“Be where your customers are” is the conventional wisdom for customer experience.
Where are those customers? On social media.
As such, brands have spread their presence across various channels, from Facebook and TikTok to Reddit and Bluesky.
However, strategies are starting to shift, according to Jim Tomanchek, VP of Partner Strategy & Development at Sprinklr. He said:
Initially, brands wanted to be everywhere their customers were, but now they’re becoming more selective and focusing on the most relevant channels valued by key customer demographics.
In doing so, businesses have recognized that different demographics use platforms distinctly.
Older generations might be on Facebook, sharing photos and updates, while younger audiences are more active on Snapchat and TikTok, engaging in very different types of conversations.
As such, social media management is evolving from just building a presence on every platform to understanding the unique dynamics of each one.
That change in approach impacts all customer-facing teams, including customer service.
Social Customer Service: A Good Approach
Technology is at the heart of social customer service, allowing businesses to capture brand mentions, prioritize them, and route them to the best-suited team.
Solutions like Sprinklr Social enable this, filtering relevant posts and – via intent and sentiment categorization – spreading them across the business.
As such, service, sales, marketing, and PR teams receive a flow of contacts to respond to, each tagged by urgency, helping brands prioritize customer engagement.
Sprinklr also helps to eliminate spam and send automated responses to specific queries, lowering the burden on employees.
Alongside spam, brands may wish to remove mentions where users just want to express their opinions; they aren’t looking for a resolution. Sprinklr Service uses AI to filter these out, too. As Tomanchek said:
The key is using AI to interpret the intent behind conversations, ensuring brands don’t just jump in awkwardly but contribute effectively.
"Our tools help brands understand this context, allowing them to respond appropriately and build genuine connections," he concluded.
Within the system, brands can also use AI to track metrics, trending topics, and engagement, which aids reporting and automation.
As a result, the right people receive the right mentions at the right time.
Organizations that have achieved a similar unified approach to social media management are on the right track. Those who manage social in silos are lagging behind.
However, as Tomanchek referenced, the landscape is changing, and – given this – there are ways to build upon this strategy.