Customer service is an essential part of social media management. Often, it’s one of the first places our customers reach out for assistance when something has gone wrong or when something far exceeds their expectations. But more often than not, customers come to have an issue solved! 

Why Do Customers Use Social Media to Reach Out? 

1. The convenience of social media as a customer service platform cannot be overstated. With the ability to send a message or post from their phones or computers, customers can immediately reach out to a social account. This eliminates the need to navigate a company’s website to find contact information or fill out a contact form, making the process more straightforward and user-friendly. 
2. Responses can be faster than other forms of contact – If your company is large enough, it will have a team monitoring social media accounts several times a day, actively seeking out and addressing questions, comments, and concerns. This proactive approach speeds up the resolution process and makes customers feel secure, knowing that their issues are being identified and resolved without them having to take additional steps. 
3. They want to share their concerns/problems—Customers want to share and see if anyone else has had the same issue. If you have a good follower base, many of your biggest supporters will jump in and offer solutions, even before you or your social team can intervene. I have found that people want solutions to their problems. However, if someone does offer a solution, make sure you still address the comment and that they have the correct information. 

How I Handled Customer Service

I worked at a major craft company and managed a community on Facebook (pages and groups), Instagram (multiple accounts), YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms. 

I managed a community on various social media platforms at the major craft company where I worked. I used Sprout Social to read all the comments left every morning since the previous day. These questions ranged from where their order was, about products, and comments on pictures. It’s essential to acknowledge every comment. This shows respect for the customer’s time and effort and makes them feel valued and heard. Some just required a “Thanks for the kind words.” While others were more involved, and I had to escalate to an education or product expert. It’s essential to acknowledge the problem and tell them you are reaching out to find the answer and should have an answer for them shortly. I usually define it shortly by the end of the day or tomorrow. If there was a delay, I would come back and inform them that I had yet to receive an answer, but the person was researching how to solve the problem, which should be remedied the next day. 

My goal was to address direct messages within an hour during business hours. Comments I tried to answer within a few hours. One important thing to remember is you need to have notifications on. Your phone/tablet and answer questions after hours. Some questions need answering even if you can’t get in touch with someone till Monday, letting the person know you have received their message, and if you can’t handle it, let them know it will be the next business day and you will have someone contact them by getting their contact information. Please note that you should have them share any personal identifying information via direct/private messages, not in public. If customers share personal information in the public areas of social media, I would copy it and then delete the comment. I then would post that I received their information but deleted it for personal safety. 

Here’s how to get the most out of your social media customer service:

1. Set a time frame for how fast it is for you to answer messages. It would be 1 hour, 4 hours, or a day. Be consistent and stick to it. This helps you manage your time effectively and gives customers a clear expectation of when they can expect a response, making them feel that their concerns are being taken seriously and addressed promptly. Acknowledge people who share problems or concerns on your page/profile. If necessary, take the issue to a private message or offline. Problems are easier to solve when you voice chat. 
2. Some people you can’t make happy. For those people, try to be as helpful as possible in your posts and try to solve their problems. If they don’t respond to your solutions, know that some people want to complain. Your followers will see you tried to solve the problem but may be unwilling to let you solve it. 
3. Follow up with the customer after the problem is solved. It’s always good to follow up a week or so after to make sure the problem is solved. This could be a simple message asking if they got the replacement product. 

Customer service is not complex, but you need a system to effectively handle customers and issues as they arise.