Social media automation is the process of optimizing social interactions using automated tools. This process can include scheduling social posts in advance or republishing popular articles. Automating social media posts, engagement and management reduces the amount of time spent on maintaining and growing brand accounts. As a result, time and resources can be redirected toward other areas of the marketing budget and meeting strategic goals.
How to Use Tools for Social Media Automation
Understand the basics of using tools that support social media automation. Here are a few tips to get started:
Publish Posts During Peak Audience Times
Improve your reach by posting during optimal times when your audience is most active on social media. To learn more, check out our latest research on the best days and times to post based on engagement from various networks and industries.
Keep a Steady Queue of Posts
Brands lacking a dedicated social media team may struggle with posting on a regular basis if marketers are required to juggle multiple responsibilities. Social media automation allows you to upload your content calendar in advance so you can concentrate on other tasks. If you go on vacation or want to publish posts outside of business hours, you can upload the posts and schedule publish dates days, weeks or months ahead of time.
Analyze Social Data
Automated tools analyze the data continuously and report key metrics like engagement levels, impressions, or reach. Some tools will also provide customized reports sent directly to your inbox on a chosen schedule.
Set Up Automatic Responses to Customers
Improve customer engagement by using automated software that suggests replies to messages or use chatbots to answer customer questions or comments.
Pros of Social Media Automation
The benefits of social media automation include:
- Spend less time manually updating brand pages
- Optimize reach and impressions
- Remain active on social media beyond regular business hours
- Analyze social data in real-time
Examples of Social Media Automation in Action
Social media automation can be be put into action in the following ways:
- Use chatbots to answer to user questions and comments
- Schedule Facebook posts weeks ahead of campaigns
- Publish tweets when your audience engagement levels peak
- Receive notifications of social conversations