It’s also important to search and comb
through services that track conversations and relevant topics such as
Technorati, Blogpulse, Bloglines, b5, Google Blog Search, Blog Catalog, and
also MyBlogLog. These tools allow you to proactively monitor memes and
determine your level of engagement.
Social Media isn’t limited to blogs and
communities. Social Media is also fueling social networks and the ability to
find and host conversations related to brands and products. For example,
Creating Facebook groups as well as searching other related groups are
incredible opportunities to have conversations with people and as well, influence
groups of people in the process.
Several companies I work with have created
company-hosted groups across
relevant
social networks as well encouraged enthusiastic customers to do host conversations
in places such as Ning. Ning is a Do It Yourself (DIY) social network, and it’s
definitely a place where people congregate to share and learn, among other
things of course.
Another way to help customers is to bring
them to you through your own company blog as well as hosting an integrated
social network/discussion forum. Companies such as Leverage Software facilitate
hosted conversations directly at the company site as a way of embracing
customers and also encouraging peer-to-peer interaction…thus building and
strengthening their community.
Companies such as Satisfaction
are
creating “people-powered” customer service forums where companies and customers
can create a channel dedicated to helping people use products more effectively
by solving their problems and answering questions all in one place. In many
cases, services such as Satisfaction are complementary to all other campaigns.
Don’t count out micromedia tools…creating
a presence in Twitter and Jaiku can help companies on the spot as these
conversations are taking place.
In the case of Twitter, companies can
create an account where they can proactively update their customers aka
“followers” with new updates, answers, etc. Customers can also contact them
through “direct” messaging or public @companyname posts. #hashtags is a growing
trend within the service that allows users to callout topics such as
#customer+service for others to locate through a dedicated search tool.
Jaiku integrated channels last year, for
example, allowing anyone, in this case, companies, to create a dedicated pipe
to share and reply to users looking for specific information and conversations.
There’s still a 1.0 component to all of
this however. User groups and forums haven’t gone away. They’re still thriving,
and, determining which communities host conversations that matter to your business
in critical in maintaining customer service and also instilling satisfaction and
fostering enthusiasm.
Which communities and tools should you
use? You have to start by surveying the landscapes and listening. The results
will tell you where to engage. Monitoring the culture of each community and the
sociology of the interactions, will guide you in how to participate.
Whatever you do, don’t’ engage as a
marketer and don’t participate from a top down approach – meaning be helpful,
not “put out” from having to answer the same things over and over again.
Source: Customer service: the art of listening and engagement
through Social Media (Brian Solis and Becky Carroll)
e-book
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