The Power of Social Customer Service Taking to social media to address customer service issues is a great opportunity for brands.

When Brie Weiler Reynolds noticed that her customers were discussing their service concerns on social media networks, she realized her company had better start responding to them there as well.

"We started getting comments and questions from people on LinkedIn and Facebook," says Reynolds, director of content and social media for FlexJobs, a Boulder, Colo.-based online job-search firm. "They were using social media for things you'd traditionally contact customer service for, so we figured if that's how they want it, that's how we'll give it to them." Today FlexJobs uses Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube to publicly inform, serve and connect with customers on a daily basis.

The transparency of communication on social platforms lets companies showcase their devotion to helping customers, fostering brand loyalty and authenticity among a widespread audience. Still, research suggests there's room for improvement. In a recent study by PR and marketing firm Cone Communications, 46 percent of respondents said they'd like to be able to solve problems and receive product or service information via new media, but only 14 percent said they're "very satisfied" with their experiences with companies or brands online.