The point of a Community Manager’s job is not about blasting marketing material left and right. Their role should focus more on helping the communities thrive, stay activated, and to continue their growth. Gaining a community’s trust isn’t easy; but unsurprisingly, great customer service is a sure fire way to build that relationship. We’ve got 9 tested and approved tactics for a Community Manager to best approach their customer service strategy:

1. Bring the conversation to a more private setting.

Be prepared to respond in a timely fashion, but ready to take the actual discussion elsewhere. Take the conversation to a private message or email, that way you can provide personal attention to your fans, and not have to air all of your laundry out in public.

2. Acknowledge the issue, even if you don’t have a solution yet.

Responding and acknowledging an issue is all you can do without a solution. Your fans will appreciate being heard, and will know at least someone is looking into it. Being honest and sincere can actually pay off.

3. If convenience is what they want, give them convenience.

It’s easier for your fan to contact you on Facebook than to call your customer service team up; they’re looking for a convenient solution. If it’s easy for them to contact you and get a response, then the rest of the process should also be relatively easy. Don’t send them through 20 loops to receive a refund; strive to make their experience just as easy as it was to tweet you.

4. Build a rapport of being present and helpful.

According to Ambassador, over half of all social users will engage with brands several times a month. That means they’ll notice your presence and witness your customer service in action. Expect repeat visibility next time you’re deciding whether or not to follow up with a customer; chances are it will pay off.

5. Have a crisis management road map in place.

The middle of a crisis is no time to be deciding what needs to be done and who's going to do it and how. Have a step-by-step guide in place. Establish what is deemed a crisis, have an escalation process in place (a clear chain of command). When a crisis happens - monitor first, listen, locate the source and deal with them as calmly and positively as possible.

6. Develop a Sixth Sense

Get to know your fans - the ones that advocate for the brand (reward them), the ones that complain occasionally (help resolve the issue) and the trolls (keep a close eye on this bunch). Watch for seemingly harmless comments or posts by trolls that could spin out of control if left unattended. Learn to get a feel for when things need to be escalated and when they can be left alone. If in doubt, always escalate.

7. Leave the delete button alone.

Even though you delete a negative comment, it is still online and could get re- posted elsewhere, further escalating the situation. So be prepared and have a strategy in place to deal with negative feedback. Be as quick as possible - unattended negative comments have a tendency to grow quickly and possibly turn into a crisis.

8. Respond with grace under fire.

Show empathy, humor, stay positive and always be kinder than necessary. Even if your follower is rude or negative, resist the urge to fight back. You'll look like a bad guy every time.

9. Have your ducks in a row.

Create a fluid “Customer Service / Best Practices” document for the brand you're working with. Capture all the practices and internal customer service procedures that work best for the social team and the brand.