The document provides 5 tips for providing great social customer service: 1) Educate and empower the customer support team on social media processes and guidelines; 2) Create separate social media channels for customer support that are different from official company channels; 3) Be proactive by identifying potential issues early and announcing mistakes promptly; 4) Respond thoughtfully to criticism by not reacting negatively and resolving issues quickly; 5) Monitor online conversations using tools like Hootsuite, Radian6, and SproutSocial to listen to customers.

1. 5 Tips to providing great
Social Customer Service

2. What is Social Customer Service?
“Social customer service is the practice of
extending a business’s existing service
platform to include social media channels.”

4. Tip #1: Educate and empower your
customer support team
● Provide them with social media education
● Ensure they understand processes, guidelines,
and tone of voice your company wants to convey
on social channels
● Empower your support team to provide excellent
service

5. Tip #2: Differentiate your social
media support channels
Create a separate Facebook page or Twitter
handle which is different from your official
company Twitter or Facebook page to handle
customer concerns.

6. Tip #3: Be proactive
● Identify potential issues before they escalate
● Announce mistakes as early as possible
● Helps to build a distinctive brand
● Increases customer loyalty
● Decreases customer support inquiries

7. Tip #4: Be positive and thoughtful
when faced with criticism
● Don’t react negatively
● Craft a thoughtful response
● Encourage and respond to feedback
● Listen, empathize, and resolve issues in a timely
manner

8. Tip #5: Find the right listening tool
● Monitor online conversations
● Social customer service is all about listening
● Some popular social media monitoring tools are:
Hootsuite, Radian6, Simply Measured, ZenDesk,
SproutSocial, SparkCentral and many others

9. “For social customer experience, it’s important to
speak to customers where they are and when they
need you.”

10. Thank you!
Armin L. Hoempler

11. Sources
● Definition: Social Customer Service. (2016, August 5). Retrieved March 20, 2017, from
https://www.callcentrehelper.com/define-social-customer-service-89052.htm
● Torr, D. (2016, August 12). 5 Tips On Providing Stellar Social Customer Service. Retrieved
March 22, 2017, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-customer-service/
● Grabowski, P. (2014, October 24). 7 Ways to Deliver Proactive Customer Support. Retrieved
March 22, 2017, from https://www.userlike.com/en/blog/7-ways-to-deliver-proactive-
customer-support
● Weinberg, T. (2016, April 19). 8 Social Tools to Listen and Interact With Customers : Social
Media Examiner. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/8-
social-tools-to-listen-and-interact-with-customers/
● The Q2 2016 Sprout Social Index. (2016, March). Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
http://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/q2-2016/