The Social Media Complaint Department

Take a number, our customer service representative will be with you shortly…

My friend Doug Erickson, who writes an excellent blog here, recently forwarded me an interesting article titled: A Better Way To Handle Publicly Tweeted Complaints.

The gist is that in the age of Social Media consumers have the ability to flame your business in near real-time. And, their complaints reach a wider audience than ever before. This does not just apply to Twitter. You can find “bad” reviews on Facebook, Yelp, Google Places and literally hundreds of other websites.

With that in mind, a business has to balance the need to respond appropriately with the understanding that some people will never be satisfied. Social Media empowers the complainers and the more attention you direct their way the more likely they are to raise their voice.

Keep in mind that no business, service or product is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. If you serve 1000 customers a week at a 99.5% success ratio you still have the potential of pissing off twenty people every month.

People are more likely to complain than to praise-especially in this economic environment. We scrutinize our purchases more than ever which causes us to raise our expectation level on what we get for what we pay. When your company does not deliver on what your customers think you promised, they get cranky.

That’s when they turn to Social Media to vent their frustrations. And vent they will!

While these rants alert potential customers to the pitfalls of doing business with you they also give the greater community at large a chance to defend you. This is the double-edged sword nature of Social Media. However, you can only create support if you consistently respond to any comments made about you. If you develop a reasonable response policy and are honest about dealing with people’s feelings you go a long way towards creating a positive vibe about your company.

So, how should you handle customer complaints in cyber-space?

Pay Attention – Even if you’re not participating in the conversation about your brand – people are talking about you. Monitor Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, etc. Set up Google alerts around your name.

React quickly – But not immediately. The last thing you want to do is pen a knee-jerk reaction to a bad review. You need to defuse the complainer’s emotions with facts. Do what you can to gather as much information as possible so you can address the complaint accurately.

Post Something – When you ignore complaints you foster the image that you do not care. Even if you have a stock answer like: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Customer satisfaction is very important to us. We are investigating this matter and will report back to you with possible solutions shortly”. This sends the message to the 99.5% of your satisfied customers (and any potential customers) that you take this seriously. Remember, your customers will naturally feel affinity to the complainer. How you treat one person is how (they think) you treat everyone.

Do Not Defend – Even if the complainer is a screaming yahoo do not engage in a back-and-forth with them. For goodness sakes, do NOT tell them why they are wrong. Everyone assumes you are wrong. Work backward from that point. When you start debating the issue you give the impression you are not listening.

Follow Up – Once you have resolved the situation to your customer’s satisfaction – let everyone know that the situation is resolved. Better yet, ask the customer to post that. Closure is important.

Go off-line – If possible, engage the complainer off-line. Post your email or direct phone number and encourage them to contact you for resolution. Even if they don’t you come across as the good guy.

Accept Defeat – Despite your best efforts some people will never be satisfied. Others may just be trying to scam you. If you put forth an honest – and public – effort to satisfy them and they are still dropping f-bombs on you…just walk away.

The internet is forever. Reviews of your business will linger for a very long time.When people search for feedback on why they should use you they will find old reviews. Chances are, they won’t notice that the date on the complaint is from 2008. They will only care about the problem and how you solved it.

Thoughts?

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

Why do we use Social Media?

In case you missed it, Pew Research just cam out with a pretty impressive study on our Social Media habits. More specifically, this study is less about how we use social Media and more about why we use it.

You can see the complete study here but some of the highlights have a bearing on how you approach your Social Media marketing:

Two-thirds of Americans on-line are involved with at Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or MySpace. (Why MySpace is included is beyond me…wait, because Justin Timberlake is bringing MySpace’s sexy back). Perhaps the next study will include Google+. All this does is reaffirm the ubiquity of Social Media.

67% say the main reason they use Social Media is to stay in touch with friends. This is followed by 64% who are stay in touch with family and 50% who are looking for old/lost friends. Clearly, Social Media is all about the “me”  - but we knew that.

How does this affect your Social Media Marketing?

First, recognize the power of friendship. If you can get people to follow your business or non-profit you are exposing your message to their friends and family. That is the absolute root of this exercise. If I see your message on my friend’s feed I am much more likely to check you out. It is much more powerful than any Facebook ad or promoted Tweet. If my friend finds you interesting or “like”-worthy, I am more inclined to give you some consideration.

Second, create the kind of content that your followers will care about. Ideally, you are creating content that piques their interest – stuff they will share. At the very least, your content needs to meet a minimum threshold – the one that prevents them from blocking or un-liking you.

Third, you are ALWAYS talking to one person at a time. We may share in this social experience but we do it as individuals. All our Social Media engagements are done as one-to-one. That is a key point to consider when creating content.

You constantly hear about “humanizing” your brand. The only way you can do that is to speak as an individual to an individual. Never address your followers as a collective “they”.

Finally, deliver on expectations. When I allow you into my circle of family and friends I am trusting that you will deliver content and information that fits my perception of you. Do not violate that trust! Stay true to who you are, be consistent and find out what your followers want from you.

Beyond the big three reasons in the study, Pew found that only 14% are looking to connect with people of similar hobbies or interests. Apparently, we are not looking for fellow knitters on Facebook. That doesn’t mean knitters aren’t looking for content from a Knit Shop. They just don’t care to find knitting strangers.

Only 9% are looking for new friends. Seriously, how many people troll Facebook looking for new people to friend?

A mere 5% are looking for comments by celebrities, athletes or politicians. So much for the celebrity influencer theory. The people who are really looking for those comments are journalists and foes. We don’t have the time to track Herman Cain or LeBron James. However, if either says something stupid or newsworthy we can be sure to hear about it from other sources. It is interesting to note that African-Americans and Hispanics are slightly more interested in this – for what its worth the percentages are still very small.

Information like this helps us gain a better understanding on how to use the Social Media space to reach potential customers and donors. It is – at best – an inexact science. However, every bit of knowledge makes us better marketers.

Thoughts?

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

Building your Google+ business page

As promised, this week Google announced that they are adding business pages to Plus. As part of the ballyhooed effort they listed all the brands that have established their foothold in the Plus space. I won’t list them here because you can find them, well, I guess by searching for them on Google+.

That is, if you care.

At this point Facebook has over 800 million people registered for the service. And, according to Facebook, half of them visit the site every day! Google+, on the other hand, has about 40 million users – or thereabouts. Not too shabby for a fledgling Social Media site.

The question is – do you need a Google+ business page right now? Yes, having a presence on that site marks you as cool and cutting edge. People will see that your business or non-profit is socially savvy, etc. But, what do you reap from this new platform.

More importantly, do you have the time to really spend on building out your presence on Google+. Those big brands that are leading the way have two things you probably lack – time and money. They have large digital departments and can easily assign the task to their employees or vendor. The cost is swallowed whole buy their huge marketing budgets.

You, on the other hand, are struggling to keep up with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, Tumblr, You Tube, Flickr, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. You already know that the content you post on Facebook needs to be different from that you post on Twitter. If you are blogging you know how time-consuming it is to come up with frequent topics that you can spin into at least 300 words of prose.

So, do you really need to add Google+ to that job chart? Functionally speaking, the reality is that you’d be most likely to repeat your Facebook content on Google+. It also means you now have another platform you have to monitor daily.

Do not read this as me being anti-Google+. I think it is a fine platform that has some great features. and, the way it integrates with the other Google products has great potential. That is the operative word here – potential.

A little over a year ago, most businesses weren’t even thinking about setting up a page on Facebook. They knew there was some “there” there but it wasn’t deemed as critical. Now, like in the early stages of the web – having a Facebook page is just the cost of doing business. Regardless of how well you maintain or monitor the page you realize you need to be there because people expect it.

Maybe the way to approach this Google+ question is to ask your current fans/customers/donors. Consider posting this question on your Facebook page. Do the same in your email newsletter. If you find that a large enough percentage of your followers are interested in Google+ – start building!

If not, wait to see if Google+’s business pages fulfill their potential. As long as you have a current and focused Social Media strategy ignoring this platform will not hurt you. However, if you have the time and the content to dive in – by all means do so.

The question isn’t what do lose by not being there. It’s – what do you have to gain?

Thoughts?

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

Facebook Page Upgrades

Not a day goes by that I don’t come across a Google alert for a blog or press release that talks about the “6 ways to make your Facebook page more engaging”. These headlines never fail to grab my attention because I am always looking for ways to improve my clients’ appearance in Social Media. Since we are all on a learning curve with this Social Media stuff any knowledge is a good thing, right?

I do believe you need to pay attention to how your Facebook business page is constructed. Fill out the info section accurately. Make sure the little info box on the left has a pithy quote that does not get truncated. And, make sure all your tabs are active and accurate. Have a great profile pic, etc.

These – and other – basic blocking-and-tackling techniques are the minimum amount of effort you need to put into your page.

However, I often see people extolling the virtues of additional apps and – especially – welcome pages. Let me begin by saying that these additions to your business page have their place. If you are, for example, in the business of selling products through your page you need to make it easy for your customers to buy from you. And, yes, a well constructed welcome page can be an enticing invite for a first time visitor.

The problem is that once someone has liked your page they almost NEVER return. There are various studies and reports out there that all pretty much agree that about 90% of your fans’ interaction with your page comes from OUTSIDE your page.

Ninety percent! That means they are seeing your content in their News Feed, on their Ticker or via their friends. They are not coming back to your page to admire your amazing graphics.

The point here is focus your efforts on the one thing that will hold your fans interest – content. Content makes them notice you, remember you and - hopefully – share you.

What is great content? Not to put too fine a point on this, but, great content is what your fans think it is. Great content is not about what you think . It is about what they want or need. If you think for a second people are liking your business page because they want a “relationship” with you – think again. They want something that benefits them – be it deals and discounts or entertainment.

Nielsen just released a study that illustrates this point.

They are not taking the time to cruise over to your page and scroll down your wall to see what you’ve been up to. They save that type of Facebook stalking for their real, human friends.

Your number mission when you are developing your Social Media strategy is to understand your customer/donor/fan base and give them what they want. Pretty graphics and cool interfaces may establish a level of legitimacy for you but for the bulk of their followers it’s all about them.

Deliver on that and your Social Media will be much more effective.

Thoughts?

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

Are you servicing your customers via Social Media?

One of the things I love about the explosion of Social Media marketing is that we get new studies every single day. You would think that Social Media, with its ability to record every interaction and transaction, would provide us with a crystal clear picture of, well, how it is working.

Then along come two different reports that seem to contradict themselves.

First, there is this report from Econsultancy that says 95% of companies do NOT respond to their followers on Facebook. This despite the fact that one of the number one reasons companies venture into Social Media is to – buzz word alert – engage with their customers. So, if this report is truly accurate it appears companies want to engage – but on their own terms. This is an interpretive oversimplification that does not take into account the fact that many wrangle with legal ramifications. Of course, it could also mean they are risk averse and prefer silence to saying the wrong thing.

Either way, doesn’t this defeat the purpose of inviting fans to like you? If you believe Social Media is all about relationships and interactions then shouldn’t any conversation a fan begins require a response?

I have written about my attempts to engage Firestone and on many occasions have posted comments and questions on the Starbucks page – and never received a reply. So, this report does not come as a complete surprise. When someone goes to the trouble of clicking on your like button and allowing your information to infiltrate their Newsfeed and Ticker the least you can do is be aware of them.

Companies are quick to monitor conversations in the Social Media space and talk about influencers and engagement (I am so sick of that word) – yet it would appear they do not have the basic understanding of human interaction. Yes, we are all on a learning curve in Social Media but isn’t customer service a core strategy?

What companies seem to forget is that ALL their fans relate to how you treat ONE fan. People are watching and if your company ignores one question or fails to respond to a negative (or positive) post it sends a message to all fans that you simply don’t care.

Then, there is this study from Market Tools (courtesy of All Facebook) that says that 23% of firms provide customer support on Facebook. Wait…what?

How can this be? How can 5% respond but 23% provide customer support?

That, it seems, is the problem with evaluating what is “really” happening in Social Media. Reports, studies and findings tend to throw numbers out there and become viral. I’m not saying these reports are incorrect – just that they need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Every company’s Social Media situation is unique. Each product or service strikes an emotional chord with their customers. Regardless of the need, you are fulfilling something in a person’s life that makes them want to care about you. Your mission is to find that responsive chord and mine it for all its worth.

Whether the number is 5% or 23% to not use Social Media as a way of handling your customers needs is a huge mistake. If you are going to the trouble of creating platforms and developing content why wouldn’t you include listening as one of your core strategies?

The ultimate end game of Social Media marketing is the same as ANY form of marketing – to get someone to give you money. The difference here is that now the process is a two-way street. I won’t go as far as to say that the power has shifted to the hands (and keyboards) of the consumer. You still control your brand. However, Social Media allows customers greater access – and a louder voice – than ever before. It is word-of-mouth marketing on steroids.

Don’t be among the 5% (or 23%) – play the game to its fullest. You just might win.

Your thoughts?

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

How often should you post to your Facebook business page?

This is the raging debate in social Media, isn’t it. Everyone is looking for the holy grail in Facebook posting. Now, along comes a study from PageLever that is getting some traction.

According to them the average Facebook post has a life expectancy of 22 hours and 51 minutes. Of course, your mileage may vary.

There is one small problem with the study. It measured 20 status updates from 5 pages that each have over TWO MILLION fans. This is not exactly in-depth market research. Yes, the facts stated in the study are true. The beauty of digital media is that we can see exact numbers.

Unfortunately, in our (meaning the Social Media Marketing universe in general) is so hungry for proof of performance they will latch onto a study like this and through careful re-posting and re-tweeting turn it into gospel.

It ain’t.

For most small businesses and non-profits the likelihood of reaching two million Facebook fans is pretty remote. So many are seduced by these large numbers yet fail to realize that quantity is less important to quality. You want people who actually give a rat’s ass about your business or mission. Having a large amount of followers is strictly a vanity number because most of them are so casual they will never pay attention to you after the initial “like”.

But, let’s get back to that 22 hour number. Just because a post “lives” for that long does not mean anyone actually sees it. With the changes to the newsfeed and the addition of the ticker information flies by at a dizzying pace. This is where 90% of your followers interact with you on Facebook. They are not going back to your page and admiring your apps. They are making a snap judgment about you in the blink of an eye. You either grab them NOW or they are gone.

The debate on posting frequency is a spurious at best. There is no magic number. none. Zero. No one can state equivocally that three posts a day is best. Why? Because every business is different! What works for Starbucks will not necessarily work for the local dry cleaner. you need to know your audience and listen to them to determine what works best for you.

You can determine when the best times for posting are by examining your insights. These can tell you what posts received the most attention and you can place your best content at those times.

However, even that research is a bit muddy. To really determine the best times to post you would need to post the exact copy at different times to see when the reaction is best. Of course, once you start repeating content you add a new variable that affects the ultimate outcome.

OK, my head is starting to hurt from all these permutations. The debate should not center on frequency -  it should be all about quality!

Are you delivering on audience expectations? Are you interesting, helpful, funny or (buzz word alert) – engaging?

How often – or when – you post is far less important than WHAT you post. I think that tends to be assumed as we look for the best way to reach people.

Research studies aside, use a little common sense when using Facebook pages to market yourself. Do you really think your fan is going to scroll back 22 hours to see that one post?

Would you?

One of the catch phrases in the radio business is “frequency sells”. You cannot run one commercial a day on the radio and expect to reach someone with your message. It seems the same principle can be applied to your Facebook strategy. While you do not want to repeat the same message over and over like a radio or TV campaign – touching your fans on a frequent basis with quality content will keep you top-of-mind.

Eventually, that will lead to sales or donations.

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

Facebook is still king

Every time Facebook goes through changes there is a hue and cry about how this is it, the last straw, the death knell of the #1 Social Media platform.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of Facebook’s demise are greatly exaggerated.

Nielsen just released their August 2011 report on the top US web brands. As has consistently been the case, Google remains the #1 brand in terms of total audience. This is what you would expect from the King Of All Search.

Facebook maintains its usual #2 ranking on this list – for total audience. However, they dwarf all other brands in time spent on site. For several months this particular metric has been declining. Some took this as a sign that the bloom is off the rose for Facebook. That Google+ was making in-roads and that, in general, people were just tired of the King Of Social Media.

They were wrong. The average US Internet user spends an average of seven hours and 45 minutes a month on Facebook. That works out to an average of 15 minutes a day. The key word here is average. With 163 million users monthly the time spent on-line will vary greatly. Still, if you think that number is small – compare it to Google. Their 176 million visitors spend an average of 3 minutes a day on the site.

This all makes perfect sense when you consider that each site fills completely different needs. you are more likely to linger on Facebook because there is a possibility of a conversation. google is the yellow pages – get what you need and leave.

So, what does this mean when it comes to using Facebook as a marketing vehicle - besides the fact that it is a big pond with a lot of fish compared to Google? Go beyond the metrics and think of the sociology involved.

Google ads are presented exactly where and when you need them – when you are looking for specific information about a specific product. Everything is designed around today’s short attention span. As sophisticated as this is, Google advertising is invasive. Old school in a new school way.

The same can be said for Facebook ads. Despite their innovations with sponsored stories and even newer ideas - the real reason businesses and non-profits are using Facebook is for the FREE advertising potential it offers. Buying Facebook ads is a relatively simple process. Yes, the smarter you are the better you’ll do – but it’s not like producing a TV spot or buying a radio campaign.

This gets back to the age-old debate over engagement and posting frequency. I’ll save the engagement/content debate for another blog. suffices it to say you better be interesting in your audience’s eyes if you want to cut through.

What about posting frequency? Combine the above data with intuitive observations of how the new Facebook Ticker and News Feed operate and you will see that getting your “content” in front of your audience is – at best – a crap shoot. It is pretty well established that 90% of your fans will interact with you through their Newsfeed -not on your page. So, all those pretty apps and graphics are going unnoticed. You need to be in your audience’s face – frequently and with purpose.

Let’s take the “average” Facebook user. Say they check their page for five minutes before work, for five minutes after lunch and for five minutes at home. With their average of 130 friends and 9.8 brand pages – what are the chances they will see your content in those confined windows? Forget noticing, interacting or sharing. The caching of “Top stories since your last visit” helps but can still lead to information overload.

Logic dictates that there is a bell curve of involvement on Facebook. For every 15 minute user there is a one minute and a 30 minute user, and so on. Chances are that the people who have taken the time to like you are probably more engaged than the average user - which works in your favor.

In the end you need to develop a Facebook strategy that is a combination of content and frequency. Can you create two, three or more relevant pieces of content every day? If so – then do it! Your fan base will let you know if you are over posting. Just watch your Insights.

There is an old adage in radio advertising – frequency sells. This is not a cliché – it is something born of truth and results. The same can apply to your Facebook posting strategy. As long as you have the right messages.

To see the above quoted Nielsen study, click here.

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

Just Another Frantic Friday, Episode 9

The year is three-quarters over! Where the heck did 2011 go? Might as well continue the trend and burn off a few more minutes perusing the following…all selected with the personal care and attention you would expect from a random blog on the Internet.

I would have loved to be in the planning session for this one. How could a group come to a consensus on this…especially for something you put in your mouth. Worst ad campaign ever.

There might be a little chicken-and-egg here. Geo-targeting works for people who are looking for it…kinda.

Finally, you can have actual NASA ring tones!

Someone’s idea of the 30 best viral videos of the summer. We report, you decide.

Still searching for an answer…

Belly button lint makes great kindling.

Uh, I asked for medium rare – not well done.

Could you imagine this in the New York subway?

This is awesome. Now, if I could only read Aramaic.

Thanks to my friend Doug Erickson at ericksonmedia.com for sharing this one.

Have a great weekend!

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

Social Media and Customer Service

I have an issue with Firestone tires. So, I figured I’d go on-line to get some information. you know – like everyone else does. You would think that in today’s instant access/instant feedback world a company the size of Firestone would be savvy enough to use this to their advantage.

You would be wrong.

I went to their website and found that the only way I could contact them was via snail mail or telephone. not a single email contact on their site. So, I clicked on the prominently displayed Facebook link figuring that – certainly – this would be a good place to ask a question, get some feedback, start a conversation. The sort of stuff Social Media is all about.

I was wrong. Here is how Firestone Tires is trying to manage Social Media:

The official Firestone Tires Fan Page: 

This page belongs to you. Feel free to share pictures, ask questions, answer questions asked by other fans, throw out an idea or simply say hi.

We ask that you keep the conversation on topic, relevant and safe for all users. 

1. This page is moderated and we reserve the right to remove content or posts that are: 
* Off Topic. 
* Personal Attacks. 
* Illegal 
* Foul Language 

2. Our Fan Page is not designed as a customer support tool. We understand occasionally you may have questions regarding warranty, product specifications and retail locations carrying our products. We will strive to follow up with all comments left on this page but the best place for these requests is on our Contact Us page at FirestoneTire.com 

3. We reserve the right to change these guidelines at any time at our sole discretion. 

In short we ask that you respect other users, stay on topic and have fun.

- Chris, Michael and Angela of Bridgestone Americas Social Media Team

Show us some love by telling your friends about the Firestone Fan Page

Is seems they want to control the conversation. They claim this is NOT a customer support tool. Then, they ask me to go to the website for contact us info. They are doing their level best to make it difficult to talk to them.

I hate to break the news to the good folks at Firestone but Social Media IS a customer support tool. Do they think that 9000+ people liked the Facebook page because they want to read stories about the Firestone racing team?

No! We all know the #1 reason someone likes your business page is because they are looking for a deal (curiously absent from the Firestone page). Yes, they are also looking for information about products and services. But – they also want to ask questions and vent their concerns. Whether Firestone wants that or not is immaterial because they do not control the conversation.

As part of their “house rules” they encourage us to ask questions. Then, they tell us it is not a customer support tool. What kind of questions do they expect us to ask? If you take a look at their page you will see that Firestone rarely responds to any fan posts.

This is not the point of a Facebook page! The cornerstone of any relationship is the free flow of communication between parties. In business, you have to listen. You need your customers more than they need you – especially in an industry as competitive as tires.

I am frequently amazed by how ineffectively major brands handle their social interactions (Starbucks also comes to mind). Yes, Social Media is still in the trial-and-error stage. And, yes, we are still figuring out how to best engage and excite our customers. However, there are some basic rules of interaction that need to be followed.

More importantly, the Social Media model puts the consumer in control. They do not have to like you. They are free to ignore you. Unless you fill their needs or pique their interests they have many other ways to occupy their time.

Make engagement easy. Make it inviting. Make it friendly.

I have said this many times – the bigger brands have the bigger budgets. This allows them to provide us with valuable lessons on best practices or epic failures. While I won’t put Firestone in the “epic” category they have a long way to go before they can be considered a success.

Your thoughts?

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree

Just Another Frantic Friday, Episode 7

Scouring the World Wide Web to bring you the thrills of victory and the agonies of defeat. Wait, no that’s not us…just some stuff to peruse and amuse over the weekend.

As always, any connections to people living or deceased is purely accidental.

Why are the Brits so much more spizzed about Twitter than we are?

What happens when I check in at “free parking”?

Live – from New York! It’s ice cream!

I’m surprised Facebook hasn’t shut this down. Another reason to check your privacy settings.

Caller 10 right now wins…A NEW WIFE!

Save the crab, the trout, the salmon. Why? ‘Cause they’re tasty!

In the pre-Starbucks world women were defined by their ability to make a good cup o’ joe.

Udders are sensitive

Have a great weekend!

Steve Allan, Social Media Specialist

SMThree