121 CRM playbook · Social direct-message handling

Bring eligible social enquiries into an owned business conversation without over-collecting data on the platform.

A fictional salon receives an Instagram question about appointment availability and moves booking details to the approved process. This playbook turns that kind of situation into an owned sequence with explicit stop points, exceptions and measures. Use only channels, data and capabilities approved for your setup.

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Customer Thread

Social direct-message handling: the working sequence

Illustrative example

Acknowledge the channel
Move sensitive detail
Own the next action
Human review

Acknowledge the channel
Respond in the tone and timeframe appropriate to the platform and business.
Move sensitive detail
Use a safer approved channel for personal, payment or health information.
Own the next action
Book, call, answer or close with a clear record.
Human review
A person checks the outcome and any exception.
Human decision

Illustrative playbook — names, organisations and activity are fictional.

Fictional workflow demonstration

Follow social direct-message handling from start to next action.

The coded interface shows an example sequence using fictional data and does not expose a live CRM account.

121

Northstar Joinery

Fictional

Keep customer messages together

OverviewContactsInboxPipelineAutomation

Keep customer messages together

See the message, customer context and responsible owner in the same working view.

Search inbox

Bramble Studio

Jamie Clarke · Email

Contact confirmed

Could Thursday morning work for a short discovery call?

09:54

Yes — 11:30 is available. I can send the appointment details once the scope is confirmed.

10:02

Thursday morning would work well. Thank you.

10:24

Write a reply…

Illustrative 121 interfaceAll people, organisations, dates and activity are fictional. Any figures are illustrative. Controls demonstrate interaction patterns, not enabled account features.

What supports the playbook

See what the CRM can coordinate — and where your team steps in.

The CRM can organise the sequence, but the business still sets the rules, checks consent and handles the moments that need human judgement.

Capability 01

Facebook Messenger

Connects an authorised Facebook Page so supported messages can appear in Conversations.

How it works: Handles an eligible customer interaction through a configured inbox, number or connected channel.
Why use it: Stops social enquiries becoming detached from the rest of the customer record.
Plan for: Delivery, message types, geographic coverage, approval and charges vary by channel and provider.
Your team owns: A person must own sensitive conversations, failed delivery and any situation outside the approved script.

Capability 02

Instagram messaging

Connects an authorised Instagram account so supported messages can be handled in Conversations.

How it works: Handles an eligible customer interaction through a configured inbox, number or connected channel.
Why use it: Lets a team respond to social enquiries with the same ownership and context as other channels.
Plan for: Delivery, message types, geographic coverage, approval and charges vary by channel and provider.
Your team owns: A person must own sensitive conversations, failed delivery and any situation outside the approved script.

Capability 03

Conversations inbox

Brings supported connected message threads into a shared operational inbox.

How it works: Handles an eligible customer interaction through a configured inbox, number or connected channel.
Why use it: Helps a team see the customer history and coordinate replies from one working view.
Plan for: Delivery, message types, geographic coverage, approval and charges vary by channel and provider.
Your team owns: A person must own sensitive conversations, failed delivery and any situation outside the approved script.

Capability 04

Contacts

Stores a person or lead with contact details, activity, ownership and related records.

How it works: Stores or organises supported business data under configured fields, permissions and record rules.
Why use it: Gives a team one place to understand who a customer is and what has happened.
Plan for: The platform does not make imported, duplicated or incomplete data accurate without review.
Your team owns: A data owner must define the record model and resolve quality, ownership and access exceptions.

Entry criteria

Begin with a valid trigger, enough context and one owner

A supported connected social channel receives a direct message that needs business follow-up. Before any automated action, confirm that the event, customer record and communication basis are suitable for this playbook.

Trigger

A supported connected social channel receives a direct message that needs business follow-up.

Practical scenario

A fictional salon receives an Instagram question about appointment availability and moves booking details to the approved process.

Human decision retained

Accountable owner

Name the person or queue that accepts the work, monitors exceptions and can stop the sequence.

The sequence

Run the social direct-message handling playbook step by step

Each step should leave evidence a colleague can understand. Timing and channels should follow the customer context rather than a generic high-pressure cadence.

1. Acknowledge the channel

Respond in the tone and timeframe appropriate to the platform and business.

2. Clarify the request

Ask only enough to understand service, location and preferred next step.

3. Move sensitive detail

Use a safer approved channel for personal, payment or health information.

4. Create customer context

Associate the conversation with a contact where lawful and useful.

Close the loop

5. Own the next action

Book, call, answer or close with a clear record.

Owner, timing and exception

Make the operational state easy to review

The supporting view keeps the next action and human checkpoint visible around the automated steps.

121 CRM · Connected operations

Book discovery

October · illustrative availability

MTWTFSS1234567891011121314

11:3014:00

Appointment sequence

Booked

Calendar entry created

1 day before

Reminder scheduled

Exception

Owner reviews a reply

Journey summary

New

Illustrative

Owned

Illustrative

Due

Illustrative

Website

Referral

Direct

Illustrative exampleAll dates, counts and workflow states are fictional. Availability and behaviour depend on the agreed setup.

Exception paths

Stop the normal route when the facts change

Exceptions are part of the process, not failures to be hidden. Route them to a person with the authority and context to decide what happens next.

Human review

Unsupported or disconnected channel

Use a manual process and do not promise synchronisation.

Human review

Public comment becomes private issue

Preserve context while protecting personal information.

Human review

Abuse or spam

Apply the moderation policy and avoid unnecessary CRM creation.

Operational review

Measure whether the work became safer and clearer

Use measures that reveal ownership, service quality and control. Counts of messages, tasks or workflow runs are supporting signals, not proof of customer value.

Eligible DMs with an owner

Measure operational coverage.

Time to useful human response

Exclude bot greeting.

Transfers to approved channels

Review whether the handoff is clear and completed.

Questions about this page

Useful answers, without the sales fog.

1. When should the social direct-message handling playbook start?

A supported connected social channel receives a direct message that needs business follow-up. Confirm the record is eligible and that a named owner or monitored queue is available before allowing customer-facing action.

2. Which channels should the social direct-message handling playbook use?

Use only configured channels that suit the purpose, customer preference and consent position. Give each channel a distinct role and check provider availability and usage charges before launch.

3. When should social direct-message handling automation stop?

Stop when the purpose is complete, the customer responds or opts out, the data conflicts, or an exception needs judgement. In this playbook, pay particular attention to unsupported or disconnected channel, public comment becomes private issue, abuse or spam.

4. How should we judge whether social direct-message handling works?

Review eligible dms with an owner, time to useful human response, transfers to approved channels. Combine the numbers with sampled records and customer context; do not treat activity volume as a business outcome.

Read all CRM questions

Continue the journey

Conversations Team inbox Social publishing Email-enquiry handling

Delegate the work. Keep the human.

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