Social Media Automation

Social media automation has become a necessity in today’s world. Promoting products, services, events, etc. through social media has become a mainstream routine for the savvy business owner. Today’s consumers expect it. The WWW and social platforms are the ‘go-to” when seeking information about sales, services, and products.

Social Media Stats

If you’re skeptical, check out these 12 statistics published by stackla.com;

1. Friends’ social media posts influence 81% of consumers’ purchasing decisions. (Forbes)
2. Consumers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals. (Hubspot)
3. Facebook accounts for 50% of total social referrals and 64% of total social revenue. (Business Insider
4. 31% of consumers say they are using social media channels to browse for new items to purchase. (Aimia)
5. Millennials are 1.6x more likely to use digital channels to learn about new products. (Facebook Insights)
6. 84% of millennials say user-generated content from strangers has at least some influence on what they buy. (Gartner)
7. 53% of consumers recommend companies or products in tweets, with 48% following through to purchase those products or services. (SproutSocial)
8. 78% of consumers say companies’ social media posts impact their purchases. (Forbes)
9. Customers are 6x more likely to purchase a product if the page includes pictures from social media. (AdWeek)
10. Conversions increase 133% when mobile shoppers see positive reviews before buying. (Bazaarvoice)
11. In 2015, Facebook influenced 52% of consumers’ online and offline purchases. (<DigitasLBi Commerce)
12. Global social commerce revenue reached $30 billion in 2015 (Statista)

The numbers show that a large percentage of consumers start their shopping or search for services online and these numbers will continue to grow. So, yes, a high percentage of consumers start their selection processes online and they expect that information to be current and timely.

Social Media participation is necessary for your business to stay competitive. It’s expected. To some degree, most businesses do participate in Social Media. Most savvy business owners also know that using this valuable marketing tool effectively can also be incredibly time-consuming.

How to keep up? How to keep it current? How to keep it engaging?

You need a plan, and you need some sort of Social Media Automation.

Social Media Automation – The Tools

There are several automation apps and software platforms out there to automate your posting schedules. The trick is to find the one that works best for your company’s needs.

The most popular platforms today are Buffer, Hootsuite, HubSpot, Social Flow, Social Oomph, and SproutSocial.

Each of these (and other) platforms have their own unique features, but basically, they are simply tools to help you set a publishing schedule for pushing out your posts to the various social platforms. In some degree, they incorporate a reporting system that monitors your accounts and notifies you when someone comments on your post(s), asks a question or mentions your brand.

They also help you “collect” user information. This allows you to cultivate and follow through with potential leads for people interested in your services and products.

Social Media Automation – The Basics

“…can one desire too much of a good thing?”
As You Like It, – William Shakespeare

Now that you’ve researched and selected your automation tool, don’t overdo it. Pick and choose the right time and days to publish your posts. If you publish too much too often, people will quit paying attention.

Make it pertinent. Make it timely. Make it interesting. Make it fun!

Remember, the information you want to push out through the various social
platforms still needs to be created. That in itself is a time-consuming project.

Most importantly, make time to stay engaged with your subscribers. Be timely with replies to questions and inquiries. Now that you’ve got your information, offers, whatever, going out on a schedule, you need to make sure you “stay in touch” with your client base. Even with automated scheduling and publishing, that human touch is required to maintain that human element of interaction with social media. It’s expected.

Social Media Automation – The Perks

Whatever automation system you opt for, make sure you know how to utilize it for cross-linking and sharing across the various social platforms. Cross-linking is an easy to use perk. A Facebook or Twitter posts can link to or reference a pertinent blog post. Your blog post can be synced to your social campaigns, etc. Sync everything as long as it’s related. Learn how to make the tool you’ve selected really do the work for you.

Tweet! Statistics show that the most successful Twitter users tweet at least three times a day. Automation can help you there. Since tweeting is a simple way to engage clients on specific holidays, for events, deals, specials, etc., these are easily scheduled in advance and can make your business constantly appear active and engaging.

Social Media Automation – The Work

Content is king. After all the internet is the information highway, and you have a lot to Create and publish engaging content. Strive to publish information that you know people will find helpful, interesting, and entertaining.

Know and understand who your target audience is. Create and publish content that is pertinent to your particular industry, but also push out posts that are motivational or simply just for fun.

This takes research, dedication, and it takes time. Allot time to create content to cover events throughout the months in advance. Then with automation, these can be scheduled to go out when you want/need them to.

Automation is not 100%. It still requires that human touch to maintain and generate new and loyal followers. You need to interact with your fans and followers. You need to assure that even with automation, your business posts don’t come across as robotic. All of this still takes time.

The really savvy Business Owner knows and acknowledges their limitations. They know where time is best spent in developing their business and they also know when it’s smart to seek out a specialist that can help them on their journey. IDM is a full-service marketing company that is well versed in social realms. We offer a variety of affordable services that include content creation and social automation services. We can help your business grow.

Contact us for a free consultation and learn more about the services we can provide you and your business. Call (757) 809-3959 or write to us via info@idm-pros.com.