DEARBORN, Mich. -

When it comes to making customers happy, it’s just not just about answering the phone at a call center anymore.

Just as auto advertising and car research has shifted into the social media realm, so has the customer service aspect for automakers.

Ford, for one, is striving to employ social media as a means to broaden its customer service.

The automaker says that “proactively monitoring” social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, auto enthusiast forums and message boards for comments, questions or concerns allows its agents to instantaneously connect with thousands of current and potential customers.

“Being online lets you cater to an audience that is used to instant gratification,” explained Mont Wright, customer satisfaction manager in the Business Assistance Center.

“Many of these questions and these comments may never come to the phone – or even to email,” Wright added. “In some situations, we can change a negative to a positive. In others, we can reach out to new customers. It’s been a very positive experience for us.”

It also seems to have been a positive experience for Steven Yourstone, a department chair at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

He had a question about the arrival of his 2011 Ford Explorer, so he got in touch with the automaker through the Ford Explorer Facebook page. The Ford Customer Service Division’s social media team helped him out.

“They really seemed to reach out and care,” said Yourstone. “They’re always in the threads, and they’re pretty knowledgeable, too.”

He added: “I’d much rather use social media because the experts are very quick at getting responses back, and I don’t have to go through a menu system and listen to music and press the right buttons — that’s just not for me.”

In fact, Ford says its social media team reaches out to consumers like Yourstone through a number of vehicle fan sites as well Ford Facebook and Twitter pages.

The eight-member team looks at “thousands of comments” each week.

It employs a customized search engine tool that is designed to quickly locate comments, concerns and questions from customers, and let the team respond expediently. The team has received special social media training, as well.

“This growing channel, in addition to phone and email, allows our customers to choose their preferred communication method,” said Elizabeth Foley, Ford customer service social media program manager. “We always want to be where the conversation is taking place to better help our customers.”

It appears to be paying off, as Ford’s customer service satisfaction in social media was at 84 percent, on average, last year.

During their social media discussions, agents and customers talk about everything from new arrivals to warranties and repairs. Using social media allows the agent to include hyperlinks and additional instructions to help the customer further, Ford says.

“The ecosystem is much richer and satisfying online,” Yourstone said. “The agents can accentuate and contextualize their responses with photos, links and other important items you simply don’t receive through more traditional customer service methods.”

Foley added: “This is a very public customer service platform. It allows us, as a large corporation, to humanize our efforts by providing unscripted, personalized responses to each tweet or post.”