These days, when customers have questions about the products they order, they turn to Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. In fact, 64% of customers now prefer to send a message to a business than to call them on the phone. That means tools like Facebook Messenger or Instagram DM are becoming the new hub of customer service. 

But even though social media was always meant to be conversation-driven where brands and customers interact on a close basis, most brands leave their comments and DMs unanswered. According to a survey from Hootsuite, 71% of brands have yet to start investing in customer service on social media. 

In this article, we’ll share how you can start tapping into this missed opportunity (with limited resources) and differentiate your brand.

Customer Care vs. Customer Service on Social

Customer service is specifically post-sales support, where shoppers who have already placed an order with you ask about the status of their shipment, why a product arrived damaged, how they can initiate a return, and so on. 

While brands also need to pay attention to pre-sale comments, these types of interactions are distinct from customer service. “Customer care” refers to the support given to people who haven’t bought from you yet, and we go into more detail on it here.

What is the role of social media in customer service?

Good customer service is vital because it can turn a one-time buyer into a longtime customer. Brands know that it’s far cheaper to sell to a returning customer than to convert a new one. Investing in customer service to ensure people come back to you therefore can save you a lot of money.

Gartner recently predicted that 60% of all customer service requests will be handled digitally by 2023. Much of that customer service is happening on three channels: Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.  

3 Brands Who Get Social Media Customer Service

‍Albany Park

The direct-to-consumer brand Albany Park makes a point of responding to nearly every comment on its Instagram account. Whether it is thanking customers for positive feedback or responding to issues with orders, Albany Park is always engaging its customers. 

Albany Park is also especially attentive to post-sale questions. At times, Instagram commenters complain about shipping delays or to ask whether their order is still on the way. Albany Park responds to these comments and DMs quickly and with a sense of urgency. It promises to fix the problem “asap,” and it makes the customer feel validated. 

Curie

The deodorant brand Curie shows how Instagram has, for many customers, become a vital supplement for other forms of customer service. If a shopper is having trouble getting help on their orders by phone or email, they’ll take to Instagram. There, they know they’ll get a response. 

Take, for example, the interaction below, in which a customer looking to speak to a representative uses the comments to request the best place to reach Curie staff. Curie responded quickly and added an estimated response time. 

Pair Eyewear

Pair Eyewear is a major hit on TikTok. Many of its customers not only discover the glasses brand on TikTok, but they also use TikTok to pose product-related questions. Pair Eyewear understands the importance of meeting these customers where they are, and it is proactive about answering comments related to shipping policy, damaged orders, and more. 

Here’s an interaction on a recent TikTok video, in which a customer complained about the difficulty getting in touch with customer service through traditional channels. 

Common types of inquiries you’ll get on social media: 

• “I haven’t received my order.” The most common message you’ll receive on social media is from customers who are waiting on their order. Your response to these messages should be to apologize, ask for their order number, and give some kind of time estimate about when the product should arrive. 

If the comment is public, you should direct the customer to DM you this info. 

• “I can’t get in touch with you elsewhere.” For plenty of customers, leaving a public comment on Instagram or TikTok isn’t their first choice. They might only do it if they tried to email or call your brand with no luck. 

These comments are easy to respond to, and they absolutely should not be left hanging—just apologize for the inconvenience and direct them to DM you so their problem can be resolved.

• Damaged order. Having an order arrive damaged is such a frustrating experience that customers might take advantage of social media to air their annoyances. These comments should be responded to proactively, and should emphasize that you are working quickly to get them a replacement. 

• Product feedback. Instagram and TikTok often feel like public forums, and people will use the comments section to share their thoughts—whether they’re positive or negative—the way they might in a typical Amazon review.

You can see an example of how to handle these types of comments below, from the deodorant maker Schmidt’s Naturals. The company took the feedback seriously and asked for more details over DM. 

A Guide to Crafting An Effective Customer Service Strategy

• Establish firm response times. Customers expect fast responses on social media. 79% of customers expect to hear back from a brand within 24 hours—and a full 40% expect a response in the first hour. These timeframes can be difficult for brands, unless they start planning for it. 

Brands need to design rules internally that outline how often comments and DMs should be read and responded to. It’s a way to ensure that customers aren’t left hanging. At Chatdesk, we recommend that DMs and comments be read multiple times a day.

• Decide what to handle over DM. When you receive a public comment from a customer, you have a choice: either you can address their issue in the replies, or you can ask them to switch to DM. If a customer complains about the quality of a product, for instance, you may want to simply apologize and move on, or you may want to ask them to DM you more specifics. You should create rules regarding which types of comments should be handled in public. 

Generally, though, it’s a good idea to move to DM. DMs let brands provide more personalized service, based on the specifics of each person’s order. 

• Craft a clear tone of voice. Come up with templates that your customer service representatives can use as inspiration each time they reply. When responding to customer complaints, be sure to develop a tone of voice that is not tongue-in-cheek—a sense of humor can be off-putting when someone is having a problem with your products. 

You should also acknowledge the frustration at hand in every reply. An “Oh no!” or “We are so sorry to hear this” shows more sensitivity than simply asking a customer to DM you, with no acknowledgement of their frustration.

• Telegraph your sense of urgency to your customers. Adding in little words or phrases, such as Albany Park assuring a customer that it will get to their issue “asap,” can help put your shoppers at ease. It makes it clear to them that you’re treating them as a priority.

Practical tips to getting social customer service right

• Your founder should spend time reading and responding to comments in the beginning. Chatdesk always recommends that founders start off answering customer inquiries on social media. Reading and responding to customer comments and DMs gives company leaders a more direct insight into what kinds of comments they should expect to see on social media, and it also makes them more able to draw up guidelines and best practices that are specific to the requests of their customers. 

• Don’t ignore anyone in the comments. Yes, trolls are inevitable, but people who visit your social media page after buying your product are usually earnest shoppers who just want help. Skipping over—or worse, deleting—a request for help in the comments or DMs will make them feel undervalued. Don’t just assume bad faith as a default. 

• Remember that comments are public. Once upon a time, customer service used to happen privately, on phone or by email. Now, with social media, customers can plainly see which brands are responsive to their complaints and which are not.

If you aren’t responsive, potential future customers will see that you aren’t paying attention to your comments section. Fairly or not, they may assume it reflects a failure of your customer service generally. Increasingly, people see how brands engage with their comments as a reflection of their values.

Best Tools and Solutions to Help You with Social Media Customer Service

We understand that customer service on social media can be a lot to manage, especially for an up-and-coming brand with countless other things to worry over. That’s why we recommend leaning on an outside specialist. 

At Chatdesk, we are able to provide expert representatives who can answer your DMs and comments as they roll in, whether it’s on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or more. Chatdesk’s flexible pricing rules mean you can pay for as much, or as little, customer support as you need. 

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