09 Mar Dos and Don’ts for Reactive Social Media Engagement
In the growing world of social media, user experience and customer service are playing an ever-crucial role. Your channels are the meeting ground of your community, where they can voice both their love for your brand, and rant about what they wish was different. It’s your job to engage with these individuals and build 1:1 relationships with them. To help you out, here are some quick dos and don’ts for reactive social media engagement with your community on social media.
Dos of Engaging on Social:
Address the user by their name and customize your response to the community member. You want to strive to have a conversation that feels like you are one on one with them.
• Do be transparent.
Describe how exactly you’re going to solve the problem. If you need to, ask the customer to message you through a private message and solve the problem off channel, but still be clear and honest.
• Do be knowledgeable.
When you offer a solution to a problem, make sure you’ve read and understood the situation. Be knowledgeable in your brand and offer accurate responses that truly help the customer, and solves their issue.
• Do stay on brand voice.
When responding to everyone on your channel, remember to stay consistent and stay on brand voice.
People want their problems solved in a timely manner. Responding as quickly and efficiently as possible can do wonders for your brand.
• Do thank the individual.
When everything is handled, make sure to thank the customer for their time in reaching out to you.
Don’ts of Engaging on Social:
• Don’t be silent and ignore posts.
Nearly every post should be addressed, even if the post is negative towards your brand. Every comment brings the opportunity for a positive interaction, even if it starts out as negative. Of course, there are occasions where you shouldn’t respond. If the comments are political, vulgar, inappropriate, or damaging to others in the community, you should avoid responding and hide it if necessary.
Don’t post contradictory information when responding to people, and make sure everyone is treated the same way.
• Don’t be defensive.
Don’t react to people in a negative manner and don’t start arguments, even though it can be tempting if you feel your brand did nothing wrong. Instead, always respond in a positive and understanding tone, and help the customer understand or solve the customer’s problem.
• Don’t be a robot.
Nobody likes talking to an emotionless robot. They like to talk to a human being. Don’t say the exact same thing to every single customer. Be unique, and customize each response to the customer you are talking to.
These are just a handful of important dos and don’ts for when you are responding to people in your social communities. Follow these tips, and you’ll find that more of your community members will become brand advocates, and greatly appreciate your help and response.
Need help creating a community engagement strategy that is unique and customized right for your brand? Contact us right away! We’d be happy to help out. And don’t worry, you won’t be talking to a robot on the other end.
