Social media automation tools like Hootsuite, TweetDeck, or Sprout Social are effective time-savers for any social marketer. However, there are some do’s and don’ts on how to effectively use these tools.
Do: Automate your regular social media postings or announcements
This is what social media automation tools are for — to make scheduling your content as easy as possible. Take advantage of their scheduling capabilities to plan ahead for days where you may not have as much time as necessary to dedicate to your social media efforts.
Don’t: Automate customer interactions
Social media is all about developing real relationships between your brand and your customers. Automating interactions between your brand and customers can have a negative impact on how they view your company. Also, a computer can’t understand context and may respond in the wrong way with an automated message. It is always a good idea to have a real person respond to any type of customer interaction to ensure the communication that takes place is appropriate.
Do: Automate your own content or repurposed content
Content that can be planned ahead is always a key candidate for social media automation tools. Use your social media content calendar to identify content that can be scheduled ahead of time.
Don’t: Automate troubleshooting
Social media automation tools are just that — tools. They cannot replace an actual person for things like troubleshooting. When a customer has a problem, it is crucial that a real person respond to correct the problem. An automated response to a customer complaint will make your brand seem as though they do not care as much about the customer and their problem as a real person responding does.
Remember to not over schedule your postings or to schedule too far in advance or else you could be regarded as spam by the social platform. Also be prepared to pause your postings if necessary. Finally, remember to customize the length of each automated post to each individual platform.
Still having trouble navigating your social media postings and automation tools? The Harmon Group is here to help. Our team can help schedule your postings for the optimal time at the optimal lengths. Contact us today to get started.
Until next time,
