As social media use continues to grow (especially among younger demographics), it is becoming an increasingly important channel for leading brands.
Where once social media was primarily used as broadcast mediums to push marketing messages, a growing number of customers are now interacting with their favorite brands directly on their preferred social media channels.
Customers are sending queries and questions about the product through their social channels. They simply won’t take the time to make a phone call or write an email – they will often merely Direct Message (DM) an account or post an issue in public. And of course, herein lies the risk. Traditional support issues were on a private 1:1 basis, whereas posting something in public has the potential to go widespread pretty quickly, especially when something goes viral.
As a result, leading brands need to be equipped to react quickly if things turn sour.
In some instances public posting on social media is because it is simply the default mechanism through which younger generations communicate, however, others use this channel to try and apply leverage. By making a claim in public they feel they are unlikely to be ignored, in stark contrast to sending an email into a shared inbox which may go unanswered.
Regardless, brands need both a clear internal policy and sufficient resourcing to deal with issues that can crop up. By way of one example, Ryanair often uses its X account to answer support issues while also leaning in on the edginess of its brand. So when a customer complains about having no window they reply with an image of their purchase which clearly states that “the seat has no window”. Not an approach that most brands would take, but one that aligns with Ryanair’s.
Community Forums
Customers will also interact with the brand through independent community forums like Reddit and may join a conversation others have started.
Conversations can start with people asking the community for help but things can get out of hand quite quickly.
Firstly, there is a risk that community members can answer but can get it wrong. These scenarios can often spiral into complaints that can be brand damaging. In that case, the company should step in to resolve and de-escalate the issue to the satisfaction of the community.
Secondly, the anonymity in these channels means that others can wade into debates to amplify the issue if it is in their commercial interest to do so e.g. someone aligned with a competitor’s offering.
For brands, they need to walk a fine line.
They need to avoid coming across as being overtly commercial on these forums, while simultaneously helping to defend the brand, all while honoring the code of conduct on the particular channel.
In summary, these channels are growing in importance. People can often post negative and sometimes false information about a product which can be misleading and dangerous for a brand. The cloak of anonymity makes it even more challenging to manage sensitively.
Traditionally companies often relied on the marketing function to handle these issues but in many instances, this is no longer sustainable.
- Marketing is not necessarily well equipped to respond to technical product issues or sensitive customer issues (That requires a trained CX team).
- Time-pressed marketing functions can miss these conversations as they focus on other priorities.
Instead, it is advisable to ensure the area is adequately resourced, with trained support agents dealing with any issues sensitively. For brands struggling to manage these interactions effectively, outsourcing social media support to a specialized partner can provide the expertise and responsiveness needed to protect their brand's online reputation.
Otonomee - Supporting Leading Brands
Otonomee has been managing social channels for several leading consumer brands for some time and in parallel has gained significant experience as to best practices around social engagement.
- When to engage?
- When to ignore?
- When engaging, what should the tone be?
- When to escalate to senior management?
- What channels to monitor?
In short, Otonomee has highly trained and competent agents who understand your brand, and tone of voice, and can monitor and interact based on agreed guidelines and practices. If you don’t feel well equipped to manage this area internally, be sure to get in touch.
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