The solution to your social media challenges may already be on your payroll. The problem is, you might find that your solution will take a team instead of an individual.
Customer Service Veterans
Who has been dealing with your customers already? The front line of your workforce: those who deal with the public and provide the interactions that make your business unique in your industry. This valuable resource is often overlooked by those further away from the actual contact with those who look to you for products or services. It’s easy to reduce customer questions to a script because scripts can be controlled. The problem is, people don’t follow scripts when they call a business, and they don’t appreciate canned responses when they have a problem.
I think the rise of social media is happening because people want to connect on an individual basis. We are all hungry for community and looking for ways to belong. Social media provides a non-geographic tribe to become a part of and the appeal is that it is non-scripted. It’s a natural result of being able to find more people like you.
So how do your customer service veterans fit into this picture? They have years of getting to know your customers. There’s experience dealing with questions and complaints, and there’s both knowledge of the tribe your business wants to reach and wisdom about what works. It’d be foolish to ignore the valuable insights your experienced employees already have about connecting with customers.
Tech-Savvy Solutions
Technology is a tool. Tools don’t use themselves, they need to be wielded by those skilled in using them. Imagine getting your customer service veterans comfortable with being the voice of your social media marketing. Creating a team built from both kinds of people, the tech savvy and the people savvy, means that team members can learn from each other.
Social media is a thing that constantly is changing. The specific sites being used, or even the technology being used, will probably not be the same in two years, but the basic need to connect isn’t going to change as far as I can tell. If your social media teams are changing along with the tech stuff, the people skills are going grow with the experience gained. If your customer service veterans are valued and empowered to wield the tools of social media for your business, it could be a powerful boost to your marketing efforts.