferred channel for many people seeking customer support. For younger audiences, social media is often the only channel they consider for engaging with brands. People prefer the quicker response time and the convenience, since they’re already familiar with how these platforms operate. 2. What are the main advantages and challenges of using social media for customer service compared to traditional methods like phone or email? a. This question seeks to understand the benefits and potential drawbacks of social media as a customer service tool, providing insights into why companies might choose this route and what obstacles they face. Response: Using social media for customer service often allows for a more abridged and casual interaction with customers. You still want to utilize the brand voice and a level of professionalism, but the expectations are slightly different. Communicating with customers via social media often feels more personalized and intimate. It can also feel more accessible than calling a company (potentially sitting on hold for ages) or waiting for an email response. However, it also poses challenges like managing high volumes of interactions, with a million instagram followers, it is difficult to get to all messages, comments, and tagged posts. There is also an expectation of quick and favorable responses that can be impossible to maintain.

16. PORTFOLIO SHOWCASE WRITE SOMETHING HERE Figure 1: Interview Question and Answers with Julie Polack (Extended) 3. Can you share any specific strategies or tools that have proven effective in managing customer service interactions on social media? a. This question encourages the interviewee to provide practical advice and examples of tools or strategies that have been successful in their experience. Response: To manage customer service interactions on social media effectively, we use a unified platform to bring all of our social channels into one place. We use Hootsuite to respond to customers on all of our social accounts quickly. Hootsuite also schedules posts and tracks engagement. We use Gorgias to handle all of our common customer questions by having preset responses. We use Tribe Dynamics to track what influencers are saying about the brand, this can help seek out people posting about the brand who may need assistance or just seeking recognition. Interacting with influencers organically helps with brand image and creating loyal customers. We also use Google Analytics to measure engagement, track demographics, and optimize strategy. Using all of these strategies and tools together have proven effective in utilizing our social media for customer service. 4. How do you measure the success of your customer service efforts on social media? What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you track? a. This question is designed to uncover how companies assess the effectiveness of their social media customer service efforts and what metrics are considered most important. Response: Some of the easier KPIs to track while doing customer service via social media are response time, customer satisfaction, volume of messages, and resolution rate. The total messages received vs. resolution rate is imperative. The volume of messages can be telling of any issues within the company. At my company we have been having issues keeping stock for a lot of products and it shows in the volume of messages with hordes of customers asking for specific products. During sales we also see a spike of messages, customers asking for clarification or additional details. During these high volume times it may be harder to keep up the resolution rate, but having standardized responses certainly helps. Response time is also important, since social media is supposed to be the more convenient of options when reaching out to a brand. There has to be a team of dedicated customer service representatives responding to inquiries in whatever is considered a reasonable amount of time for a brand. And of course, customer satisfaction is crucial. 5. Looking forward, how do you see the role of social media in customer service evolving, especially with the rise of new technologies like AI and chatbots? a. This question invites the interviewee to speculate on future trends and the impact of emerging technologies on the use of social media for customer service. Response: Our company already utilizes customer support software (Gorgias), that streamlines the whole customer service process and can integrate several social media platforms. AI is already being used in this program, responding with automated responses to customers frequently asked questions utilizing the brand voice. While this program primarily works through our direct to consumer website and email queries, countless customers seek help through Instagram DM’s and comments. Although we have standardized responses, it is still humans, in our case, responding to these messages. It’s only a matter of time until this process is automated through AI chatbots, especially considering Instagram’s relatively new Meta AI features. I believe there will always be special cases where human intervention is still needed, but much of the customer service process will continue to be more and more automated.