SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

PROVIDING VALUE TO NAVY STAKEHOLDERSAPPLYING CUSTOMER SERVICE TECHNIQUES TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Have you ever heard someone ask, “what ever happened to good old-

fashioned customer service?”

In recent years there has been a perceived trend among businesses, governments and organizations to prioritize profits & agendas ahead of service to customers & stakeholders

Now, customers (in our case, our Sailors, civilians, and the public) demand more!

1980 1990 2000 2010

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

As public affairs officers, we have an obligation to inform the public about the Navy’s activities.

Now, more than ever, our stakeholders want to receive information in the where they want, how they want and in the way they want.

Social media can help you provide customized, swift & scalable service to Navy stakeholders.

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Why is social media a good customer service tool?Common customer service need

Guiding principle The reason social media works

I want to speak with someone directly

Authenticity, Honesty & Transparency

• As a best practice, social media tools disclose the person behind an organization, promoting trust and transparency

• Social media can enable a one on one conversation that takes place in the open, ensuring honesty and transparency

Show me you care / I want to be heard

Attention & Acknowledgement

• Social media allows for a more informal and caring tone of conversation as necessary

• Social media provides a platform for expressing one’s self in the open

You should know who I am and what I want

Personalization • Community members can choose to make information about themselves public such as their hometown, hobbies, and other likes/dislikes—this information can be leveraged to enter a conversation with some background and perspective

I don’t want an automated response

Customization • Social media is flexible and is best used to foster conversations rather than automated responses

I want a response NOW

Speed • Social media is a near real-time tool• With appropriate standard operating procedures in place, social

media enables quick interactions online

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

PERS-41 exercised the guiding principles of customer service by asking for feedback from fans

• Attention: Asking for feedback

• Personalization: Responding to specific questions with customized responses

• Acknowledgement: Recognizing comments and stating how the recommendation will be implemented

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

PERS-41 hosted live discussion during ship selection event, providing real-time support to participants

• Attention & Acknowledgement: Provided live support available via Facebook

• Speed: Facebook administrators were answering questions and solving technical problems in real-time through Facebook interactions

• Customization & Personalization: Responses were thorough, detailed and catered to the specific questions asked

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

NSA Mid-South provided outstanding customer service to Navy family members in response to Millington flood

• Attention: We care and here’s what we’re doing to respond to the crisis

• Acknowledgment: We hear your concerns and are providing the most updated information on that subject

• Speed: Response within 2 hours of specific question being asked

• Personalization: Comments responding directly to “Heather” who asked the question

• Appreciation shown for the quick, thorough and personalized response

Less than 2 hours

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Sparked by Sanjay Gupta’s (+1million followers on Twitter) response after performing brain surgery on Carl Vinson that “there aren’t enough brain surgeons in Haiti,” Pastor Shaun King organized a team of doctors trip to travel to Haiti, later discovering the only surgery center was on board USNS Comfort. Through Twitter, a frustrated Shaun King attempts to reach out to USNS Comfort to get the doctors on board. Both @USNS Comfort and @NavyNews responded on Twitter and coordinated a phone call with BUMED PAO directing him to the appropriate authority for his request.

6,500+ followers of @ShaunKing spread his plea across web

Speed via social media helps during crisis

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Get to know your tweeps better

Authenticity & personalization: Pacific Fleet hosted a tweet up on board USNS Mercy on May 8, 2010 in order to get to know their publics better, and show off a key Navy asset.

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Interact with your tweepsAttention & acknowledgement: Ask questions and engage in conversations.

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Answer questions for your tweeps

Attention: Even if you weren’t the one asked, step in to answer a question if you have the information!

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

Customization & information sharing

An employee at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & IMF needed information about leave. After interaction with command HR reps, she was able to get information she needed.

Peggy, Ferguson & Mike are all command HR reps empowered to interact on the command Facebook page

SOCIAL MEDIA SNAPSHOT

How can your command use social media to provide better service to your Navy stakeholders?• Ensure that subject matter experts are comfortable using social media so

they can respond directly to inquiries on their topic• Develop a process for involving subject matter experts in responses on

social media – ESPECIALLY in emergency management plans• Consider the current processes for responding to inquiries and gathering

stakeholder feedback—Can you replace or augment this process online?• Make feedback, inquiries & your command’s responses public (when

possible) to leverage economies of scale and let your stakeholders know you hear them and are engaging online to respond

• Set expectations– Inform community members of the max wait time for a response– Direct community members to the appropriate channels to ask a question,

host a discussion, or simply share their opinion (these may be separate spaces online)