TikTok has become a hotbed for social media managers to showcase their snarky personalities and build connections with their followers. Unlike the earlier days of social media, where brands would often reply to customer complaints with polite and professional responses, brands on TikTok have started to respond with witty comebacks and playful banter using AR Filters.
How Brands Like Uniqlo and Ryanair are Connecting with Customers
One brand that has embraced this trend is Uniqlo, a fashion retail brand with a global presence. Jack Remmington, a content creator with almost 66,000 TikTok followers, posted a video of himself struggling in the rain after his Uniqlo umbrella snapped. While Remmington did not tag Uniqlo on TikTok, he did tag the brand on Twitter. However, Uniqlo responded to Remmington's TikTok video instead, using an AR filter that allowed them to add eyes and a mouth to an inanimate object. The resulting clip featured an umbrella with human eyes looking shiftily from side to side, seemingly saying "Oops, haha, what have we done?".
This type of response, while playful and witty, may not always be well received by customers. Remmington felt that Uniqlo's response was funny but also made at his expense, and he was unsure how to feel about it. He said, "I don’t mind being laughed at; I always make myself the butt of the joke. But it’s a bit like, ‘Oh, so you aren’t going to resolve this issue, you’re just gonna make a laugh out of it?’ Which is just a bit weird.”
However, Uniqlo's response to Remmington was not entirely satisfactory, and the brand admitted that it needed to review its social media strategy. A spokesperson for Uniqlo said, "On this occasion, our response was not up to standard. We are currently reviewing how we handle customer complaints on social network sites to ensure this does not happen again."
While Uniqlo's response may not have been perfect, it did show the potential for brands to connect with customers on a more personal level. Ryanair, the budget airline, has also embraced this trend on TikTok, responding to passenger complaints with sassy and playful comments. Ryanair even uses the same AR filter that Uniqlo used in its response to Remmington.
The rise of sassy customer service on social media is not new, but it has evolved with the introduction of AR filters on platforms like TikTok. Brands that are able to use these filters creatively and with a personal touch have the potential to build strong connections with their customers. However, as with any type of customer service, there is a fine line between being playful and being unprofessional. Brands must tread carefully and be sure to handle customer complaints in a way that is both witty and effective. Source: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/tiktok-customer-service
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