5 STEPS TO BETTER SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

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ContentsIntroduction 1

Step One Identify Whatrsquos Actionable 2

Step Two Find Your Voice 4

Step Three Scale Response Times 7

Step Four Solve Problems 10

Step Five Fix It For the Next Customer 13

1

IntroductionSocial media is more than just a marketing tool mdash itrsquos a space for personalized convenient and quick customer engagement Last year there were over 879 million complaints on social media directed at brands Beyond that there were just as many compliments questions comparisons and so on Whether you like it or not people are talking about your brand on social media

The good news is you have the opportunity to influence the conversation and save your company money by supporting customers via social In this eBook wersquoll explore how brands can service customers on social media and review sites in a way that makes the most sense for their audience increasing customer loyalty while reducing the cost of service

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2

Identify Whatrsquos Actionable The importance of tracking all feedback and company mentions across social channels can not be overstated In todayrsquos fast paced digital world tweets at leading B2C brands are growing by over 50 percent per year and the number of monthly unique users requesting help grew by 54 percent year-over-year from 2013 to 2015(1) With this much information coming in brands must identify whatrsquos actionable and leverage technology to help prioritize and flag customer feedback and translate it into action The results will be tangible business savings and happier customers

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Hhgregg set out with the goal of improving customer response times By leveraging a single feedback hub the company improved response times by 250 percent and improved customer loyalty as a result(2)

Take it from the expert

5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

3 of customers who mention a brand on Twitter use its handle

So how can companies tackle this challenge They can start by collecting all feedback and consolidating this data into a single dashboard This can be difficult as only 3 percent of customers who mention a brand on Twitter use its handle(3) However an automated analysis system using natural language processing can help ensure mentions donrsquot slip through the cracks by catching brand name mentions that humans may miss

With all of your social feedback housed in one location you can more easily prioritize requests and answer the most pressing issues first By applying the appropriate flags identifying urgency and assigning clear ownership within and across teams you can ensure timely and effective management of all customer feedback

The final step is passing information along to the teams and departments who can best translate customer feedback into tangible business results And remember even though some social requests may be more urgent than others you still need to respond to every customer no matter what

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The London Transit Authority handles over 100K social interactions per month across multiple social media accounts When a question or update comes in the organization not only ensures every request is addressed but also passes any relevant information along (such as an issue at a specific train station) to teams on the ground at that station who have the power to directly resolve the issue This means customers see fast results and the direct impact of their feedback leaving them feeling empowered and more loyal

Take it from the expert

Find Your Voice Social media platforms are unlike any other space mdash these forums are completely public call for casual interactions and require short statements that pack in a lot of information all at once Whatrsquos more these digital channels provide you with an unprecedented opportunity to create a two-way dialogue with customers That means yoursquoll have to adjust your brand voice to match these needs without losing sight of who you are Recent research found that 63 percent of global customers would buy from a company they consider to be authentic over and above competitors (4) Therefore authenticity or lack thereof can make or break your brand

4

of global customers would buy from a company they consider to be authentic over competitors63

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5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

When building a social customer service program three tips to keep top of mind in order to successfully translate your brandrsquos voice to social areKnow Your Voice Inside and Out Itrsquos hard to translate your brandrsquos identity for social unless you know your brandrsquos voice inside and out Before taking social on ensure your company has a starting point to work with Itrsquos also important to provide the team with guidance on when a casual brand voice should become more formal

Speak to Your Customersrsquo Interests Your customers donrsquot want to talk about your brand on social media Figure out what your customers love to talk about and then determine how you can insert your company into those conversations As Dave Kerpen CEO of Likeable Media says ldquoAsk questions tell stories listen and relate to peoplerdquo(5) If you market too heavily yoursquoll push your customers away

Balance Casual Conversation with Professionalism Although social media calls for colloquial language you need to maintain a professional tone throughout your conversations with customers to maintain their trust in your brand These digital channels are meant for fast and quick interactions Trying to resolve complex issues on Twitter or Facebook will do more harm than good to your brandrsquos identity because customers will assume yoursquore not taking their issues seriously Thus know when itrsquos time to migrate from public social threads to direct messages or other private channels to address a customerrsquos question

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5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

Once you know what your voice should be on social you must create a template to help your social customer service team successfully express that tone and narrative to your customers Be aware that digital media is constantly evolving so this template needs to be concise and malleable Answer the most important questions first For example which department will manage the social customer service program Or how many social channels should you have These guidelines are a stepping point to build upon so you can adapt your program and strategy to keep up with your customerrsquos demands and expectations Following the script will help keep your brand voice consistent across social media platforms But keep in mind that an unexpected crisis or external event could call for a change in plans so be ready to trash the script if the moment calls for it refer to the escalation policy and update your strategy accordingly

The Brussels airport was the target of a devastating terrorist attack on March 22nd 2016 At the time Brussels Airlinesrsquo communications team was made up of just five people mdash all well versed in handling crises such as bird strikes and even plane crashes When tragedy struck they stuck to protocol for the first few hours The communications team put an alert on their website and the CEO released a statement

However the team quickly realized that this communication looked very cold and dry They pivoted to a new strategy on the fly and completely reworked their tone on social Herersquos what you can learn from Brussels Airlinesrsquo communications team

bull Stop All Normal Activity The communication team changed their logo to grayscale and pulled all ads from Facebook and Twitter to show respect to those affected by this attack

bull Divide and Conquer The communications team divided up the staff into two groups mdash front line and booking mdash and provided employees with FAQs so employees were well prepared to handle difficult questions They then routed the social inquiries appropriately across hundreds of staff for fast handling by the right person

bull Be Prepared You never know when yoursquoll be thrown into a crisis so make sure your team knows how to maintain brand voice on social platforms during sensitive times Holding regular crisis exercises can help keep your team on its toes

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Case Study

Scale Response Times It should come as no surprise that time is of the essence mdash this is true of all customer service interactions But did you know that 77 percent of US adults engaging with brands online say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to ensure quality service(6) Speed especially when it comes to social customer care is crucial

However what qualifies as ldquofastrdquo is up for debate According to Baer Research 42 percent of customers who complain on social media expect a reply within 60 minutes but the average response time from businesses is five hours(7) With that in mind brands should strive to respond to each piece of social feedback in an hour or less And for brands with the appropriate resources the goal should be to respond to customers in a matter of minutes

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5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

While speed is important so is quality You need to understand how much volume your social customer service team is handling daily so you can set reasonable service goals and push for continual improvement Based on feedback volume herersquos what your team should strive for

Minimal Amount of Feedback5ndash20 Requests a Day

With just a handful of social feedback coming in each day your team should be able to knock social customer service out of the park with personalized engagement and response times under an hour Even if your social customer service team is small you have an opportunity to impress customers with thoughtful responses and quality solutions

Average Amount of Feedback20ndash1000 Requests a Day

With a manageable amount of social feedback coming in each day the best approach is to stay on top of responses and strive to resolve issues in as few touchpoints as possible That way you can keep up with volume as it comes in without sacrificing quality On days where therersquos a spike in traffic be sure to sort feedback in terms of priority and work through the most pressing problems first

Large Amount of Feedback Over 1000 Requests a Day

With a high volume of social feedback coming in each day itrsquos important to have a robust social customer service team with a global presence and the right supporting technology Once you have your team in place the goal should be to touch base with each customer quickly and resolve urgent issues first

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5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

After yoursquove established a realistic response window to measure your team against there are a number of strategies you can implement for continual improvement Take the following steps to ensure your team is able to meet their goals and push service to the next level

Hold Your Team Accountable Make sure you are tracking response times and reviewing results with your social customer service team

Practice Common Scenarios To increase efficiency have your team practice responding to common questions and concerns You may also choose to create a playbook of scenarios for your team to reference on-the-go

Be Transparent If you canrsquot provide social customer support 247 make sure your social media profiles state your hours of operation You may also wish to display average response times so customers know what to expect

Establish a First Touchpoint Quickly If you encounter a complicated question and canrsquot respond right away make sure to let the customer know you received their request and will get back to them as soon as possible

Constantly Improve If you are not responding or yoursquore taking hours to reply set goals and strive to get better Your customers will notice and thank you

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10

Solve ProblemsSocial media is more than just a space for light interactions with your followers And its not just a forum for your customers to share complimentary or critical thoughts about your brand Now social media provides you with an opportunity to solve customer issues in real-time Customers expect brands to provide adequate assistance on whichever platform they choose to reach out on Theyrsquore increasingly turning to social media to quickly access that support Recent research has found that 67 percent of consumers are now utilizing social media to interact with brands around customer service issues That number is only expected to grow as digital natives become the largest consumer sector(8)

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5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

Itrsquos not enough to just acknowledge issues over social media and then redirect customers to another channel for the help they need A mere 2 percent of all customer complaints that are redirected to a brandrsquos email address or contact center phone number on social media specifically requested it(9) Routing social complaints back through more traditional channels is inefficient Whatrsquos more leveraging social to solve customer problems directly at the source has the potential to save dollars and positively impact your bottom line Taking care of a single inbound telephone call typically costs a company between $6 and $8 per interaction whereas handling that problem on social media costs less than $1(10) Resolving issues on social media prevents the customer from taking their problem to the phone lines thus saving your company precious time and money

While the ultimate goal is to solve each issue without routing customers to another channel there are a few instances when itrsquos necessary Herersquos when itrsquos time to take things offline

bull Itrsquos Taking Too Many Touchpoints If itrsquos taking a lot of back-and-forth to get the information you need to assist a customer or they have a number of follow-up questions it makes sense to offer up an email address or phone number for more thorough support

bull The Solution Requires Long Term Changes If a customerrsquos concerns require long term changes that canrsquot be made in the matter of an hour yoursquoll want to follow up with them once the issue has been completely settled In this instance it may make sense to follow up with customers via email or phone

bull Sensitive Information is Involved If a customer needs to share confidential information (credit card information social security number etc ) to confirm their identity before you can assist them itrsquos time to pick a different more private means for communication

When to Take Things Offline

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5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

Here are four key guidelines to follow for successful social customer care problem solving

1 Get your customers the information and solutions they need in as few touchpoints as possible If you can solve their problem in as little as 140 characters without directing them to other channels why wouldnrsquot you

2 Direct feedback to the right department Social customer service should be a holistic priority throughout your organization Make sure that problems that canrsquot be solved quickly are routed to the appropriate channels within your organization to assure even the most complex problems are resolved

3 Encourage customers to turn to social for support moving forward By continuing to delight customers on social media and reinforce that it is an efficient and effective platform for dealing with their issues you can keep long term costs down

4 Put common answers into a public forum Instruct your social customer care team to point users to this forum for longer more detailed answers to questions

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Fix It For the Next Customer In the heat of the moment your team should be focused on addressing customer concerns as they come in But therersquos an opportunity to go above and beyond by fixing issues for the next customer so your team doesnrsquot see the same feedback time and time again Say goodbye to band-aid solutions by leveraging social customer feedback data identifying trends and working with relevant departments to solve these problems forever

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5 Steps to Better Social Media Engagement

In practice the biggest challenge in solving problems to avoid future issues is making customer experience a company-wide initiative Every department mdash from sales and development all the way to billing mdash impacts the customer experience but employees that donrsquot communicate with customers on a daily basis may not realize it Thatrsquos why itrsquos important to establish partners across your company who can act as liaisons between each department and your social customer service team

Once you have established connections between each department and your social team take on a closed-loop management style in which feedback is shared consistently and progress is tracked carefully Ensure that data is compiled in a way that makes sense for each individual department and that actions are clearly assigned

Department contact point

reports back to social customer

service and customer service

teams on outcome

Relevant departments receive reports and adjust strategy and procedures accordingly

Customer service team compiles data from social team call center email etc analyzes results and creates customer reports tailored to each relevant department

Social customer service team

collects customer feedback and

identifies trends

1 2

34

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Clarabridge CX Social is the most comprehensive platform for real-time social customer service and engagement CX Socialrsquos solution operationalizes customer analytics and helps business leaders present a more attuned organizationmdashone that not only listens but also adjusts to customer desires With CX Social businesses can track all conversations relating to their brand filter out the noise streamline engagement and respond to what matters most to customers

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Clarabridgersquos SaaS customer service solution CX Social helps hundreds of the worlds leading brands engage and service customers via social media Offering the most comprehensive solution for social listening analytics routing and team management is why leading brands trust Clarabridge to power their customer service teams The result faster and more affordable customer care

For more information visit wwwcxsocialclarabridgecomBlog | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

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