Your Customers are Talking Social; Are You Listening?

According to statistics, 87% of online users rely on social media to make decisions regarding a purchase. There's no denying that social media opens multiple channels for sales and revenue generation. With the user count for online platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter swelling by the minute, businesses must align their cross-channel strategies to prioritize catering to this audience segment.

But what does it take to get started with social customer service? How can you achieve this with the right tools? We answer that and more in this quick guide. Read on.

Empowering social listening with Salesforce

As a globally acclaimed CRM, Salesforce provides social media monitoring and engagement features in two main areas: Service Cloud and Marketing Cloud. In Service Cloud, you can use the Social Hub to monitor social media channels for mentions of your brand, product, or keywords. You can also engage with customers directly from the Social Hub by responding to their posts or comments. In Marketing Cloud, you can use the Social Studio to monitor social media channels and create engagement campaigns.

Here are a few ways these tools help businesses ace social customer service:

1. Automatically prioritize social media interactions

Salesforce helps businesses with social customer service by automatically prioritizing social media interactions. This means you can quickly see which interactions are the most important and must be addressed first. This is done by considering factors such as the number of likes, comments, and shares, and the sentiment of the interactions.

2. Respond to customers in real-time

Salesforce enables you to respond to customers in real time. This is important because it allows you to resolve issues quickly and efficiently. You can see all the interactions in one place and set up automated responses.

This is especially useful for common issues or questions that customers might have. By setting up an automated response, you can save time and ensure that the customer receives a prompt and accurate response.

3. Get insights into customer sentiment

In addition to responding to customers in real time, Salesforce also helps businesses by providing insights into customer sentiment. This is important because it lets you understand how customers feel about your brand or product. With this information, you can make changes to improve the customer experience.

For example, if you see that many customers are unhappy with a particular aspect of your product, you can make changes to improve it. Or, if you see that customers are generally happy with your product, you can use this information to create marketing campaigns that highlight positive customer sentiment.

4. Monitor social media channels for brand mentions

With the advanced capabilities of the Salesforce clouds, you can quickly see and respond to any negative sentiment. It also allows you to engage with customers about your product or brand.

For example, if you see a customer tweeting about a problem they're having with your product, you can quickly respond and offer to help. Or, if you see a customer talking about how much they love your product, you can engage in the conversation and thank them for their positive feedback.

Monitoring social media channels is also a great way to stay up-to-date on what customers say about your brand. This information can be used to improve the customer experience or create marketing campaigns highlighting your brand's positive aspects.