The Social Path

Three ways to improve your customer service on Twitter.

We talk a lot about creating great content for our social media accounts, with the goal of engaging fans and encouraging conversation. But sometimes we forget that the best thing about social media is that our fans are already talking — to us and to each other. We can't wait for people to strike up conversations, but we can't get so caught up in pushing out our own content that we forget to join the discussions our fans initiate.

Here are a few tips to stay in tune with your fans.

Make the Most of Search Terms

Set up search terms or columns in a third-party application like TweetDeck or CoTweet. Be sure to include your brand name, products, etc., to capture as many mentions of your brand online as possible. Just because your brand Twitter account isn't tagged or directly tweeted, that doesn't make the conversation any less important. Some of the most productive conversations I've had with customers over Twitter have been with those flattered by the effort we put in to find and contact them, before they contacted us.

Be Sure to Use Push Notifications

Push notifications via Twitter smartphone apps are nice for your personal accounts but mandatory for your business accounts. It's important to know as soon as possible when a consumer is discussing your brand, good or bad. Social media is all about immediate results, and waiting even a few days to thank a consumer for a compliment (or react to a criticism) can tarnish your customer service image.

Avoid Canned Responses

Consumers are on Twitter to talk, so talk we shall! The best way to manage customer relations on Twitter is to use a personal voice. You're not asking consumers to press a number to classify their concerns, so don't give them a canned response. Social media allows us to give our brands and companies a personality. Loosening up seems to be one of the most difficult parts of social media management for some but the effort goes a long way. It bolsters customer loyalty and appreciation the same way it bolsters a friendship.

Sure, this all seems easy enough but with the sheer volume of conversation happening on Twitter at any given time, it's a lot to keep up with. For years brands have provided a 1-800 hotline for customers to call but social media has flipped the script - now it's time for us to find and reach out to our customers. People are out there talking about your brand, whether or not you chose to seek them out and respond is your choice. But given the choice to take control of your own image or let consumers run wild, which one would you chose?

How has your organization used Twitter for customer service? We'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments.

Photo courtesy robpurdie on Flickr.

Kammie Avant is a social media planner for Luckie & Company. You can contact her by e-mail or follow @KammieAvant on Twitter.

How Facebook has made it easier for critics to bash you, and why that might not be such a bad thing.

If you work at a business that has its share of critics, I hope you’re sitting down, because I’ve got some bad news. (The good news being, not many people read this blog standing up in the first place.)

Just as a recent survey found negative comments about products are becoming more powerful online, Facebook has decided to allow anyone to comment on your business's Page without becoming a fan. What a fantastic combination.

As you probably know, commenting on Facebook pages has traditionally been limited to those who first “Like” the page. Some businesses have felt that this creates a mental barrier for critics who don’t want to be seen “Liking” the evil corporate oppressor.

Admittedly, it’s a short hurdle for activists to leap over, but I was still a bit disappointed to see that Facebook recently (and quietly) removed it. Now anyone can comment on a page regardless of whether they’ve Liked it first.

And criticism appears to be more potent than ever. As you can see in the eMarketer chart below, negative information about products is affecting purchase decisions quite a bit more in 2011 than it did in 2010.

So should we all panic? Yes. Yes we should.

No, I’m just kidding. Of course the news isn’t all bad. In fact, you don’t have to try too hard to put a silver lining on this thunderhead.

Two reasons to remain optimistic:

1. Positive comments continue to outweigh the negative when it comes to affecting purchase decisions. You can see it right there in the same chart. People put a lot of stock in customer praise, perhaps because it’s in such short supply these days.

2. Facebook’s change actually opens you up to more positive comments, too. Not everyone on Facebook is a “joiner,” and many people have an understandable amount of Like fatigue when it comes to brand pages. We take it for granted that Twitter has long allowed businesses and consumers to chat back and forth without any sort of subscription being required.

Now businesses on Facebook have a chance to hear from casual customers who are neither superfans nor megacritics, but still have something important to say. And as with anywhere else on the social Web, if you take the time to respond, you might pull off the greatest trick of all: turning a one-time visitor into a customer for life.

David Griner is the Director of Digital Content for Luckie and Company and contributing editor for Adweek’s blog, AdFreak.com. You can reach him by e-mail or on Twitter.

Are daily deals sweet or sour for business? We look at the numbers.

One of the hottest debates in digital marketing right now is the effectiveness of daily deals such as Groupon and Living Social, which use 50% discounts to create buzz and business for clients.

These and their many competitors claim to generate hundreds or even thousands of new customers with minimal effort, but critics say such deals can often do more harm than good by stretching businesses beyond their abilities to offer quality service.

Here's how the typical pros and cons shake out.

Upsides of daily deals:

• Influx of new customers
• Boost in awareness
• High potential for word of mouth and repeat business

Downsides of daily deals:

• Coupon service can take 50% of earnings
• Massive discounting (usually 50% off) can hurt businesses with low profit margins
• Few businesses are truly prepared for so many customers in such a short time
• Backlash from poor customer service

So who's right, the supporters or the critics? The answer is far from clear, but a few new sets of data can at least help business owners make an educated decision.

5% of fans expect customer service, but 100% deserve it.

If you're a social media junkie, you might have already heard some of the great info from this year's FEED report by Razorfish on "digital brand experience." But there's one number that hasn't gotten the attention it probably should.

Check out this list of survey responses, specifically what came in dead last:

What is the primary reason you "friend" a brand online?

1. Exclusive deals or offers: 36.9%
2. I am a current customer: 32.9%
3. They offer interesting or entertaining content: 18.2%
4. Other people I know are fans: 6.2%
5. Service, support, or product news: 5%

That's right, customer service takes a back seat to almost everything, including peripheral connections with friends.

Ready for real head-scratcher? Check out these responses from a new study by Cone:

How would you like companies to interact with you online?

1. Solve my problems/provide product or service information: 61%
2. Offer me incentives (free products or services, coupons or discounts): 58%
3. Solicit my feedback on products and services: 49%
4. Develop new ways for me to interact with brands (widgets, apps, games, etc): 49%
5. Entertain me: 43%
6. Market to me: 43%

On first blush, these surveys seem pretty contradictory, but they actually can be combined to make a pretty powerful statement:

People don't expect customer service from brands online, but it's the No. 1 thing they'd like to see.

Sure, everyone loves freebies, and you've probably heard a lot of surveys like the one up top where people cite special deals and giveaways as a top motivation for following brands online.

But if a desire for free swag were truly the top motivator, you'd have millions of disappointed consumers out there. When brands do giveaways, it's rare that they're handing out more than a handful of goodies, often with hundreds of thousands of fans scrambling to win.

So why don't fans walk away when they don't get free stuff, or when the "special deals" don't turn out to be so special? Are they just compulsive gamblers? I doubt it. I think these people are earnestly interested in your company and are happy to be part of the conversation, even if the perks run light.

Is social media a great place to do giveaways? Absolutely. And you're sure to see great results, as Orbitz did when it recently garnered thousands of new Twitter followers just by offering a few free tickets. 

Here's another great set of answers from the FEED report:

Contests and sweepstakes:

• 96% of participants say it made them more aware of the brand
• 96% are more likely to consider purchasing that brand
• 92% are more likely to recommend that brand to others

But your social media presence can't depend on giveaways and coupons long-term. Nor can it be a blatant bait-and-switch in which you lure people with freebies, then spam them with marketing.

A real social media strategy requires a smart mix of conversation-starters, reactive PR, exclusive updates, and more.

Customer service absolutely must be part of the mix. Otherwise, your focus on giving people what they want might prevent you from giving them what they need.