Social media automation is the process of optimizing social interactions using automated tools. This can include scheduling social posts ahead of time or republishing popular articles. Automating social media publication, engagement and management reduces the hours spent on maintaining and growing brand accounts. As a result, time and resources could be allocated toward other areas of the marketing budget and meeting strategic goals.

How to Use Tools for Social Media Automation

Learn the basics of using tools to support social media automation. Here’s a few tips to get started:

Publish Posts During Peak Audience Times

Optimize your reach by posting when your audience is most active on social media. For more details, check out our latest research on the the best days and times to post based on engagement from different networks and industries.

Keep a Steady Queue of Posts

Brands without a dedicated social media team may struggle with posting on a regular basis if marketers find themselves juggling multiple responsibilities. Social media automation lets you upload your content calendar so you can concentrate on other tasks. Additionally, if you went on vacation or want to publish posts outside of business hours, upload the posts and schedule publish dates days, weeks or months ahead of time.

Analyze Social Data

Automated tools analyze the data in real-time and report key metrics like engagement levels, impressions or reach. Some tools will also have customized reports sent to your inbox on your chosen schedule.

Set Up Automatic Responses to Customers

Improve customer care by using automated software that suggests replies to messages or chatbots that send responses to customer questions or comments.

Pros of Social Media Automation

The pros of social media automation include:

  • Spend less time manually updating brand pages
  • Maximize reach and impressions
  • Stay active on social media beyond regular business hours
  • Analyze social data in real-time

Examples of Social Media Automation in Action

Some of the ways social media automation could be put into action include:

  • Use chatbots to respond to user messages
  • Schedule Facebook posts weeks ahead of campaigns
  • Send tweets when your audience levels peak
  • Get notifications of social conversations