Yes, and then put those scripting templates into your asset library!

So true! I find this also helps create a more comprehensive brand persona, too. If you’re “unhinged” when posting, but rigidly professional when responding to people in comments/dms or creating a direct promotion post, it creates a weird disconnect that can seem inauthentic. 

This is great advice but is incredibly daunting when you think through every situation that could end up comprehensively. Do you have any advice for where to begin?

Love the playbook idea as a guide that’s easy to implement and also share/use as a foundation.

This is a great idea, especially for large and/or growing social media teams. That way, everyone (including new team members) is on the same page when creating content, scheduling content, and responding to comments and messages.

Hi Liz! You’re definitely right. Creating an “operating manual” of sorts for customer care is no easy task. So I’d maybe suggest two approaches:

1.)  Incremental: Some professionals may not need a comprehensive guide, but instead may need aspects of a playbook in particular. A community member, for example, suggested creating templates to work from. Or maybe what’s needed is a set of best practices as less formal but still helpful guidance. Or escalation procedures, if that’s a point of concern. Evaluating specific needs and creating responses for those needs is a great safety net to fall back on. 

2.)  Comprehensive: There’s many guides out there and many ways to start if you want to build the foundation for a comprehensive plan. But I prefer this one from marketing blogger, Ali Liaquat: Social Media Playbook: Your Step-by-Step Guide. In my experience, I’ve found it to be a very helpful and practical outline (although, yes, completing it can still be a bit daunting)!

For me, I think a flowchart of questions can be very helpful when deciding playbook rules and responses! Asking questions such as “Is this a negative comment or a positive comment?” or “is this something we can build a conversation on?” obviously helps determine what type of answer to give. Maybe that’s just me - I love a good yes or no (although I realize there’s plenty of times there’s gray territory)!

​@c.leverton I think that would be a fantastic inclusion in a playbook! Anything that can streamline the process and make sure responses are on the mark is a good idea. I think, after all, that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to it. A playbook can and should match your communication style, the way you handle workflows, the kinds of clients you have, etc.