Not so long ago it used to be the norm that if you wanted to voice your opinion about a specific brand, product or service, you had to phone their customer service department if they had any or send a letter to the company headquarters. Before Google was the entry point to anyone looking for information on a specific company, it really wasn’t easy to figure out how to get hold of the right person.
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Those days are over and now the average customer can get an instant response; no pesky phone calls to the organization’s head office and no more waiting weeks to get any response from the letter you sent them.
With the birth of social media marketing and popular channels like Twitter and Facebook, it’s easy to voice your opinion about anyone and anything in 140 characters or less. More businesses are also realizing that they should pay more attention to monitoring what is being talked about them online.
There are many social media monitoring and ORM (online reputation management) tools available that can track any mentions and basically anything being talked about online. When using this software, they can weed out all the serious mentions or posts, trace what was the cause of the mention, and then answer all the mentions that are worthy of a follow-up.
There are many effective ways that you can use social media to solve your problems. Find a couple of suggestions below to make sure your mention, complaint or appraisal gets noticed.
1. Be yourself
Social media is not a medium to only flame complaints. When mentioning a company, always use your real name so that the company you are mentioning can find out who you are and have the ability to respond to your mention or query.
2. Try traditional customer service
This might sound old school and it is, but having your name and concern on record is by far one of the best ways to build a relationship with a company.
3. Research the company
Before you start complaining, check some background information about the company’s reputation first. How are they currently handling customer complaints? Search for them on all the popular social media channels to give you an indication of their reputation.
4. Don’t be a black sheep
Don’t start flaming anyone publicly before you are sure of your facts. This can backfire on you. Ask if someone can contact you to resolve your issue. Remember, social media is public and you don’t want to be labeled as a black sheep.
5. Blogging
If you have a blog, tell your story in great detail on your experience. Use a magnetic title and stay away from bad language, and sarcasm.
6. Going over the top
If you really want to get noticed, create a video and share it on the social media channels that you use. This is dangerous and can also backfire on you so keep it professional and to the point.
Businesses that are building their brand online want to keep their profiles professional and upstanding. Have you voiced your opinion about a brand or product online with social media? Did you get any response?
