September 1st, 2009
Fortune 500 Series: DirecTV strengthens customer channel with social media
Most social media strategies are created by marketing departments and then grow to touch other internal groups, such as customer service, product development, and so on. However one large company, DirecTV, created a significant social media presence within its customer care organization, the result of which is stronger customer connection. While most people know Comcast as the digital darling, its social media presence is no longer a differentiator as companies like DirecTV grow their programs and put stronger emphasis on customer service. I’ve spoken with Charles E. Miller, director of inbound email operations and social media strategy for DirecTV about his company’s program and how this program will continue to grow moving forward.
Q. [Jennifer] How is DIRECTV using social media? How is your strategy defined?
A. [Charles] We primarily use social media to listen to our customers. Our strategy is to listen and act on issues, then share what we learn with the organization as a whole so we can work together to adapt the business to synch up with our customers’ ideal view of a TV service.
Q. What tactics are you using?
A. Our tactics run across various contact points both external and internal. Externally we collaborate with online customer-run communities to listen and refine our receiver software. We also created a peer-to-peer customer community to share set-up tips they have learned on their own and their experience with our more advanced features. Twitter and Facebook are both sites where our customers are actively sharing - which is common for entertainment brands. Our customers engage with us via @DIRECTV and with each other and our Facebook Fan interactions continue to grow — expect more from us this year. Internally, we use social media tools within our contact centers to facilitate communications within teams as just one example.
Q. How are you measuring the success of this program?
A. Generally we have the ability to scale and scope the feedback we receive and measure the impact over time. Post reads, author engagement, subject proliferation and sentiment are all important to understanding where you are making a difference and where to improve.
Jennifer Leggio, aka "Mediaphyter," writes about the "social business" side of social media - including enterprise, security and reputation issues. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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