Add Some LOL to Your Social Customer Care

For the brands that actually do have a crisis-aversion plan, humor can be an asset. For the rest, it’s a risk that toes the line between witty and distasteful. In the examples below you can see how some clever social media managers defused a high-pressure conversation with a quick sweep of humor.

Domino’s Pizza delivers for a pop-star in distress

Tesco Mobile gives relationship advice to Jay

Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza duke it out over Phil

Not sure if being funny is for your brand? Think back to the guidelines of Socially Devoted:

1.) Create an open line of communication with fans

The whole point of having a social presence is to communicate. If your content evokes some affinity (aka entertaining, up to date, etc.) from your followers, they are more likely to engage by commenting, liking, and sharing. People enjoy not just efficient customer service, but something with a bit more oompf. If your brand’s voice allows for a little fun, why not have some?

2.) Respond to questions more than 65% of the time

Nobody likes being ignored. If you’re losing too much time trying to be funny with every single query that comes to you, you’re sliding right off the Socially Devoted charts. The amount of questions received is constantly increasing, and more demand from users places a premium on your team’s ability to reply to as many questions from your community as possible. If being funny is getting in the way, consider cutting down on the jokes and amping up on the support responders.

Is your brand Socially Devoted? Check here in our Socially Devoted app.

3.) Respond in a timely fashion

Just like in standup comedy, if you lose your rhythm you lose your audience. If you’re going to have some fun with your social customer care, make sure to stay consistent. A joke just isn’t funny after 8 hours of no response. In fact, after that much time your client is likely to build up an anxiety about your brand that you surely do not need. In recent articles we’ve pointed out the skyrocketing need for faster response time in social customer care. If you’re still taking 24 hours to respond to a question, you’re behind. See more here.

If you’re able to keep up with these guidelines AND stay tastefully humorous, then by all means go ahead. Just don’t forget to make sure your social media experts are up to date with what’s current in the news and pop culture. You wouldn’t want to stumble into anything catastrophic like the Kenneth Cole #Cairo hashtag.

For more insights into how successful brands analyze, engage, and promote their way to social media success, attend Engage London London on April 30th, 2014. Tickets are almost sold out!