Why There’s Nothing Wrong With Social Media Automation

Interesting article and i do agree with you that automation in and of itself is not bad. I guess it is how you use it.  After all, automation is about LEVERAGE. Leveraging your time etc. However, using it to spam people constantly is a no-no which i believe you would agree.  Another important point, is that there has been a federal lawsuit by twitter against automation tools recently which for those using it would want to know about . In addition, there is information on how to use the new rules of twitter to one's advantage due to this. If you want to know more about the recent changes to twitter marketing and how to come out on top of all this , you can watch a FREE webinar that explains it all at  http://4u2bn.com/pj06   (you can copy and paste it to your browser).

I agree on many levels, provided you're not auto tweeting articles that's content goes completely against your philosophies. That might make you like like a real awesome schmuck! LOL

Triberr is probably the best tool around for automation, specifically because you can set up your own tribes and know exactly what kind of stuff you're auto tweeting.

I think a good balance is the answer for some. I certainly spend a lot of time on Twitter engaging, because connection and responsiveness is totally king in a transparent world.

At any rate, great post, as usual.

I agree on many levels, provided you're not auto tweeting articles that's content goes completely against your philosophies. That might make you like like a real awesome schmuck! LOL

Triberr is probably the best tool around for automation, specifically because you can set up your own tribes and know exactly what kind of stuff you're auto tweeting.

I think a good balance is the answer for some. I certainly spend a lot of time on Twitter engaging, because connection and responsiveness is totally king in a transparent world.

At any rate, great post, as usual.

I agree on many levels, provided you're not auto tweeting articles that's content goes completely against your philosophies. That might make you like like a real awesome schmuck! LOL Triberr is probably the best tool around for automation, specifically because you can set up your own tribes and know exactly what kind of stuff you're auto tweeting. I think a good balance is the answer for some. I certainly spend a lot of time on Twitter engaging, because connection and responsiveness is totally king in a transparent world. At any rate, great post, as usual.

There's nothing wrong with the social media automation, just do it correctly! It is actually a saving grace for busy-people out there. Automate plus interact is a great combination, I think.

There's nothing wrong with the social media automation, just do it correctly! It is actually a saving grace for busy-people out there. Automate plus interact is a great combination, I think.

The problem is twofold I think:
1. Time & SM-skills-strapped business owners often hope & think automation tools can replace thier own human touch, time and attention on the community. It can only add to your efforts, to grow your business further.
2. These days I'm feeling the weight of my SM perspective: there is no end to the amount of time, effort & caring resources a business could allocate to relationships with customers and would-be customers. Adding more people, expertise and budget will help, when it's the right people ~

The problem is twofold I think:
1. Time & SM-skills-strapped business owners often hope & think automation tools can replace thier own human touch, time and attention on the community. It can only add to your efforts, to grow your business further.
2. These days I'm feeling the weight of my SM perspective: there is no end to the amount of time, effort & caring resources a business could allocate to relationships with customers and would-be customers. Adding more people, expertise and budget will help, when it's the right people ~

The problem is twofold I think: 1. Time & SM-skills-strapped business owners often hope & think automation tools can replace thier own human touch, time and attention on the community. It can only add to your efforts, to grow your business further. 2. These days I'm feeling the weight of my SM perspective: there is no end to the amount of time, effort & caring resources a business could allocate to relationships with customers and would-be customers. Adding more people, expertise and budget will help, when it's the right people ~

I think the problem exists when people get this out of balance. I don't think automation is the "spawn of the devil", but neither is it the answer to all your prayers. As with any tool, it's how you use it that matters. If all your social media is automated, you look like a bit of a robot, but if you're constantly online it's likely that you don't really have a life (or a business). Balance is the key. I recently blogged on where I think automation is great, and where I think it should be avoided: http://www.clear-thought.co.uk/in_thought/art/95/social-media-marketing-automation/

I think the problem exists when people get this out of balance. I don't think automation is the "spawn of the devil", but neither is it the answer to all your prayers. As with any tool, it's how you use it that matters. If all your social media is automated, you look like a bit of a robot, but if you're constantly online it's likely that you don't really have a life (or a business). Balance is the key. I recently blogged on where I think automation is great, and where I think it should be avoided: http://www.clear-thought.co.uk/in_thought/art/95/social-media-marketing-automation/

I totally agree that there is nothing wrong with a little automation when it comes to Twitter... actually I believe it's a smart move particularly for time poor small business owners. If the technology is there why not take advantage of it and use it to help you manage the marketing component of your business in the same way we take advantage of email marketing (just like you said).

Sure there are some people who take it to the extreme but then there are others who use it beautifully and they are able to leverage their Twitter time allowing more time for them to engage with their followers.

Thank you for sharing your smart insight into the smart use of automation.

I totally agree that there is nothing wrong with a little automation when it comes to Twitter... actually I believe it's a smart move particularly for time poor small business owners. If the technology is there why not take advantage of it and use it to help you manage the marketing component of your business in the same way we take advantage of email marketing (just like you said).

Sure there are some people who take it to the extreme but then there are others who use it beautifully and they are able to leverage their Twitter time allowing more time for them to engage with their followers.

Thank you for sharing your smart insight into the smart use of automation.

I totally agree that there is nothing wrong with a little automation when it comes to Twitter... actually I believe it's a smart move particularly for time poor small business owners. If the technology is there why not take advantage of it and use it to help you manage the marketing component of your business in the same way we take advantage of email marketing (just like you said). Sure there are some people who take it to the extreme but then there are others who use it beautifully and they are able to leverage their Twitter time allowing more time for them to engage with their followers. Thank you for sharing your smart insight into the smart use of automation.

Thank you! Well said, Danny. Automation saves so much time for me. I just bought Tweet Adder and have been playing with the features. It's helped me add over 200 targeted followers in the past week and has more features to automate tweets.

It's still me posting, I'm just setting it up in advance. I still check my account mentions and carry on real time conversation with people. Automation makes all the in-between stuff easier so I don't have to stay on Twitter 14 hours a day.

Thank you! Well said, Danny. Automation saves so much time for me. I just bought Tweet Adder and have been playing with the features. It's helped me add over 200 targeted followers in the past week and has more features to automate tweets.

It's still me posting, I'm just setting it up in advance. I still check my account mentions and carry on real time conversation with people. Automation makes all the in-between stuff easier so I don't have to stay on Twitter 14 hours a day.

Thank you! Well said, Danny. Automation saves so much time for me. I just bought Tweet Adder and have been playing with the features. It's helped me add over 200 targeted followers in the past week and has more features to automate tweets. It's still me posting, I'm just setting it up in advance. I still check my account mentions and carry on real time conversation with people. Automation makes all the in-between stuff easier so I don't have to stay on Twitter 14 hours a day.

Danny - thank you for writing this post. This is a subject that I can get "riled" up about quite easily. I read a post last week (or week before) where the blog author suggested that by automating your Twitter account you are basically cutting your own throat. I disagree for numerous reasons (which deserves it's own blog post).

In my opinion it all boils down to this:
As long as the tools we chose to automate are not entirely replacing actual interactions then those tools are only supplementing our efforts and allowing each individual to manage their social media in the way they feel is best.

I echo your closing line RE....respect for the "one size does not fit all" approach is necessary.

Danny - thank you for writing this post. This is a subject that I can get "riled" up about quite easily. I read a post last week (or week before) where the blog author suggested that by automating your Twitter account you are basically cutting your own throat. I disagree for numerous reasons (which deserves it's own blog post).

In my opinion it all boils down to this:
As long as the tools we chose to automate are not entirely replacing actual interactions then those tools are only supplementing our efforts and allowing each individual to manage their social media in the way they feel is best.

I echo your closing line RE....respect for the "one size does not fit all" approach is necessary.

Danny - thank you for writing this post. This is a subject that I can get "riled" up about quite easily. I read a post last week (or week before) where the blog author suggested that by automating your Twitter account you are basically cutting your own throat. I disagree for numerous reasons (which deserves it's own blog post). In my opinion it all boils down to this: As long as the tools we chose to automate are not entirely replacing actual interactions then those tools are only supplementing our efforts and allowing each individual to manage their social media in the way they feel is best. I echo your closing line RE....respect for the "one size does not fit all" approach is necessary.

I agree wholeheartedly. If you're spending all of your time on Twitter and Facebook, who's providing the customer service?

I agree wholeheartedly. If you're spending all of your time on Twitter and Facebook, who's providing the customer service?

I agree wholeheartedly. If you're spending all of your time on Twitter and Facebook, who's providing the customer service?

It's not often that I am compelled to comment, but in my opinion you have completely missed the mark.

There certainly is room for automation. Scheduling tweets or Facebook posts across a variety of clients is almost required if you have a small social media team.

However, if the content is just a scrubbed list of links or stories from an RSS feed or elsewhere, that is when I worry about automation.

These channels are not just about broadcasting a message, it should be about engagement and creating more value around a topic through conversation.

I don't buy into influence scores, Klout or other similar services. And I can tell that you value interaction as you've commented on nearly every comment on this post.

It's hard to tell exactly what automation you are talking about. But those folks that continue to blast out stories and links that are not curated remind me of a newspaper without an editor. And if you are not engaging on the backend with your audience I would assume your followers and created community have little value.

It's not often that I am compelled to comment, but in my opinion you have completely missed the mark. There certainly is room for automation. Scheduling tweets or Facebook posts across a variety of clients is almost required if you have a small social media team. However, if the content is just a scrubbed list of links or stories from an RSS feed or elsewhere, that is when I worry about automation. These channels are not just about broadcasting a message, it should be about engagement and creating more value around a topic through conversation. I don't buy into influence scores, Klout or other similar services. And I can tell that you value interaction as you've commented on nearly every comment on this post. It's hard to tell exactly what automation you are talking about. But those folks that continue to blast out stories and links that are not curated remind me of a newspaper without an editor. And if you are not engaging on the backend with your audience I would assume your followers and created community have little value.

I agree with Eric's statement: "A little automation can be just what some people may need." The danger with automation is that it makes broadcasting too easy, and then gets over-used. There's nothing wrong with automating certain tasks at certain times (e.g. so you don't need to separately submit your latest blog post on each social media site), but it can't substitute for interaction completely.

Are you automating your replies to every comment on this post? Of course not - wouldn't work. Automation has its place, but can't replace genuine interaction, the "social" part of social media.

I agree with Eric's statement: "A little automation can be just what some people may need." The danger with automation is that it makes broadcasting too easy, and then gets over-used. There's nothing wrong with automating certain tasks at certain times (e.g. so you don't need to separately submit your latest blog post on each social media site), but it can't substitute for interaction completely. Are you automating your replies to every comment on this post? Of course not - wouldn't work. Automation has its place, but can't replace genuine interaction, the "social" part of social media.

This makes sense. Now to figure out how to make sense of this for me! Thanks Danny. Billy