Lithium participated in GSMI’s Social Media Strategies Summit in San Francisco last week, February 8-9 th . The Summit gathered over 150 professionals leading the charge on social strategy and innovation to network and share best practices. Lithium enjoyed contributing to the conversation through discussions at the booth and demonstrations of our social marketing and care solutions, Reach and Response.   It was amazing to hear brands like, Hilton, Gatorade, Casper, and DocuSign (+many more), share success stories and tips on social customer service, content marketing ROI, and social optimization and strategy development.   Lithium Customer, Arman Belding (@abelding) of Campbell Ewald, gave a thought-provoking presentation on Social Customer Care. For the past two years, Arman has been stationed full-time at client, Covered California, where he runs all organic and paid social media marketing and customer service operations. A few key takeaways from Arman’s presentation include:                                                                                                                                                 Customers want and expect support. According to Gartner, “The dissatisfaction stemming from failure to respond via social channels can lead to up to a 15% increase in churn rate for existing customers.” It is critical to take action. Adopt a tool that adds concrete value, not steals time, and put a plan in place worthy of organizational buy-in and support. Brand personification is essential. Social customer care is not just an obligation, it’s an opportunity to put a human voice to the abstract. Don’t be reactive, be proactive. Content can effectively promote social customer service. Doing it right= great benefits. Doing it wrong=potential risks.   To learn more about Covered California’s story, check out the full case study here.   It was especially great catching up with awesome Lithium customers pictured below: Arman Belding  ( @abelding ) , Campbell Ewald, Lee Diaz (@ leediaz24) , Hilton, Tom Diederich, USAA, Stacey Depelo, GoDaddy!     Look for Lithium at the next Social Media Strategies Summit in Chicago, April 26-28 th . We’re excited to see our customers and partners there for more networking and best practices sharing from top global brands. ... View more