Customer service and technology - social media, mobile & more

Using Technology to Improve Customer Service
Use social media like FaceBook, Twitter, and blogs to engage withyour customers; be productive with Google Documents; learnmobile tips & tricks like the e-mail address of your cellphone andusing your phone to read barcodes, UPCs, and QRcodes.
robin fay aka georgiawebgurl, 10/2011

robin fay / georgiawebgurl @ robinfay.net, twitter, linkedin, google+

Trends in technology:
Social media
Customization and personalization
Mobile, mobile, mobile
smaller screens
The rise of gadgets that can interact with the web and others without being on the web
GPS/Directions
Posting pix directly from cameras
Smaller screens
Apps vs. just web
Buying using a cell phone

Trends in technology:
User created content - blogs, movies, reviews (such as yelp, amazon reviews, and ratemyprofessor), tweets & more
Take away information - QR Codes, saved maps, etc.
Broadband + Wifi - more access everywhere - more instaneous
Webcams and inexpensive HD quality
Security and privacy issues

nearly three-quarters (73%) of American cell phone owners are texting, and nearly a third (31%) prefer texting to talking. - Pew Internet Research, Sept. 2011

65% of American use social media sites like Facebook or Twitter - August 2011

..but search is still the number 1 activity online.

So, we:
need to be where our customers are
provide services that are relevant to them.
Make the best use of our time through tailoring services and products while using resources efficiently

The Big 3:
Social Media
Mobile
The web (our website)
Since most of us have a website and hopefully a web editor, we’ll focus on Social Media & Mobile.

Facebook Pages

Facebook
Pages not personal accounts should be used for organizations and departments because they
provide statistics
allow a relationship without invading personal privacy (Like!)
are a powerful communication, promotion and information tool
subscribable!
provide tools such as widgets to use on your website
are publicly indexed on the web
can be shared with others outside of Facebook
can be designed using Iframes and widgets to provide a more customized interface
help establish identity and brand
can be a centralized presence

Twitter

Twitter
good for promotion and community building
ease of rebroadcast
subscribable
can be like shouting in the wind
good for immediate information and resource sharing
its own language and simplified privacy settings (public or private)
focus on real time
Various 3rd party tools for twitter stats

Google – not a traditional social media tool
Google’s suite of tools is robust – blogger is now owned by Google as is Youtube
Google+ has recently been rolled out which can include Picasa Web Albums, Google Buzz, Youtube & more – social media the Google way
Google documents can be used to collaborate and share work including presentations such as this
Google calendars can be used to share scheduling and events
All Google products are cloud based except for the Picasa Image Editor (although the album are web based)

Other social media sites
Youtube (movies)
PodcastAlley (podcasts)
Flickr, Picasa Web Albums
Google+
Tumblr, Blogger (Blogging)
Myspace , PageFlakes,& more
Find what works for your community and focus on your community.

Using social media to connect with your users & track what’s being said about you (track message + track reputation):
Set up a Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alerts to monitor your name/brand, etc.
Look for links back to your content, shares on Facbook, RTs on Twitter, etc.
Social media can be used to:
respond to criticism
communicate directly
promotion of events
pr
get feedback
find testers/survey takers
get help to promote your content (go viral!)

tools to track reputation:
Pbgrader
Klout
Facebook Pages statistics
Google alerts
Website statistics – referring links, traffic, etc

Smart uses of social media:
Read the TOS and Privacy statements. Yes, they are boring and confusing….and they sometimes change.
Always doublecheck preferences or options in any social media site.
Think about the information you give away. Use a “throwaway” email address for personal use; use a generic departmental email when participating on behalf of your institute.
Don’t make your private life public (unless that is your goal). Be aware of social networking etiquette.
Be aware of your department’s social media policies and practices.
..and always be aware of USG and your institution’s computer usage policies.

Smart uses of social media:
Timesavers
Batch process
Automate when possible (one post> to multiple sites)
Automatically send blog posts directly to a twitter account> twitterfeed.com
Selectively send twitter to post as facebook status: selectivetweets app in fb ; then add #fb to the end of a tweet
Automatically send blog posts to facebook> Use networkedblogs app in facebook (need to setup account at networkedblogs, too)
Schedule time for creating content and engaging with audience
Spellcheckers and other plugins
See my “Automating your social media” for information about specific tools

On to Mobile
Your phone is a powerful resource. If you have a smartphone (Android, Iphone, tablet), you can download tons of apps.
If you have a smartphone with a camera, you can use it get information via QRCodes or even barcodes .
If you don’t have a smartphone, you can still take advantage of texting features including blogging, tweeting, the weather and even movie times!

QRCodes = Quick Response code.
Using an app like Barcode scanner – you can scan a QR Code and get all sorts of info. QRCodes can load information into your address book, provide maps & directions, look up prices – all sorts of things.
You can even create QRCodes for your business cards: http://www.the2dcode.com/qr-code-generator

Besides apps on smartphones any phone that can text has an email address… which is really useful!
Your cellphone's email address
10 digit phone number @ the domain from your service provider.
Alltel : [10-digit phone number]@message.alltel.com
Boost: [10-digit phone number]@myboostmobile.com
Tmobile: [10-digit phone number]@tmomail.net
Verizon: [10-digit phone number]@vtext.com
List at http://sms411.net/how-to-send-email-to-a-phone/
.

Another way to find your mobile email address: Compose a text message from your cell/mobile and send it to your email address. From the email you received you can find your cell phone’s email address.
When you send the SMS from your computer, the first 160 characters will be delivered and the subject of the email is also counted towards this.

Texting – smart texting for most phones
Weather: Receive a local 36-hour forecast from Weather Channel every day.
Text "SUB + FCST + your 5 digit US zipcode" to 42278 or 78676 ex. "SUB FCST 90210"
Text "pollen" + ZIP code or city name + GA to 42278 or 78676 for a one time alert (or subscribe below).
Complete list http://www.weather.com/mobile/customtextmessaging.html
Reply "STOP" to any message (to end). Note: Not offered for Sprint/Nextel, Boost Mobile, and Virgin Mobile

Texting – smart texting for most phones
Search Google: Text message your search query to 466453 (GOOGLE) > Google will text you back results.
Blog via text (Blogger): Send an SMS text message with the word “REGISTER” to 256447 (BLOGGR)
Movie times: text your zip code to FNDGO (36346) or “m” plus your zip to 4INFO (44636), you’ll get a text message back with movie show times in your area (US only).

Our customers and community are in social media and using technology – we need to be using it too!
Materials used
All available at http://www.delicious.com/georgiawebgurl/social_media_training_materials
Also, please check slideshare.net/robinfay/ for lots more on identity and social media.
Thanks!
Questions?
georgiawebgurl@gmail.com
@twitter
@linkedin
@delicious

http://contentdivergent.blogspot.com	37
http://www.contentdivergent.blogspot.com	13
http://contentdivergent.blogspot.co.uk	1

Customer service and technology - social media, mobile & more

by robin f on Oct 05, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

3 Embeds 51

Statistics

Customer service and technology - social media, mobile & more — Presentation Transcript