10 Ways to Use Social Media to Improve Customer Experience and Happiness

Social media can be a powerful communication medium to enhance relationships, earn trust and build brand awareness.

Delivering a solid and quality product or service is only part of the equation for brand success and serving the needs of the always on, always connected customer of today.

What customer journey and experience are you designing for your customers and audience?

Your customers do not just land on your website and then buy from you within 5 seconds. They have likely been on a journey and your website, blog or social platform is simply one of the stops on their journey.

Communicating with your customers when, where and how they want you to communicate with them is critical. Today's mobile and connected customer requires you know not only the right time but the right place to communicate with them. If you don't, they will just go to someone else, to another brand who has taken the time to understand who they are and what they need.

Smart brand leaders know that social media can help them differentiate and rise above the sea of status quo and leap frog their competition if implemented correctly and with goals that help improve user and customer experience. Social media can easily be used to provide the most positive experience possible. Social media can be leveraged to nurture relationships with customers, prospects, partners and their broader community.

Every brand touch matters. From the first touch on your website, contact form to your Facebook page, Twitter communication, email marketing or phone conversation with your customer or sales support team, every brand touch requires thorough thought and planning.

Did you know that it takes on average 6-7 brand touches before someone will remember your brand? You have less than 10 seconds when a person lands on your website or blog for the online visitor to determine if they are going to stick around to learn more about you or bounce right out. The same goes for when they land on your Facebook page, LinkedIn company page or your own personal social profile on any of the social networks.

Your brand is not what you say it is or what you write for your corporate Twitter bio, Facebook profile or LinkedIn company page. Your brand is what people say about you. Your brand is what and how you make people feel.

Your brand is the experience you deliver to customers, prospective customers, partners, your community and your audience online and offline. Your brand is how quickly you reply and answer questions. Your brand is the tone you use when communicating with your peers, thought leaders in your industry and niche, your employees and even competitors online.

You brand is how you show gratitude. It's how you handle a public online, crisis. It's how you build and nurture community.

Customer experience is your brand, period.

What customer experience are you delivering your customers, audience, partners and community online? Is it positive? Is it human? Is it authentic? How transparent is it? Is it helping you build a lasting and meaningful impression? Is it inspiring people to connect with you, engage with you and buy from you today, tomorrow or next year? Or is it turning people off? Is it pushing them away or bringing them closer to you and your brand?

Take a listen to the 191st episode of the Social Zoom Factor podcast to learn 10 easy ways you can start using social media today to provide an amazing customer experience for your audience, customers and broader online community! Learn how you can leverage social media to differentiate your brand and win in your specific industry and niche.

Be sure to subscribe to this entire brand new series, “Get Fit Social Digital Business” on iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud!

In this 25 minute podcast you will learn: 

• 10 ways to improve customer experience using social media
• How to design a customer journey that inspires and connects you with your ideal customer and audience
• Why you must be proactive in creating a crisis preparedness plan vs being reactive and waiting until a major crisis happens and causes major problems for your brand and business
• How to integrate social media into the overall customer journey and experience
• How you can enhance the customer experience at every brand touch point
• Why even answering simple questions quickly online using social media can improve customer satisfaction
• How to solve problems by integrating social customer service processes into your overall business support procedures
• How to leverage social media and social customer service to differentiate from your competition
• How to gather feedback and customer insights to learn about your customer
• The power of giving your employees and customers a voice
• Embracing the power of brand humanization and ensuring that you are communicating with your customers in an authentic, transparent and human way

Supporting Resources:

• Audience Analysis Worksheet (worksheet to help you prioritize your niche)
• Differentiate Your Brand with Personalized Customer Experiences
• Customer Experience is Your Brand – Adobe Summit Inspiration
• Omni-Channel Marketing in a Nutshell
• 10 Things You Must Know About Your Audience and Social Media Communities
• How to Build an Integrated Digital and Social Platform that Works Even When You're Not Working
• 5 Easy Ways to Ignite Employees as Brand Evangelists
• Digital Body Language: 105 Factors Impacting Your Personal and Business Brand (white paper)
• Welcome to the Inspiration Age (episode 170)
• Welcome to the Participation Age
• Content Calendar Template

Free webinars: We are also launching a series of webinars and training opportunities to dig even deeper. Sign up here-> Get Fit Social and Digital Business Series

How to Subscribe to Social Zoom Factor Podcast 

•  iTunes
• Stitcher
• SoundCloud