by Arielle Castro | @_ArielleHope

Many researchers and professionals believe social media is merely a trend that will meet its end once a new successor takes the spotlight. What they don’t realize is that they are only partially right. There are many platforms in social media with some more popular than others, and new ones always developing to topple the current hierarchy of social media sites.

While new sites are being introduced, others find their reign as top dog diminished. However, one thing doesn’t change – social media’s existence.

In the last couple of years, companies have really dove into the aspects of social media. Some have hired in-house social media experts, while others have sought out social media companies to handle their company sites. Whatever the case, business professionals know that if they want their brand to grow in this age of technology, they better step up their social media game.

However, status updates and tweeting about a brand isn’t enough. When consumers decide to follow or like a brand via social media it’s for many reasons – but I want to focus on these three:

1.  They like the business
2. They want to keep up with news surrounding the business
3. They want to be able to engage with the business on a personal level

When a customer goes to their favorite store because of a sale the store tweeted about but has an unsatisfactory visit, the customer is more than likely going to use a social media outlet to talk about their experience – whether it’s writing on the business’ wall, tweeting, or commenting on their Instagram pictures. This creates the perfect opportunity for businesses to use their customer service staff to address the issues being presented to them by their customers.

Customer service no longer just consists of phone calls and answering machines. Businesses are now able to use various platforms to publicly address concerns of customers. Since customers  have the ability to address concerns and such at any time they wish on any platform, businesses must be ready to address issues when they arise.

By providing additional outlets for customer service – especially mainstream social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook – businesses are crafting their brands to have a higher level of customer service – one that is seen as dependable and accessible to their customers. In turn, businesses gain an active consumer loyalty which is what competitors are so actively fighting for.