Ten years ago if you wanted to find out more about a company or learn about its products or services, you would pick up the telephone and dial a number. After a few rings a customer service representative would pick up the phone and say, “Hi, thank you for calling [insert company name, typically followed by their slogan or catch-phrase], how may I help you today?” These representatives were seen as the “face” and “voice” of the company’s brand, trained to interact with customers in a certain way and send a specific message. With the prevalence of social media in today’s world, more and more people are turning to new media like Facebook for answers to their questions.

Given the nature of Facebook, anyone can comment on any topic at any time, and a brand can be created, launched and known worldwide within days, even hours. Just as quickly, a brand and company image can be ruined and destroyed due to negative comments and claims from disgruntled customers.

So what happens to customer service representatives?

The real-time accessibility of social media poses several serious questions in regarding responsibility for a company’s brand. Are companies prepared with a new wave of customer service representatives who will deliver a consistent brand message? Should all employees in a company be trained in customer service to respond to Facebook comments, or should that be left to the newest group of employees to pop up in companies – a social media department?

As new brands are being created and launched instantaneously and others are being continuously recreated, these are questions marketing professionals need to keep in mind. Companies have to determine how to react to online comments by current and prospective customers and determine who will be the new “face” of the brand. Companies should consider training customer service representatives on a whole new platform in order to control a brand and company’s message, or invest in social media experts.