SOCIAL MEDIA AUTOMATION IS NECESSARY
Social media automation has gotten a bad rap in the early years of digital marketing. Most marketers and customers associated automating with computer generated spam, which is definitely not something you want your brand identified with.
But first, let’s define what modern social media automation is. At it’s core, automating in social media is scheduling posts or tweets in advance.
This seems to go against a lot of tenets of social media, but I’ll explain why it’s not true. In fact, I’d go as far to say that automating a certain type of tweet is the key to furthering personal online relationships.
Does that seem impossible? Let me explain below.
AUTOMATING WILL SAVE YOU TIME
If I told you I had a tip that could save you time right now, would you take my advice?
Well, here it is: social media automation will save you time with parts of your digital strategy. That’s the #1 reason to automate: it will save you time.
Notice I said “parts” of your social media strategy. This is a case of working smarter, not harder. With that, I present to you two actionable tips to walk away with right now.
- Automate your posts and tweets that promote your content or brand
- Make sure to schedule posts during high traffic times (not on 2 am on a Saturday morning, for example)
See? That was easy. Now you have time to focus on other aspects of marketing.
SPROUTSOCIAL OR HOOTSUITE
There are many platforms that will allow you to schedule tweets. Today, we’ll look at SproutSocial and Hootsuite.
SproutSocial and Hootsuite are very similar tools, as they let you schedule tweets and posts months in advance at a time. Which platform you’d pick comes down to your budget, and your social media ambitions.
Hootsuite offers a free version of their platform, whereas SproutSocial costs $39. If you’re dipping your toe in social media, then the choice is obvious.
But if you’re serious about building a presence and a following, and building a digital business on social media, SproutSocial is your choice. Aside from its social media automation, SproutSocial excels in its social media analytics reports.
They don’t only show how many followers you’ve gained – but where and who. They can also reveal how effective tweets were during a given hour.
Again, if you want to take your social media skills to the next level, splurge on a SproutSocial account.
AUTOMATE TO FOCUS ON RELATIONSHIPS
So now, what are you going to do with all this newfound time you have?
Interact with your social media followers, of course!
In automating the day to day content posts, you can now focus on answering questions, engaging in hashtag conversations, and starting discussions on Twitter or Facebook.
This is how social media automation can actually make your social media account more personable and engaging.
Automating isn’t about the stuff you automate – it’s about how you spend the free time you have.
If you would like to learn more about developing a successful social media plan, download our free eBook The Nao Blueprint: How to Develop a Content Creation Machine today.
