I read an interesting article recently in The New York Times titled, “How to Get A Job.” Reflecting on this piece, it could just have easily have read "B2C Communications: Maximizing Social Media Impact." In this op-ed, Thomas Friedman explores the pitfalls that applicants face in the job market as college degrees no longer serve as a guarantee for desirable skill sets. These applicants, desperate to find anything for which they qualify, effectively spam job websites with as many submissions as possible. They play a game of numbers, rather than spending time researching and matching their skills to their desired positions. If you send out enough queries, someone is bound to say “yes” eventually, right? 

In the article, Friedman interviews the two founders of HireArt, a company designed to match applicants more effectively with appropriate opportunities through video interviews. HireArt narrows the funnel on both ends, analyzing the applicable skill sets of job seekers and pairing them with job openings where they have the greatest chance of success. In doing so, HireArt slows the avalanche of information and sorts it into effective units designed to benefit both parties. 

Much like sifting through thousands of applications to select the top candidates, organizations can now glean their social channels to ensure their customers' concerns are heard and responded to. Large organizations get thousands of customer comments per day, spread across various social media channels. Each post offers the company a chance to “seize the customer moment.” But which team should handle them—Customer Service, Marketing, or IT? The trouble with channeling this responsibility is that the breadth of the commentary often exceeds a particular team’s scope. Innovative companies are harnessing the latest social technologies to help organize and distribute feedback to the appropriate divisions.

A number of technologies like Salesforce Marketing Cloud™, Wildfire by Google, and Spredfast, allow you to “listen” and engage effectively on social networks and other digital media. In a relatively short amount of time, you can have a sorted variety of commentary on your business. Rather than becoming overwhelmed by information, these social technologies effectively channel data, giving each department the ability to respond quickly, accurately, and more personally. These technologies break down informational silos, connecting the most relevant parties to the interactions that require detailed or nuanced responses. After all, the beauty of social media is that it allows for greater connection and engagement between customers and companies. 

If a company is limited to generic or indifferent responses to genuine customer concerns, it harms its overall image and relationships (you can see a recent example of this here). Monitoring customer feedback on social networks is essential, but it is only effective insofar as that information is used to add value for companies and customers alike. Just as HireArt is poised to offer a remedy for the applicant/employer divide, it’s time for more businesses to find a solution for a more streamlined, customer-obsessed social response.

Find out how Bluewolf helped telecommunications giant Vodafone become an industry leader in social customer service.