“Why would you dig a hole with your bare hands if you have a shovel at your disposal?” Unknown Quote
In the past several months with the rapid growth of Triberr and the continued proliferation of Social Media tools you have probably noticed your stream has changed a bit.
No longer are you seeing only real time content, but rather a constant flow of shared content, much of it from automated sources. Whether it be blogs via Triberr, tweets via HootSuite, or Facebook postings via Networked Blogs. Bottom line…Social Media is evolving.
Before you read any further, this post isn’t a philisophical debate. I’ve written that one already in regards to the “Right Way to do Social Media,” and while it was fun, let’s just say I’ve settled on my strategy for now and hopefully yours is coming along as well. For those of you that are on the fence around whether or not to automate Social Media content this post is designed to provide some thought around why I’ve done it, how you can make it work, and of course the potential risks. ( I don’t want anyone coming back saying I didn’t tell them so )
For most people using Social Media, it is used as a Sales, Marketing, and Relationship Management tool; To liken it to the real world I propose to you the following explanation…
Direct Sales: Out in the real world, this is generally done most successfully in a setting of one to one or one to a few. As a metaphor to Social Media this is your highly engaged activity. Conversation, on going dialogues, etc. In Social Media this is done as an ongoing dialogue on a Social platform and usually the conversation is converted to Video, Skype or other before a sale is ever completed. Also just like the real world cold calling isn’t appreciated anywhere. (Don’t spam the stream with sales offers – bad taste!)
Marketing: Marketing is generally done in a few ways, but most often it is done with the intention of attracting many potential customers to drive in leads, opportunities, and brand advocates. In Social Media I liken this to broadcasting whether automated or not. Some obvious examples are magazine ads, billboards, and fliers. I look at Social Media automation as a great comparison to marketing. You are representing a product, company, and brand, and you are providing related content to your audience to attract them to what you are trying to offer.
Relationship Management: In the business world these are the activities that can build your customer relationships but may not always have to do directly with a pending deal or transaction. In the real world this may be sending a card, going out to lunch, or taking a customer golfing or to a ball game. In the Social world, this could be Tweeting a happy birthday wish, sharing an interesting yet business irrelevant article via Google Plus, or liking a photo of someone’s family. These activities are generally not automated, unless of course your assistant is doing your Social Media.
Simply put, automation is to Social Media what marketing campaigns are to the general business world. But here is the catch…
SOCIAL MEDIA IS PART OF THE GENERAL BUSINESS WORLD!….I am only screaming here because there are some people who are fighting this and I rarely recommend conforming but the sooner most people accept this the better off we all are.
So, when you are considering Automation, try to think of it like a marketing strategy. This means the content should be tasteful, and of high quality, and it should be done with a specific outcome in mind. The following are 3 good goals and 1 no no when using automation
1. Have a Continuous Presence
Let’s face it, a day in Social Media is like a month in the real world. To test this theory, try to completely go away from all Social Networks for a few days. Don’t be surprised if you have to recreate your presence as if you have been gone for weeks/months/years. With tasteful automation you can stay present and in front of people with relevant content even if you are hiding from your computer up in the north woods. Even if you are not hiding from your computer, you are likely sleeping at some point, and outside for a while, all of this time could be strategically used with smart automation. Kind of a win-win no?
2. Brand Yourself Accurately
What is your online brand. By curating and automating tastefully you can define your brand. If you are a busy professional it is hard to brand, engage, and build relationships online while getting anything else done. Most of us are not paid to be on Social Media so automating can help accomplish goals while you are paying for your mortgage.
3. Expanding Your Network
Marketing success often comes down to reach. With millions of users in Social Media you want to attract meaningful ones to you. With intelligent use of tools and automation you can create content and get in front of people around the world. If your content is interesting and relevant it will be shared. This will expose new potential readers, followers, and customers in your direction. Essentially automated content can help you be even more effective at numbers 1 and 2 above.
4. The No No – Direct Messages
Here is one thing I NEVER recommend and I don’t think I will see much disagreement. Please, Please, Please do not use Auto DM on twitter. I haven’t met a single person who likes these. Not one!
Disclaimer: Okay, so all of this seems positive, and from my perspective it is. However, like anything there is a downside that I want everyone to be aware of. Just like any marketing effort, there will be people who don’t want to see your automated content. They will complain that it isn’t really you and that it is not authentic. It is kind of like saying that Coca Cola should have a representative for every customer to convince them to continue to drink, consume, and recommend their product. It isn’t a reasonable strategy for them, and you being present all the time is probably not a reasonable strategy for you. Another potential problem is that if you automate too much too often you may lose a few followers and even a few friends.
Having said that, I have found the benefits far outweigh the risks. The tools I have chosen and utilized have helped me work toward and/or accomplish all of the goals above.
What is your experience with Automation? Continue the conversation below and as always…Thanks for stopping by!
