Problem: Social media is a “24 hours a day, 7 days a week” proposition, but your business is more like a 9-to-5, with the occasional 7-to-7 or more, situation. What is a social media marketer to do?
Solution: Integrate your marketing automation process for use with social networking.
Unlike more traditional types of campaigns, social media marketing requires a bit more attention to truly cultivate the type of following that produces real marketing ROI. Some marketers believe the answer lies simply in software that automatically replies a generic message anytime they are addressed via Twitter, Facebook, etc. The truly advanced and knowledgeable invest in marketing automation tools to manage their social media accounts when a brand representative is unavailable for interaction.
Sounds interesting, what can this type of software do?
Auto Response: Though some purists are not fans of auto responders, new social media marketing automation tools can trigger responses from channels such as Twitter or Facebook to visitors to your website, depending on which social network they are using at the time.
Enhanced Analytics: Marketing automation software has enhanced reporting and analytic tools capable of tracking how effective programs are and what they can expect to generate.
Lead Scoring: Social listening platforms can score potential sales leads based on the social activity of a certain customer. Know what your target is doing on your site, tweak your content to suit their preferences and convert them into sales.
One Tool: Social media marketing automation software can help grow brand recognition, customer base and online interaction – not to mention time and money. It’s important to note, however, that entire campaigns cannot be automated. Without a real person interacting with followers and monitoring engagement, it is easy to lose listeners. With the right balance, marketing automation software can greatly enhance your social media efforts.
What are your thoughts and experiences? How are you integrating marketing automation into your social marketing campaigns?
