At Key Digital we love social media but we are always looking to try new ways of using it – particularly in a business sense.
We are big advocates of using social for customer service and are well aware that the bigger brands such as FatFace and Next are using it to connect with their customer and answer questions on a range of topics – from choosing a product, right the way through to the best method to return one.
H&M have been the latest to run a Twitter Q&A session – but this time they pulled in the mighty marketing machine that is Mr David Beckham – with a campaign running using the hashtag #AskBeckham.
By all accounts the Q&A session went down very well.
Over the last few weeks have been encouraging a couple of clients to try out this type of method and for both of them it has gone down a storm.
Dorwest Herbs Facebook Vet Advice
Dorwest Herbs has now set up a regular Friday afternoon Q&A slot on Facebook where they answer questions about pet ailments and what the best treatments are. With two vet advisors they were inundated with questions.
The first ‘Ask an Expert’ session on FB was a huge success today, in fact it needed two of us replying! So thanks, a great initiative.
Jo Boughton-White
Dorwest Herbs
Dorset Fire & Rescue Facebook Recruitment Q&A
By comparison we saw Dorset Fire & Rescue Service try out their first Facebook Q&A session last week.
Used to promote their latest Firefighter recruitment drive they had two retained fire fighters and an HR representative answering questions on what it was like to be a firefighter. With questions ranging from colour blindness to on-call rotas and 54 comments the session was a great success.
This is the first time DFRS have used this kind of approach – and with a desire to be a more community-led Fire Service – the use of social media in this kind of way has enabled them to get first hand input from potential local employment candidates.
Using Social Media for Customer Service
The trend for consumers over the last couple of years has been to turn to social media when making buying decisions so the opportunity for businesses to engage and help that process is an obvious one.
Social platforms like Facebook and Twitter aren’t just for brand exposure and promotion. These two-way communication tools are fast becoming the option of choice for customers who have issues or questions. When service is delivered well, customers that use social media will talk about it; but when the service is poor, they are likely to raise their online voice.
Hopefully with the examples above I’ve convinced you of the need to treat social media as a new dimension of customer service for your business.
