After her talk at Social Media Marketing World, Brooke Sellas stayed behind to do what she does best: connect. In this special “hallway” edition of the show, you’ll hear real questions from real people—nonprofits, restaurants, educators—seeking better ways to engage, grow, and lead their communities online. Brooke answers in real time with sharp, strategic, and refreshingly human responses.

If you've ever wished you could pull a strategist aside and ask your burning social media question, this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen in for:

- How to engage dual audiences (B2B2C) with purpose

- Using AI to decode your engagement data

- Creative ways to drive loyalty and fun for local businesses

- Brooke’s philosophy on comments, replies, and ROI

👩‍💼Ready to bring this kind of clarity and candor to your next event? Book Brooke to speak: https://brookesellas.com

 Wanna turn casual connections into raving fans? My Lost to Loyal newsletter is your go-to guide for mastering social media care and creating unforgettable customer experiences. Every month I'll send you actionable tips, proven strategy, and the latest trends straight to your inbox. Don't just guess. Know what works. Sign up now!

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Engagement without intention? It's like throwing digital spaghetti at the wall. In this Care Chat episode of The Social Media CX Podcast, Brooke Sellas sits down with social media strategist Kayla Perlstein to get real about what it takes to build authentic, results-driven engagement strategies on social media.

Together, they cover the critical questions every brand should be asking: Are you engaging with purpose? Do you know who your audience really is? And are you setting yourself up for success by aligning engagement with your business goals?

In this no-fluff conversation, Brooke and Kayla break down how social media engagement is about relationships, not reactions and why knowing your audience is the first (and most important) step. They also discuss the difference between proactive and reactive engagement, handling negative comments the right way, and why follower count means nothing if it doesn't support your bottom line.

What You'll Learn:

• Why engagement is more than responding to comments (and how to do it right)
• How to balance proactive vs. reactive engagement
• Why follower count isn't a KPI that matters (and what to track instead)
• How to align your social strategy with real business goals
• The role of consistency and time in driving engagement success
• Why knowing your target audience is essential before posting content
• How to tailor content and tone for different platforms and audiences

This episode is your reality check: Know your audience first, THEN engage.

 If you're loving these conversations and thinking, wait, my team needs this energy and this strategy, then you need our Care Squared training program. It's our signature social media customer care training built to help brands turn comments and complaints into conversations that retain customers, boost loyalty, and prove a return on investment with your social. Get the training now!

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If you’re a one-person marketing team, juggling customer care, social engagement, and strategic planning—you are not alone. In this empowering episode of The Social Media CX Podcast, Brooke Sellas shows you how small but mighty teams (yes, even a team of one!) can operate like a social media SWAT team.

Brooke walks through real-world strategies that don’t require big budgets or fancy tools—just a smart system and a heart for service. From setting up a mini command center with a spreadsheet to writing tone-perfect responses and proving your CX value with simple metrics, this episode is your permission slip to drop the overwhelm and build a social response strategy that works.

Whether you’re solo, scrappy, or just starting out, this episode will help you:

• Prioritize care tasks using urgency, not chaos
• Set up a low-cost social care system that actually works
• Write customer responses that sound human, not robotic
• Track metrics like response time and sentiment shifts to prove your value
• Use automation and autoresponders the right way (without sounding cold)
• Collect proof points for your own SWAT brag file

You don’t need a command center to make customers feel heard. You just need the right strategy—and this episode delivers it.

Negative comments on social media aren’t a CX crisis—they’re a CX opportunity.

In this episode of The Social Media CX Podcast, I share exactly how smart brands like ZoomInfo are turning complaints into trust, revenue, and long-term loyalty by building structured, thoughtful response systems. If you’re still deleting comments, ghosting unhappy customers, or responding like a robot… this one’s for you.

💬 Why negative comments are some of the most valuable CX data you can get

🧠 How ZoomInfo uses subject matter experts to deliver personal, real-time responses

📊 The 5-step framework for building a smart, scalable social response system

📢 When to respond publicly vs. privately—and what to say

🚩 What not to do: the three biggest brand-killing mistakes we still see

💡 Why how you respond defines your brand more than the comment itself

🎧 Subscribe & Review:

If this episode helped shift your mindset, leave a review or share it with someone who needs to stop hitting “delete" on those negative comments.

[00:00] The Case for Negative Comments as a CX Opportunity

[02:07] Why Voice of Customer Data Starts in the Comments Section

[02:51] Inside ZoomInfo’s Social Media SWAT Team: A Smart Response Model

[04:37] Building a Smart Response System in 5 Steps

[06:53]   [AD] Are you ready to master social media customer experience?

[07:40] What Not to Do: Deleting, Ghosting, and Copy/Paste Fails

Want to Learn More?

 Are you ready to master social media customer experience? My online course, Mastering Social Media CX, gives you a step-by-step blueprint to turn conversations into conversions. And just for you, my podcast listeners, you get an exclusive 60% off. Yeah, 60%. All you have to do is use the code SMCX as in social media customer experience at checkout.

👉 Want to turn social comments into customer wins? Check out our Care Squared training—the signature program that teaches your team how to deliver standout social media CX in real time. Learn more at Bsquared.Media/care. 

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What if your brand had a team trained to respond on social media in real time—with legal, sales, and privacy experts jumping in directly to resolve issues? That’s exactly what ZoomInfo built.

In this episode of The Social Media CX Podcast, I chat with Justin Levy, Director of Social and Content at ZoomInfo, about how their Social Media SWAT Team is redefining CX. We unpack how they structured it, why they created it, what KPIs they track, and how they balance reactive support with proactive listening.

🚨 Why ZoomInfo built a 100+ person cross-functional “SWAT Team” for social media

📉 How they reduced negative sentiment and competitor grabs on social

📣 What KPIs they track (and report to leadership) to measure CX success

🧠 How they manage complex issues across teams like privacy, legal, and sales

🔍 The tools and tactics they use for social listening—even when APIs don’t cooperate

🧰 What to avoid when building your own team—especially when it comes to trolls

🎉 Why celebrating positive mentions is just as important as managing complaints

📈 How their system proactively informs product, packaging, and customer strategy

This episode is a must-listen for any brand looking to level up their social care and CX strategy with smart structure, clear metrics, and real human connection.

Ever wonder how some brands feel so human on social media? The secret isn’t a giant team or expensive tools—it’s intentional personalization and authentic engagement.

In this Care Chat episode of The Social Media CX Podcast, I’m joined by social media pro Haley Greene to break down exactly how brands (big or small) can build trust and connection on social—even when replying as “the brand.” We talk tone matching, proactive engagement strategies, and why showing up (the right way) still beats the algorithm.

✅ How to personalize your brand’s responses without sounding robotic

💡 The neuroscience behind tone matching and “digital body language”

📣 Why proactive commenting works—and how to do it without hijacking conversations

🔍 The difference between helpful visibility vs. promotional noise

🧠 Real examples of brands that get it right (and what to avoid if you’re not Duolingo)

If you’re looking to actually connect through social CX, this episode is packed with practical tips to help your brand feel more human online.

Resources

Are you ready to master social media customer experience? My online course, mastering Social Media CX gives you a step-by-step blueprint to turn conversations into conversions. And just for you, my podcast listeners, you get an exclusive 60% off when you use the code SMCX at checkout.

 Want to turn casual connections into raving fans? My Lost to Loyal Newsletter is your go to guide for mastering social media care and creating unforgettable customer experiences. Every month, I'll send you actionable tips, proven strategies, and the latest trends straight to your inbox.

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Your customers are drowning in emails and scrolling past social ads—but their text messages? That’s where real connection happens. With 98% open rates, SMS is one of the most underutilized customer experience (CX) tools out there. But done wrong, it’s just another spammy marketing tactic.

In this episode of The Social Media CX Podcast, I break down exactly how to use SMS to improve customer care, enhance engagement, and strengthen brand trust—without being annoying. Plus, I share real-life examples of brands leveraging SMS for social CX to boost customer satisfaction and build lasting relationships.

📩 Why SMS beats email for customer engagement (Hint: 98% open rates!)

⚡ 3 powerful ways to use SMS for customer care without feeling intrusive

🔑 How to make SMS feel personal (not creepy!)

🚀 Real-world case studies of brands using SMS to drive loyalty & retention

❌ The biggest SMS mistakes that get brands blocked—and how to avoid them

If you’re not using SMS in your social CX strategy, you’re leaving money (and customer trust) on the table. Tune in now for actionable insights you can implement today!

Want to turn casual connections into raving fans? My Lost to Loyal Newsletter is your go-to guide for mastering social media care and creating unforgettable customer experiences. Every month, I'll send you actionable tips, proven strategies, and the latest trends straight to your inbox.

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Small teams can deliver exceptional customer experience (CX)—but only when automation is used the right way. The secret? Using AI and automation to support, not replace, human interactions.

In this episode of The Social Media CX Podcast, I share the 3-step automation strategy that allows small businesses to streamline customer care without losing the personal touch. Learn how to automate FAQs, prioritize responses, and maintain authentic human engagement while improving response times and boosting efficiency.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🔹 How to automate CX without losing authenticity

🤖 The best tasks to automate for efficiency while keeping real connections

📊 How to measure success & tweak your automation for better results

🚀 Real-world strategies for leveraging chatbots, AI, and auto-tagging

⚡ The biggest CX automation mistakes (and how to avoid them)

If you're a small team looking to scale your CX and social media care, this episode is packed with actionable insights!