Massive Collection of Info on Social Media's Growing Importance to Customer Service and Marketing

Here’s my collection of 140+ studies, white papers, how-to’s, ideas, opinions and other content about social media’s growing role and importance as a customer service mechanism AND marketing channel.  These are loosely organized into the following six categories:

1.       General

2.       How

3.       Tips

4.       Ways

5.       Marketing & Branding

6.       Measurement & Metrics

For more information on social media, healthcare, healthcare data, technologies and services, please consider following me onTwitter where I post as @ShimCode.

Note: Pardon the formatting. Blogspot isn’t the most friendly blogging platform. One of these day’s I’m going to move to WordPress.

General Information
10 Key Rules to Succeed in Customer Service on Social Media	http://news.arabnet.me/10-rules-succeed-crm-customer-service-social-media/
10 of the most brilliant customer service exchanges ever seen on Twitter	http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/11493976/10-of-the-most-brilliant-customer-service-exchanges-ever-seen-on-Twitter.html
12 Reasons I Want Customer Service on Social Media	http://www.providesupport.com/blog/12-reasons-i-want-customer-service-on-social-media/
17 statistics that show social media is the future of customer service	http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/17-statistics-show-social-media-future-customer-service
24 Statistics That Show Social Media Is the Future of Customer Service	http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/24-statistics-show-social-media-future-customer-service
3 Most Important Ingredients of Social Customer Care	http://www.providesupport.com/blog/3-most-important-ingredients-of-social-customer-care/
5 Reasons Why Your Company Needs a Social Customer Service Team	http://www.virtualhold.com/blog/customer-experience/5-reasons-company-needs-social-customer-service-team/#.VhU4PytkpmM
5 stats you need to conquer social media customer service	http://www.marshall-fenn.com/5-stats-you-must-know-to-conquer-social-media-customer-service/
Achieving Excellence through Social Media Customer Service	http://www.orchestrate.com/blog/achieving-excellence-through-social-media-customer-service/
Are you wasting customer time on social media?	http://sociallysupportive.com/2014/02/are-you-wasting-customer-time-on-social-media/
Beware! Social Media Customer Service a Double-Edged Sword	http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8260-social-media-customer-service.html
Bridge the Relationship Gap with Social Customer Service	http://curatti.com/bridge-the-relationship-gap-with-social-customer-service/
Can Social Be a Customer Service Disaster Recovery Solution?	http://loyalty360.org/loyalty-today/article/can-social-be-a-customer-service-disaster-recovery-solution
Can Social Media Increase Customer Happiness?	http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/matt-janaway/2015-10-19/can-social-media-increase-customer-happiness
Client Service – The New Social Media	http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/client-service-the-new-social-media-01344443#Kf6DiUap6ddh4kFK.97
Customer satisfaction data: The answers are on social media	http://www.ibmbigdatahub.com/blog/customer-satisfaction-data-answers-are-social-media
Customer Service Can Define Your Business on Social Media	http://sponsored.bostonglobe.com/rocklandtrust/customer-service-can-define-your-business-on-social-media/
Customer Service For The Social Generation	http://www.rocc.com/blog/peter_luck/technical_and_service/social_service.html
Customer Service Gets Social	http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2015/customer-service-gets-social/
Customer service in the age of social media	http://londoncalling.co/2013/01/customer-service-in-the-age-of-social-media/
Customer service is changing – “social media is just the tip of the iceberg”	http://diginomica.com/2015/11/10/customer-service-is-changing-social-media-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg
Customer service: Using social media is now essential	http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/31789-customer-service-using-social-media-is-now-essential_31789
Debating the effectiveness of social customer service – with Conversocial’s Joshua March	https://diginomica.com/2015/11/04/debating-the-effectiveness-of-social-customer-service-with-conversocials-joshua-march/#.Vjz0hCtkpmM
Email beats social media as best channel for customer service in retail	http://www.eptica.com/email-beats-social-media-best-channel-customer-service-retail
From your smartphone to their ears: Social media plays a growing role in Customer Service	http://www.miamiherald.com/living/food-drink/article26051440.html
Is Your Social Customer Service Best-In-Class? Seven Questions To Ask	http://mws-digidesk.com/social-customer-service-best-in-class-questions/
Keeping Consistent: Customer Service on Social Media	http://www.lotus823.com/keeping-consistent-customer-service-social-media/
Linking Social Media and Customer Service	http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/linking-social-media-and-customer-service-01318824
Mainstream Channels for Social Media Customer Service	http://blog.swat.io/2015/09/29/mainstream-channels-for-social-media-customer-service/
Rise Of The Vigilante Social Media Customer Service Trolls	http://blog.newscred.com/rise-of-the-vigilante-social-media-customer-service-trolls/
Serve Your Customers Socially, Even in Messy Situations	http://returnonnow.com/2015/11/social-customer-service-even-messy-situations/
Social Customer Service	http://www.hisocial.com/eng/blog/social-customer-service/
Social customer service is contact center’s biggest challenge	http://www.mycustomer.com/news/social-customer-service-contact-centre%E2%80%99s-biggest-challenge
Social Customer Service Tools Can Work Wonders For Your Business!	http://www.thoughtbuzz.com/social-customer-service-tools-can-work-wonders-for-your-business/
Social customer service: social care in evolution and context	http://www.i-scoop.eu/social-customer-service-social-care/
Social Media – The Customer Service Tool For Millennials?	http://digital.blogs.coop/2015/11/13/social-media-the-customer-service-tool-for-millennials/
Social Media Customer Service	https://website-designs.com/social-media/social-media-customer-service/
Social media customer service lacks speed, attentiveness	http://www.bizreport.com/2012/06/social-media-customer-service-lacks-speed-attentiveness.html
Social Media is the Slowest Way to Resolve Customer Service Issues	http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/report-social-media-is-the-slowest-way-to-resolve-customer-service-issues/621548
Social Media Killed the Telephone Star?	http://www.answer-4u.com/news/social-media-vs-telephone-business-customer-service
Social Media: The Next Customer Service Norm	http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-the-next-customer-service-norm-01296791
Social Media's Customer Service Impact: Value on the Sliding Scale	http://www.cloudcontactcenterzone.com/topics/cloud-contact-center/articles/410705-social-medias-customer-service-impact-value-the-sliding.htm
Social Networking & Customer Service is the New Business Norm	http://axerosolutions.com/blogs/timeisenhauer/pulse/120/social-networking-customer-service-is-the-new-business-norm
The Complete Guide to Using Social Media for Customer Service	https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-for-customer-service-guide
The Eye-Opening Connection Between Social Media and Customer Service	https://rizolt.com/the-eye-opening-connection-between-social-media-and-customer-service/
The Ignored Side of Social Media: Customer Service	http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/ignored-side-social-media-customer-service/
The Pros and Cons of Social Customer Service	http://blog.brandembassy.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-social-customer-service/
The real benefits of using social media for customer service	http://www.propertytweeps.co.uk/benefits-of-using-social-media-for-customer-service/
The role of social media in the customer service driven age	https://crowdcontrolhq.com/latest/the-role-of-social-media-in-the-customer-service-driven-age/
The Social Media Customer Service Revolution	https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-media-customer-service-revolution-jim-iyoob
The Three P’s of Social Media Customer Service	https://www.sprinklr.com/social-scale-blog/three-ps-social-media-customer-service/
The Top 100 Most Social Customer Service Pros On Twitter	http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vala-afshar/the-top-100-most-social-c_b_3652508.html
When customer service fails via email, it often “goes social”	https://www.nuvonium.com/blog/view/when-customer-service-fails-via-email-it-often-goes-social
Why Customer Service Won’t Work in 2016 Without Social Media	http://www.inc.com/yoav-vilner/why-customer-service-won-t-work-in-2016-without-social-media.html
Why is social media not working for customer service?	http://www.retailwire.com/discussion/18657/why-is-social-media-not-working-for-customer-service
Why Social Customer Service is a sliding door	http://curatti.com/why-social-customer-service-is-a-sliding-door/
Why You Can’t Ignore Customer Service on Twitter	http://echogravity.com/2015/09/social-media/why-you-cant-ignore-customer-service-on-twitter/
Why you need a customer service response road map	http://www.convinceandconvert.com/customer-experience/why-you-need-a-customer-service-response-road-map/
How To
10 questions to answer before using social media for customer service	https://www.techinasia.com/talk/10-questions-answer-social-media-customer-service/
4 Ways to Use Social Media for Customer Service	http://www.smedio.com/4-ways-to-use-social-media-for-customer-service/
How Companies are Using Social Media to Manage Customer Service	http://mavsocial.com/how-companies-are-using-social-media-to-manage-customer-service/
How customer service techniques will improve your social media strategy	http://www.callcentrehelper.com/how-customer-service-techniques-will-improve-your-social-media-strategy-58059.htm
How Social Media can be used to Enhance Customer Service	http://balcroft.com/social-media-enhance-customer-service/
How social media has transformed customer care	http://smartblogs.com/social-media/2015/10/27/how-social-media-has-transformed-customer-care/
How Social Media Influences Customer Service	http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brett-greene/when-it-takes-30000-twitt_b_783151.html
How Social Media Is Affecting Customer Service (Infographic)	http://www.providesupport.com/blog/social-media-affecting-customer-service/
How to Boost Your Social Media Customer Service	http://www.virtualsocialmedia.com/boost-social-media-customer-service/
How to Deliver Exceptional Social Media Customer Service	http://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-deliver-exceptional-social-media-customer-service/
How to Effectively Use Social Media to Offer Stellar Customer Service as a Startup	http://onboardly.com/startup-2/how-to-effectively-use-social-media-to-offer-stellar-customer-service-as-a-startup/
How to enhance, extend and crowd source your in-field customer service	http://www.adrianswinscoe.com/how-to-enhance-extend-and-crowd-source-your-in-field-customer-service-interview-with-manuel-grenacher-of-mila/
How to Offer Great Customer Service With Social Media	http://www.kishormhaskar.com/how-to-offer-great-customer-service-with-social-media/
How to Provide Awesome Customer Service on Social Media	http://www.pagemodo.com/blog/how-to-provide-awesome-customer-service-on-social-media/
How To Use Social To Deliver The Best Customer Service	http://curatti.com/how-to-use-social-to-deliver-the-best-customer-service/
Turn your website into a Social Customer Service hub	http://curatti.com/turn-website-social-customer-service-hub/
Using social media as part of your customer service strategy in field service	http://fieldservicenews.com/using-social-media-as-part-of-your-customer-service-strategy-in-field-service/
Tips
3 Tips for Customer Service Strategy on Social Media	http://www.ulitzer.com/node/3522096
5 Effective Social Media Customer Service Tactics	https://www.yourvelocity.com/5-effective-social-media-customer-service-tactics/
5 Life Changing Tips to Revamp Your Social Media for Customer Service	http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/philipkushmaro/2015-10-30/5-life-changing-tips-revamping-your-social-media-customer
5 Quick Tips for Customer Service Strategy with Social Media	http://smallbiztrends.com/2015/10/social-customer-service-strategy.html
5 Tips for Flawless Social Customer Service This Holiday	http://seo.adsensedashboard.com/2015/12/03/5-tips-for-flawless-social-customer-service-this-holiday/
5 Tips to Get Social with Your Customer Service	http://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/5-tips-get-social-customer-serivce/
6 Tips To Build A Strong Social Media Customer Service Plan	http://www.wadeharman.com/social-media-customer-service/
8 simple tips for social customer service best practice	http://www.clickz.com/uk/2015/11/12/8-simple-tips-for-social-customer-service-best-practice
Best Practices for Using Social Media as a Customer Service Tool	https://wwwdotfromthefortedotcom.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/best-practices-for-using-social-media-as-a-customer/
Social Media Management Tips For Better Customer Service	http://w.tochin.net/articles/?iAID=/Social/Social-Media-Management-Tips-For-Better-Customer-Service
Tips & Best Practices
Tips for improving social media customer service	http://www.punchng.com/i-punch/tips-for-improving-social-media-customer-service-1/
Top Tips to Improving Your Social Media Customer Service	http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/blue-ocean/2015-10-06/toptips-improving-your-social-media-customer-service
Ways
4 Things You Must Do To Succeed In Social Customer Service	https://blogs.oracle.com/socialspotlight/entry/4_things_you_must_do
4 Ways To Improve Your Social Customer Service	http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/zendesk/4-ways-to-improve-your-social-customer-service-01371157
5 Colossal Reasons to Focus on Social Customer Service	http://www.etechgs.com/blog/post/5-colossal-reasons-to-focus-on-social-customer-service.aspx
5 Key Qualities to Look For in a Social Customer Service Agent	http://www.engagor.com/blog/5-key-qualities-to-look-for-in-a-social-customer-service-agent/
5 lessons for delivering a five-star customer service worthy of ‘lovemarks’	http://www.eyefortravel.com/social-media-and-marketing/5-lessons-delivering-five-star-customer-service-worthy-lovemarks
5 Qualities of Companies With Outstanding Social Customer Service	http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-garst/5-qualities-of-companies-_b_4156604.html
5 Steps for Hiring Exceptional Customer Service Agents	http://winthecustomer.com/5-steps-for-hiring-exceptional-customer-service-agents/
5 ways social media helps your business create exceptional customer service	http://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/12/25/5-ways-social-media-helps-your-business-create-exceptional-customer-service/
5 Ways to Improve Customer Service Using Social Media	http://blog.dealercraft.ca/using-social-media/
6 Customer Service Trends You Need to Know About	http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2015/09/customer-service-trends/
6 steps to achieve Customer Service Excellence on Social Media	http://www.purplerosedigital.co.uk/social-media-customer-service/
7 Star-Trek-Inspired Ways to Master Social Customer Service	http://www.krusecontrolinc.com/star-trek-inspired-ways-to-master-social-customer-service/
7 ways to ensure your social media Customer Service is first class	https://crowdcontrolhq.com/latest/7-ways-to-ensure-your-social-media-customer-service-is-first-class/
7 Ways to Use Social Listening (Being the James Bond of eCommerce)	http://www.business2community.com/social-business/7-ways-to-use-social-listening-being-the-james-bond-of-ecommerce-01365704
Achieving Customer Service Success Through Social Media: A Q&A with Zendesk	http://sproutsocial.com/insights/zendesk-customer-service/
Creating Remarkable Experiences With Social Media: 3 Strategies	http://blog.ontraport.com/marketing/social-media-strategy
Customer Service: Best Practices to Follow	http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/customer-service-best-practices-to-follow-01370684
Expert's Angle: Forecasting and Staffing for Social Customer Service	http://www.icmi.com/Resources/Social-Media/2013/02/Forecasting-and-Staffing-for-Social-Customer-Service
Five Easy Ways to Adopt Social Customer Service	http://spinsucks.com/communication/social-customer-service/
Is it time to start working with an Outsourcer for your Social Customer Service?	http://mws-digidesk.com/time-start-working-outsourcer-social-customer-service/
Is Your Social Customer Service Best-In-Class? Seven Questions To Ask	http://mws-digidesk.com/social-customer-service-best-in-class-questions/
Social Customer Service – The Dos and Don’ts	http://contact-centres.com/social-customer-service-the-dos-and-donts/
Social Customer Service: The 1-2-3 Approach.	http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/wyzowl/social-customer-service-the-1-2-3-approach-01362860
Ten ways to use social media to improve your customer service	http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/online-marketing/social-media-and-online-networking/ten-ways-to-use-social-media-to-improve-your-customer-service
Using Social Media To Provide Exceptional Customer Service	http://yfsmagazine.com/2015/12/26/using-social-media-to-provide-exceptional-customer-service/
Using Surveys to Close the Social Media Customer Service Gap	http://www.surveygizmo.com/customer-service-surveys/close-social-media-customer-service-gap/
Your New Store Should Use Social Media for Customer Service	http://www.thestorestarters.com/your-new-store-should-use-social-media-for-customer-service/
Marketing & Branding
Customer Service Has Its Day at Social Media Marketing World	http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/2015-03-29/customer-service-has-its-day-social-media-marketing-world
Good Customer Service Is More Valuable Than Good Marketing	https://medium.com/social-customer-service/good-customer-service-is-more-valuable-than-good-marketing-a702c33db5f8
Good Customer Service Is the Best Marketing	https://website-designs.com/newsletter/2-kick-butt-marketing-tips-146/?frame=0
How HP Balances Social Marketing With Social Customer Service	http://www.convinceandconvert.com/podcasts/episodes/how-hp-balances-social-marketing-with-social-customer-service/
Make social media work: the move from Marketing to Customer Service	http://www.brw.com.au/p/tech-gadgets/make_social_media_work_the_move_5yFrMW4gIVsZ9GQ3CcAcTM
Marketing: How to Provide Great Customer Service Via Social	https://www.brandwatch.com/2015/02/marketing-provide-great-customer-service-via-social/
Study: Retailers Are Ignoring More Than 80% Of Customers’ Social Media Requests	http://marketingland.com/study-retailers-are-ignoring-more-than-80-of-customers-social-media-requests-150497
Which Department Should Own Social Customer Service?	http://www.engagor.com/blog/which-department-should-own-social-customer-service/
Which Department Should Own Social Customer Service?	http://www.engagor.com/blog/which-department-should-own-social-customer-service/
Who Should Manage Corporate Social Media? Two Experts Weigh In	http://www.roberthalf.com/creativegroup/blog/who-should-manage-corporate-social-media-two-experts-weigh-in
Why Social Engagement May Be More Important Than Marketing	http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-social-engagement-may-be-more-important-than-marketing/
Will Customer Service Ever Be The New Marketing?	https://medium.com/smac-4u/will-customer-service-ever-be-the-new-marketing-fe89921d2245
0Branding
Brands, Social Media and Customer Service: Are You Ready?	http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jayne-gorman/brands-social-media-and-c_b_2035459.html
Hey Brands – If You Don’t Provide Social Media Customer Service, Someone Else Will do it For You	http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/adhutchinson/2015-09-05/hey-brands-if-you-dont-provide-social-media-customer-service
How brands are tapping Facebook Messenger to bolster customer service	http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/social-networks/21677.html
Social customer service; a place for brand terrorists or an agent’s best friend?	http://metrics.net/social-customer-service-brand-terrorists-agent/
Why Brands Should Use Social Media for Customer Service	http://midasmedia.co.uk/brands-social-media-customer-service-m0/
Measurement and Metrics
Getting the measure of social customer service ROI	http://www.sentimentmetrics.com/blog/2015/11/17/getting-the-measure-of-social-customer-service-roi/
Leveraging Social Media to Drive Greater Customer Insights	http://mackcollier.com/leveraging-social-media-to-drive-greater-customer-insights/
Social customer service metrics: 3 case studies	http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/social-customer-service-metrics/
Social Media Customer Service: How Fast is Fast?	http://www.virtualsocialmedia.com/social-media-customer-service-how-fast-is-fast/
Social media response time, are you fast enough
What Is The ROI Of Great Customer Service?	http://www.superheroservice.net/what-is-the-roi-of-great-customer-service/
Why We Need Tangible CSAT Metrics For Social Customer Service	http://mws-csat.com/tangible-csat-metrics-social-customer-service/