How to Provide Customer Service on Instagram: 9 Best Practices
Instagram. It’s one of the most widely used social media platforms. This platform is particularly critical for people in customer service, from generating leads to increased sales. On Instagram, here’s how you deliver world-class customer service.
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No one could have guessed that Instagram would become such a significant marketing component when it initially began in 2010.
With over one billion monthly active users, it’s no surprise that Instagram is used for business promotion by 25 million enterprises and 2 million marketers.
Instagram Cheat Sheet
Instagrammers want to engage with brands and get their customer requests fulfilled, not just to show off their products and services in-app to attract potential customers. This means that businesses of all sizes and sectors should be prepared to offer customer care on Instagram.
Why use Instagram for customer service?
Instagram isn’t the most obvious customer service medium at first glance. But, unfortunately, it’s not designed for customer care, and training your employees to manage customer support concerns on this platform can be difficult.
There are, however, three compelling reasons to use Instagram for customer service:
Use the channels that your clients prefer: according to a Hubspot post, 90% of the Instagram community follows at least one brand, and 150 million people initiate a discussion with a business each month.
As 91 percent of adults agree that customers have lost control over how corporations acquire and utilize personal information, providing customer support on social media is a brilliant idea because it doesn’t need them to give their data.
Make the most of the qualities that are beneficial to businesses:
There are various options for companies to provide outstanding customer service on this platform, from contact buttons to private interactions via direct messaging and Instagram quick answers.
We’ll show you how to provide customer service on Instagram and give you samples of 9 best practices to get you started.
1.Optimize your account for customer service
Mention customer service in your customers want brands to solve their problems, so delivering excellent customer service is a beautiful approach to build brand loyalty and trust, garner new followers, and drive positive word-of-mouth marketing.
If you offer customer service on Instagram, you should let your followers know about it, and the ideal place to do it is in your bio section.
Why? Because the Instagram bio is the first thing, people see when they visit your profile, Instagrammers don’t have to waste much time or effort to learn more about your customer service strategy.
Here’s an example of a business utilizing the Instagram bio:
And this is how Plannersanon informs its followers that the company is unable to meet customers’ needs for direct messaging so that they can utilize the website for customer service:
Con Edison is another excellent example. Although the organization does not offer 24/7 customer care, it does give alternate methods for quickly resolving consumer demands. Furthermore, Con Edison uses the bio link to bring concerned customers to the company’s website, where they can use a live chat feature:
If customers frequently contact your brand for help, utilize your Instagram bio section to tell them about the best ways to get your customer service team in innovative ways.
2. Add various contact buttons
Most Instagram users inquire for customer support by leaving comments, tagging the brand, or sliding into direct chats.
However, not everyone on social media wants to employ these techniques. Some of them use Instagram to discover more about alternate assistance options since they need a quick response.
It’s simple to inform your visitors on how to contact you using the appropriate contact buttons. You can also include a phone number and an email address, for example:
Customers have a variety of communication preferences; therefore, the more options you provide, the better. For example, it enables you to give omnichannel customer assistance to Instagram users.
3. Use Instagram quick replies
It can be challenging to prepare and publish all posts, monitor comments and brand mentions, engage with followers and resolve consumer demands because Instagram marketing takes time and work. Customers lose interest in your brand when it takes hours, days, or even weeks to receive a response. As a result, it’s critical to complete all tasks quickly.
It’s fantastic if you use social media automation tools. It helps you to automate various social media tasks and save time as a result.
Consider using features like Instagram quick replies, which are pre-written comments you set up in advance to answer frequently asked questions you receive via direct messages.
There’s no need to type the same message twice after you’ve set up rapid answers. Instead, you select the most relevant fast response from a list of saved ones and broadcast it to your followers.
It not only makes your customer care team’s job more accessible but also reduces the time it takes for them to respond.
NB: To use this function, you must have a business profile.
Listen to your followers
4.Monitor the comment section and reply to comments
It’s more likely that someone who follows you on Instagram is interested in your company and products. This suggests that most of your followers are potential and current customers who want to engage with your company.
, your followers are the members of your target audience who help you earn money. If you can keep your followers happy, your product is likely to meet buyer expectations. As a result, it’s critical to pay attention to your audience.
Read also: How to Delete Instagram Photos and Posts (2021).
People write comments on your postings for various reasons: some want to show their support, while others want to solve their problems or share their customer service experiences with other potential customers. To put it another way, the comment box is a terrific place for customers to leave feedback.
It’s vital to read all of your followers’ comments and respond where necessary, regardless of the type of feedback they offer. This will make them feel heard and valued. ShakeShack accomplishes it this way:
If your followers are hesitant to voice their opinions, try using influencer marketing, as working with influencers can inspire them to participate in the debate. For example, one of Lulus’ ambassadors does it this way:
It’s simple for fans to pick their favorite outfit and add their phone number in the comments area. It’s a win-win situation for both influencers and brands when followers share remarks. Influencers receive increased engagement rates, and brands gain a better understanding of their target demographic.
5. Show empathy to your customers
According to research, more people are using Instagram for shopping, with over 60% of users using the platform to explore new products and services. In addition, people are more inclined to discuss their negative experiences on this platform for a chance to get a remedy when they search and buy things in-app.
When consumers discuss their problems with you, you must demonstrate empathy because empathy is one of the most vital customer service qualities your team should possess. On Instagram, have a look at how ASOS employs this strategy to communicate with disgruntled customers:
It’s critical to have a helpful customer service crew. Not only do your customer service representatives respond effectively to the situation when they demonstrate empathy, but they also aid in increasing brand loyalty.
6. Protect customers’ private information
Publishing a complaint in the comment area is one of the simplest ways for customers to respond from a firm. This does not, however, imply that you should make the conversation public.
Customers may be in danger of identity theft if you ask them to share personal information in the comment box. As a result, switch the conversation to a direct message, as Zara Home does when dealing with client complaints:
However, if you receive a bad review and the user does not respond, you can use an email address search tool to send a private email with remedies to the problem.
Provide proactive customer support
7.Feature FAQs via highlights
The future of outstanding customer service is proactive customer support. This implies you’ll be able to predict potential problems and provide timely remedies. As a result, your customers are happy with your brand and are more loyal to it.
Read also: Social Media Customer Service: Tips and Tools to Do it Right
Repurposing your FAQs into Instagram Story Highlight albums, which appear directly below the bio section, is one of the most excellent methods to accomplish this on Instagram. For example, see how BaliBody did it here:
It won’t take much time or effort to come to find these albums while reading through your Instagram profile, and you’ll have all of your queries addressed in advance.
Make up informative highlight names and utilize a visual design tool like Crello to build personalized highlight album covers that stand out from the pack to grab your audience’s attention.
8. Ask followers to share their thoughts
It’s fantastic if you’ve converted your Instagram followers into clients. However, this isn’t enough to keep the company thriving. It costs 6-7 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.
In other words, you can’t afford to lose consumers, so increasing customer happiness is critical. Asking your consumers about their thoughts on your products is one of the best methods to learn more about them—include a CTA at the end of your caption:
When people offer their opinions, you may study them and gain a deeper understanding of your target audience. In addition, the more comments your followers leave, the more helpful information you’ll earn.
If your followers aren’t quick to leave comments, host an Instagram giveaway and invite them to complete your customer satisfaction survey for a chance to win something important. Here’s an illustration of how this method works:
Repurposing your FAQs into Instagram stories is one of the best methods to do this.
It’s fantastic if you’ve converted your Instagram followers into clients. However, this isn’t enough to keep the company thriving. It costs 6-7 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.
In other words, you can’t afford to lose consumers, so increasing customer happiness is critical. Asking your consumers about their thoughts on your products is one of the best methods to learn more about them—include a CTA at the end of your caption:
When people offer their opinions, you may study them and gain a deeper understanding of your target audience. In addition, the more comments your followers leave, the more helpful information you’ll earn.
If your followers aren’t quick to leave comments, host an Instagram giveaway and invite them to complete your customer satisfaction survey for a chance to win something important. Here’s an illustration of how this method works: m Story Highlight albums will be directly beneath the bio section. See how BaliBody did it here:
It won’t take much time or effort to come to find these albums while reading through your Instagram profile, and you’ll have all of your queries addressed in advance.
Make up informative highlight names and utilize a visual design tool like Crello to build personalized highlight album covers that stand out from the pack to grab your audience’s attention.
9. Monitor brand mentions
Not every interaction about your brand takes place on your company page. In reality, 96% of individuals who talk about your brand on social media don’t follow it.
When customers are dissatisfied with your product or service, they want to tell other potential buyers about the problems they’ve had with your company. Therefore they post their customer experience on their profiles, as shown below:
It’s critical to keep an eye on brand mentions and get a deeper understanding of your customers if you want to save your company’s reputation and deal with unfavorable feedback. When you track brand mentions, you demonstrate that you care about your clients and go out of your way to handle their problems as soon as they arise. As a result, you’ll be able to give proactive customer support and anticipate future issues.
Prepare to offer digital loyalty cards as well. This allows you to regret a bad customer experience and encourage unsatisfied customers to give your company another chance.
Conclusion
Instagram isn’t just for posting attractive product photographs and videos. Because it has grown in importance as a customer care channel that more people use, brands should be prepared to deliver in-app customer support. You have a chance to stand out from the crowd and turn your followers into loyal customers that come back to do business with you if you listen to your target audience and address their customer requirements.