No matter what type, or size business you run, you need to be on social media sites like Facebook, and Twitter. You probably already knew that though. Social media sites have been used as marketing tools for some time now, and anyone with a stake in internet marketing is at least familiar with their value as a marketing tool. Sites like Facebook and Twitter can help you in other ways too. These sites can also be powerful customer service tools.

If your products sell reasonably well, chances are that someone on some social media site is talking about them. Facebook alone has over 500 million users, so no matter what demographic your customers fall into, chances are they use social media sites. To find out what your customers have to say about you, all you have to do is search. Twitter is particularly effective for finding out what your customers are saying about you. They allow you to save searches so that you can keep up on them later. Just save a search for your company’s name, and for the names of a few of your products, and check on them regularly, and you’ll be in good shape. Most other sites don’t offer the same sort of search functionality, but you can always just bookmark a page of search results.

You’re going to find positive, and negative feedback on social media sites. When you see a positive comment on a social media site, take the time to thank the commenter for the comment. If they see that you acknowledge, and appreciate their comment, they’re more likely to continue singing your praises in the future. When you see a negative comment, don’t just ignore it. Reach out to the customer, and see if there’s anything you can do to help them. By doing so publicly, you’re accomplishing two things. First, you’re helping a customer with a problem, and that’s always good for your reputation. Second, you’re doing so publicly, which shows other users on that site that you care about your customers.

When you get a lot of positive feedback about a particular feature, see if you can expand on that feature and make better use of it in future products. When you get a lot of negative feedback about a particular feature, see if you can improve on it in future products. By taking the time to look at what people are saying about you on social media, you can provide strong customer service, and evolve your marketing strategy at the same time. That’s the real power of social media.