The best social media channels for customer service
To provide the best possible customer experience, it's important to be present on the channels where your customers are spending their time. Often referred to as “Omnichannel CX”, it’s likely your customers want to engage with you across phone, email, chat, social media, and other platforms as well. Almost indefinitely these days, social media has become a required communication channel for customer support, not just for marketing.
With so many social media channels out there, it can be difficult to know where to start. Leveraging years of Rush Order's CX experience, here are several of the best social media channels to begin offering customer service through based on reach, engagement, and customer satisfaction.
Facebook: 2.91 billion monthly active users
With nearly 3 billion active users, Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world. This gives you a large potential reach for your customer service efforts. In addition, Facebook's algorithm favors content that is engaging, which means that your customer service posts have a good chance of being seen by a large number of people.
Facebook is also a good channel for building relationships with your customers, as you can interact with them directly in the comments section of your posts. Your customer interactions can be handled publicly for others to see how well you take care of customers, or moved to direct messages (DMs) or other "offline" channels if in-depth or sensitive topics need to be addressed.
Twitter: 436 million monthly active users
Twitter is an excellent channel for quickly responding to customer service inquiries. With a character limit of 280, Twitter forces you to be concise in your responses, which can be helpful when dealing with frustrated customers.
In addition, Twitter is a great platform for promoting positive customer experiences and reviews. Retweeting positive tweets from happy customers is a quick and easy way to show potential customers that you care about providing excellent service. The same is true when you intervene and help a customer, as your care is on display for other existing and potential customers to see.
Instagram: 1.48 billion monthly active users
While Instagram doesn't have a direct messaging feature like other platforms, it's still a great channel for customer service. You can use Instagram Stories to respond to customer inquiries in real-time, and you can also use Instagram posts to showcase how your product or service has helped solve a problem for a customer. For example, if you sell skincare products and someone tweets at you about how they're struggling with acne, you could post a before-and-after photo of a satisfied customer who used your products to clear up their skin.
YouTube: 2.56 billion monthly active users
YouTube is often thought of as a platform for entertainment and cat videos—but it's also an excellent place for providing customer service. You can use YouTube videos to answer frequently asked questions, show customers how to use your product, and address common problems that customers have. If you have the resources available, you can even produce high-quality video content that will really wow your viewers.
We find delivering customer service via YouTube to be most impactful if you are already doing a lot of marketing on YouTube. If your customers are finding you on the platform, odds are they would appreciate being supported via the same platform.
WhatsApp: 2 billion monthly active users
If your business is selling globally, consider leveraging WhatsApp for customer support communication.
Across 180 countries, WhatsApp is a popular messaging app that can also be used as a customer service platform. It offers a wide range of features that can be useful for businesses, including the ability to create groups, send messages with large files, and make voice and video calls.
WhatsApp also offers a platform for businesses to provide customer support. This can be done by setting up a dedicated WhatsApp number for customers to use, or by using the messaging app to respond to customer queries. WhatsApp is an effective customer service tool because it is widely used globally, it offers a range of features, and it allows businesses to communicate with customers in real-time.
WeChat: 1.26 billion active users
Along the same lines as WhatsApp, WeChat may help you connect more effectively with customers in other parts of the world. Specifically, WeChat is a popular messaging app in China and other parts of Asia, and it offers a range of features that can be useful for businesses. These features include the ability to create groups, send messages with large files, and make voice and video calls.
WeChat also offers a platform for businesses to provide customer support. This can be done by setting up a dedicated WeChat number for customers to use, or by using the messaging app to respond to customer queries. WeChat is an effective customer service tool because it is widely used in Asia, it offers a range of features, and it allows businesses to communicate with customers in real-time.
If you're looking to expand your business into China or other parts of Asia, consider using WeChat for customer support. The app's popularity will help you connect with more customers, and its wide range of features will allow you to provide quality service in a channel that is convenient for your customers.
Telegram: 550 million monthly active users
Telegram is a free messaging app that works across multiple device types with no limits on file sizes. The key feature that sets Telegram apart is its end-to-end encryption for every function, from chats and groups to media shared between users. If this focus on security is attractive to your customer base or particular use, it may be worth a look.
Parting Thoughts
These are just several of the many social media channels that can be used for effective omnichannel customer service. The important takeaway is to choose the channels that make the most sense for your business and then commit to providing outstanding service on those platforms. This may mean only starting with two or three platforms to start. You can always expand later once you have your arms around the first couple or few.
With so much competition out there, providing excellent customer service in the channels preferred by your customers can help you stand out from the crowd and build long-lasting, profitable relationships. Happy selling!
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Additional reading
Most popular social networks worldwide as of January 2022, ranked by number of monthly active users
