When it comes to social media marketing nowadays, it can feel like everything you do is just to make sure you’re not falling behind in the game. From scheduling posts and filling queues to responding and following leaders in the industry, it can almost be overwhelming representing a brand on social media. That’s where automation comes in. RSS feeds, direct message responses, viral posting times, you name it. All of the automation used in social media marketing can be an advantage to any marketer, but when does it go too far? Does automation take the personality out of brands that consumers expect to see on social media?

Pros:

Finds Viral Posting Times

It can be difficult to know when to post on social media in order to get the most views, likes, clicks, etc. Many tools and platforms, like SproutSocial, will actually inform you of what times are best. It’s not just based on general activity, either. Tools can pull data on your followers and tell you what times their most active and more likely to see and interact with your content. We definitely call this one a pro because who doesn’t want more reach?

Makes Life Easier

Why wouldn’t you want to fill a whole week’s worth of social content in one sitting? You can dedicate an hour or so to getting your content all queued up and you’re set for the week! This way you can spend time crafting up new ideas to enhance your brand on social media instead of crafting up tweets periodically each day.

Makes Vacation Possible

Need to go on a vacay? Being able to fill those queues and content schedules make that possible without having to worry about your brand become obsolete for the week or two you’re out of the office. Of course, with the exception of interacting with followers. That job may just have to be passed on while you’re away.

Cons:

Turns Social Into Responsive

Many individuals have strong opinions on whether or not to automate your thank yous in the form of direct messages. It is still important to interact with new followers and show your appreciation but a majority of users feel like direct messaging is not only the wrong way but will unfollow accounts that do so. Direct messages can sometimes be helpful, though, as that brand might be informing you about a webinar or awesome whitepaper you didn’t know about before. What do you think? Genuine? Or spammy?

Takes Some Personal Touch Away

Adding a personal touch can be what sets you apart from your competitors, but if your content is obviously all automated through RSS feeds then that can become nonexistent. It’s important to find the balance between the two by scheduling out posts that add a personal feel to your profiles as well as have great content posting for readers to enjoy. Followers want to know there is a person somewhere behind those tweets and posts.

Can Lead to the “Setting and Forgetting” Mind Set

When it comes to scheduling out your content, yes, it’s great to be able to get it all done for the week in one sitting but you can’t just hit play on the queue and walk away. Part of marketing is keeping an eye on and analyzing the messages that you have been posting in order to make real-time adjustments and understand what your audience responds to. Use analytics tools to ensure you have effective reports and make sure your constant effort is actually getting you somewhere, and if not, you can adjust from there!

How do you feel when it comes to automation and social media? As social media has become such a large part of marketing for brands everywhere, automation will, of course, be seen as a key component of many marketers plans but how far is too far? Where’s the balance? Let us know what you think in the comments!

The Branchers

We build the best damn marketing campaigns on the planet. And we do it for industries and companies you might not identify as easy to market (right away). Working here takes a very special kind of person.