On average, internet users spend almost 2.5 hours on social media and instant messengers. Among the most popular platforms for communication are Facebook (2.9 billion users), WhatsApp (2 billion), and Telegram (700 million). People use messengers and social media not only for chatting with friends and video calling colleagues but also for learning news, enjoying various content, and making new acquaintances. It would also be a miss not to mention that these platforms offer a lot of business opportunities as well.
Today it comes as a matter of course that every company maintains an active presence in all major social media and messengers by posting product news and replying to customer inquiries. But how to make these interactions across numerous channels more optimized and streamlined, and even reach out to clients first? Here, all-in-one messenger and social CRM solutions can bring a significant positive change to business. Let’s see how exactly.
Why does business need social media and messengers?
Instant messengers and social media platforms are important tools for developing relationships with customers and acquiring new ones.
- Convenient customer interactions. Messaging apps allow brands to stay in touch with the audience and have two-way conversations with clients on the platforms of their choice, which means better engagement and a higher satisfaction rate.
- New selling opportunities. Nowadays, social media has turned into an additional channel for lead generation and sales growth through targeted advertising and content creation, which in many aspects works better than more traditional marketing channels.
- Improved buyers’ trust. Social media is great for reinforcing a brand’s social proof. Many customers are willing to share their experience with a product they are satisfied with among their followers. Rewarding such brand advocates and nurturing communities dedicated to the company can significantly improve brand loyalty among customers.
Despite these and other benefits, many businesses face problems in working with multiple social media and messaging channels. Chatting across many interfaces consumes sales and support specialists’ attention and takes time that otherwise can be devoted to providing quicker and more personalized communication. Let’s see how the situation can be improved by employing all-in-one messengers and social CRMs.
How to merge social media and messengers on desktop and mobile
All-in-one messengers, which unite communication in different channels in a single interface, and social CRM systems, which provide extended support for social media integrations, are the main tools that help to make customer communication more streamlined and optimized. For example, Umico, a CPaaS company that has recently relocated to London, provides an omnichannel communication platform that allows users to merge more than 25 popular communication channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, VK, and others, and chat with all clients within an easy-to-use interface.
Usually, the process of setting up an all-in-one messenger requires no more than 15 minutes and includes these steps:
- Registration and signing into the messaging platform.
- Connecting required messengers and social media via a dedicated Settings section.
- Providing access to the platform to co-workers, while determining access right for each of them.
- Every team member installs and log-ins to desktop and mobile versions of the platform.
After that, your team can effectively manage all customer communication via a single interface.
When choosing an all-in-one messenger, pay attention that a solution includes such functionality as customizable alerts for desktop and mobile devices; support of media and file attachments in conversations; templates and hotkeys for quick answers to frequently asked questions; detailed analytics on the sources and types of incoming customer inquiries, as well as employees’ performance (initial response and resolution times, average score and number tickets per day). When it comes to social CRM systems, a company can also expect such platforms to provide sales funnels to track deals statuses and task manager for a supervisor to distribute tasks among employees.
Summing things up
Social media and instant messengers are convenient customer communication options for modern businesses of all sizes and industries. They make sales and promotional efforts more effective and targeted, while also providing helpdesk optimization. An all-in-one messenger such as Umnico can take your social commerce to a next level by merging messaging from numerous channels in a single customizable interface. As a result, your interactions with customers become faster and more personalized. A free trial available to all new users makes it easy to assess Umnico features without any financial commitment.