Delivering Effective Social Customer Service: How to Redefine the Way You Manage Customer Experience and Your Corporate Reputation

Chapter 6

How to Use Facebook for Social Customer Service

Facebook celebrates its 10th birthday on 4 February 2014. At the time of writing, more than one billion people “like” and comment on Facebook posts at an average rate of 3.2 billion times every day. Those billion people have also made over a trillion connections between themselves. 58% of them can be classified as daily active users. No surprise then that Facebook is the 800-pound gorilla of social engagement.

Given those stats, many organizations naturally conclude that a substantial percentage of their own customers are on Facebook. True for large and small, as for B2C or B2B. Thus they busy themselves promoting, entertaining and otherwise trying to engage people to become fans. Once achieved, they win the right to become part of a fan's daily newsfeed and then compete along with family and friends for that person's attention and interest.

It is of course this opportunity to appear in the inboxes of family and friends that makes Facebook Customer Service so consequential. Your brand equity might rise a smidgeon if you are noticed doing something right to a mate or a sibling. Equally you might suffer a verbal lashing if a friend is seen to be in need over an unresolved service issue. Or maybe neither happens. A friend's holiday photos have captured all the attention. You really can't predict who will be influenced by the impact of your service capabilities.

Meanwhile back on your fan page, social marketing is cranking the ...