BY KATREENA
Life without social media is unthinkable in this day and age. Thousands of people across the globe rely on social media for entertainment as well as necessities like information and shopping. Noticing this trend, businesses have expectedly leveraged social networking sites to promote their products and services, in a strategy called social media marketing (SMM). Also known as e-marketing or digital marketing, SMM can be used to reach a wider audience and to tailor a company’s messages to its target market.
However, SMM is not as easy as it sounds. As you know, it involves planning, listening, analytics, and advertising. Lots of time and effort are needed to complete every step in the social media management process. That is why more and more companies are hiring social media experts. But even the most experienced social media managers could use help in generating ideas and publishing content on schedule, especially across several social platforms. Enter social media automation.
What is social media automation?
First, let’s talk about how automation works. In the past, when people thought about automation, they thought about machines or robots. This is a misconception though, and right now, automation is frequently achieved with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). There’s no denying that AI in the workplace has made many aspects of business easier and more cost-effective than traditional methods. Voice assistants and chatbots are some of the most common examples of helpful AI at work.
The same AI tools can be used for social media automation. These tools are designed to help you save time so that you can focus on tasks that require your full attention and brainpower. If you use automation tools correctly, your audience won’t even be able to tell that machines are assisting you with your social media tasks. But that doesn’t mean that you should leave everything to AI.
Are all kinds of automation good?
Not every task on your SMM checklist should be automated. Instagram bots that like, post and comment on random posts are more likely to drive users away from your brand rather than towards it. Additionally, you should avoid tools that write social media posts for you. Buying followers is also a no-no because it will not guarantee high nor authentic engagement. In short, automation tools should be treated as complements and not replacements for human effort. After all, a personal touch always goes a long way, even in marketing.
What are the best practices in social media automation?
Below is a list of things you must do to enhance your social media presence when you use social media automation.
Customize your posts for each platform.
A basic rule in SMM is to avoid cross-posting, which means publishing the same text across multiple social media channels. Every social media network has a different audience with varied demographics, vocabularies, and expectations. For instance, younger generations usually flock to Instagram and Tiktok. At the very least, make sure to adjust your vocabulary, the specs of the image included on your post, and your user handles and hashtags before you publish a post.
Know your audience.
What time are your target users online? Where do they live? What are they saying about your brand or your competitors? These are only a few of the questions that you must consider when you craft and publish your social media content. To know the best time for posting on each platform, you may refer to studies or your own analytics.
Be consistent but flexible.
Being consistent involves having a consistent posting schedule in order to earn your customers’ trust. More than that, it also means staying up to date and relevant so that customers rely on you for information and find your brand more relatable. After all, if your customers see that your last post was two months ago, they might think that your page is inactive and not worth following. However, remember that automation tools have no judgment of their own, so it is best to set an approval process to ensure that you can edit and optimize content before it is posted. You should incorporate trends and current events to keep your content fresh, so don’t schedule posts too far in advance.
Monitor updates and analytics regularly.
Automation tools can notify you about audience engagement and organize these notifications so that you can deal with them more easily. Better yet, some tools can be used to reply to commonly asked questions, for example. But one of the best features of automation tools is the presence of reports and analytics. These analytics can help you determine which type of content your users enjoy and share most and which types they ignore. The results of your previous social media campaigns should be used to improve your future ones. Also, remember to keep your SMM tools updated so that you can maximize their features.
Summary: Which automation tools are helpful?
Here is a list of must-have tools to automate your social media activities.
-
Scheduler - for auto-scheduling posts in various platforms
-
Chatbots - for providing customer support round the clock and increasing customer satisfaction by answering FAQs
-
Integrated inbox - for managing and engaging in conversations and other types of engagement across multiple networks in one place
-
Social listening - for understanding what your customers think about your industry or brand through following topics, hashtags, or even your competitors
-
Analytics - for measuring engagement and other measures of your content’s success to improve future content
-
Ad optimization - for testing your social media ad’s effectiveness by looking at audiences and metrics before you actually post the advertisement
A final reminder: automation is not meant to replace human touch. Use automation tools wisely.
