Social media is an invaluable platform for companies all over the world because it allows them to engage and interact with their customers in a way previously unthought of. There are certain best practices to follow when using social media, however, as engagement and interaction don’t just happen; your brand must be careful to provide a space where these components are possible and foster an environment of appreciation and responsiveness. Here are five ways to better interact and provide care for your customers on Instagram.
- Direct questions to a separate account
- Respond in a timely and concise manner
- Save specific and concerning interactions
Enable Comments
One of the most baffling decisions some companies make is to start up their social media accounts, make all the trimmings and aesthetic choices, then proceed to not turn on or actively disable comments. The entire concept of social media, especially for businesses, revolves around the ability for customers and fans of your company to make comments and post about what they love or don’t love about your products or services.
Your company should absolutely enable comments on every thread and every topic. Some companies are concerned about negative comments, but these are actually the comments you should be looking for and addressing. Negative feedback is simply a way to help your company take action and know exactly what areas are seen as deficient in the eyes of your customers. Never be afraid to turn on comments!
Create a New Account for Questions
Your main account will be where most of the action takes place. This is where you’ll provide your customers with new developments, such as new products or services you’re offering, and where you’ll talk and discuss your company in a generalized way with your customers. However, you should also create a separate, original account for the purposes of processing questions and inquiries from your customers.
Questions from customers are great, but Instagram only has so much space available on the screen at any given time, so creating a separate account for these questions will create a more accessible flow on your main account while giving your customers a space to engage their curiosity and even their complaints. If your company receives a large number of questions on its main account, you should heavily consider creating a new, dedicated account just for questions.
Keep Vigilant and Ready
Interaction is a two-way streak. When your company engages and talks with customers, you should be prepared for them to talk back. Your social media manager should always be browsing through comments, looking for what types of things your customers are saying and why they’re saying them. You can also talk to customers through direct messaging and should be ready and looking for any messages sent this way throughout the day.
Take the time to respond to as many comments as you can, showing appreciation and giving your customers the time and consideration, they’ve shown your brand. Doing this will help grow your company on Instagram and will translate to more robust sales over the course of a year. The key to customer service is a quick response time and the knowledge to fix or answer a problem in a concise and clear manner.
Don’t Skimp on Warmth
The number one rule of customer service is that every customer is the most important customer. When you or a social media employee is reading through comments and interacting with customers, whether they’re complaining or praising your company, remember to treat them with the utmost respect and care you can.
Customers who take the time and energy to visit your profile page and start the interaction are only really looking for appreciation and attention from your brand, and you should provide it. This commitment to service and interaction is why many companies hire a social media manager. A manager can handle social media accounts in a way that feels organic and give every customer the attention they deserve.
Save Direct Messages
Feedback is one of the most important components of great customer service, and the digital realm offers an embarrassment of riches when it comes to acting on complaints and suggestions. You can actually save every interaction you have with a customer. All you have to do is go to Settings, then Security. Tap the Download Data option in the Data and History tab, then fill in the e-mail address where you would like the interaction sent to.
This is an incredibly important but simple step to take because your company can always look back at the interactions where a customer is offering a great suggestion and act upon it in a clear and concise way. You’ll never struggle to remember what was said or what specifics were mentioned again. This method of saving comments and coming back to them also allows you to answer their suggestions at your company’s pace, rather than rushing to solve every problem the second it’s brought up.