Your shortcut to the customer service online community

Whether you are seasoned social media operator, or baffled by Twitter, you cannot ignore the new way of communicating these tools offer to the customer service world.  James West from Perfect Motion Media explains the power of social media and how you can quickly grow a useful online community.

Social media, we are told on seemingly a daily basis, is the future of communication - the most important emerging channel for customer service and an oasis of expert information.  However, from an outsiders perspective, this seems like technology hyperbole of the worst kind, especially regarding Twitter, with its stream of shorthand and symbols used to convey seemingly random and unconnected topics.  The temptation, despite the hype, when confronted with Twitter is to simply walk away.


If you feel this way, you are not alone - around 80 per cent of all Twitter accounts are said to be dormant and 50 per cent of all tweets are generated by an elite group of 20,000 people according to research from yahoo, which adds to the feeling that it is a members-only club.


The good news, however, is that breaking through the Twitter looking glass can be achieved faster than you think, thanks to a convenient short cut which I will share with you.  Key to Twitter is finding the right people to follow who are sharing ideas relating to the issues you care about.  This can be achieved by traditional means, such as searching for keywords and people you already know, but this is a laborious process.  The smarter move is finding a list of people to follow who are recognised as online thought leaders, such as this one: the Customer Experience Online Influencers 2011 list.


This list is by not exhaustive, complete or definitive.  It does however pool some of the most prolific and knowledgable professionals currently in the world who discuss customer service everyday. Perhaps more importantly, the people on this list ‘get‘ social media and are therefore strong role models for those looking to understand the do’s and don’t of social media interaction.   By following all of those on the list (their twitter names are listed on the far right of the table), you instantly gain access to this body of ever evolving customer service knowledge and news, and by observing their actions, will learn the right way to communicate through Twitter.


I will be sharing a number of tricks and tips with you via the Calcom site and its Community newsletter, which will help you use social media to develop and grow your career, and benefit the customer experience your business delivers. 

James West has written about the customer service industry for more than 12 years, editing titles such as Customer Service News, Call Centre Focus and now Customer Service TV.

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