Social media automation: It’s all about striking the balance
By Alexandra Reid
I’ll come out honestly and say that I’ve been using automation software for a long time now. Social media purists, go ahead and hiss at me if you will. I only ask that you hear me out.
For the last year or so, I’ve used automation software to schedule posts for this blog and tweets for Twitter. Just last week, I went a bit farther and purchased an automation tool to help me grow Twitter communities. And you know what? I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty about it. As a social media enthusiast and community manager for multiple accounts, I find it a necessary time saver.
Let me be quick to say that I do not use automation software for everything. In fact, I only use it for those menial, repetitive tasks like hitting the “post” and “follow” buttons. All the important work, including crafting messages and direct messages, engaging with others, searching for quality articles to share and locating those key industry influencers is done manually by me. In no way does the automation software deplete the quality of my accounts. It’s because of the automation software that I have time to engage with good people, which, while essential and the most fun, is often the most time consuming part of social media.
