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Should you automate anything on social media? #twitter

should you automate anything on #socialmedia?

Being online means you need to be open, honest and what it says on the tin, but the time involved in this can sometimes mean you miss out on the very essence of etiquette such as a simple thank you – so should you automate anything?

When someone follows you on twitter should you be reacting quickly saying thanks within a reasonable time (and these days a day or so is no longer sufficient) which means you need to monitoring your account pretty often or is it ok to use one of the many apps on the market to do it for you?  I will admit I do automate my thank you… and try to keep it sweet and welcoming… without selling anything…  I hate it when someone I have decided to follow immediately sends back a sales pitch – don’t you?  In fact I will probably immediately unfollow them so if they have something like this free app for twitter called Qwitter  and they will see it pretty quickly…

There are plenty of things on the market to do this.. one thing I would NOT recommend is setting up an auto follow for anyone who follows you and here’s why:
1.  They may be spam accounts
2.  You don’t get to check how loud they are
3.  They may not be relevant to you or you to them
4.  They may be erm… selling something you don’t wish to be associated
5.  You will end up with a very onfocused list
6.  You may end up with something that’s too big to handle
7.  It’s not very sociable…

One thing I would recommend is Social Oomph – you can use  the features you need in the free programme and if you really get to grips with it you can pay for the upgrade and really get your social media on track.  We are creatures of habit and we always do the things we enjoy… if something becomes too difficult we will ditch it and what a waste that would be.

So is it acceptable to automate a touch and interact when you have the time?  Or should you spend more time on-line just in case?  There is a fine balance to be struck and you do need to decide what works for you and your business…. there is no right or wrong… but if you do things with the best intentions and be polite and helpful, I can see no reason for not giving yourself a helping hand to get to grips with social media… if that means a touch of automation then so be it… let’s face it… I often schedule blog posts for the optimum time so what is so different about being polite?

Have you seen some really horrendous auto follow messages?  We’d love to see the best and worst of them why don’t you share them below…  I do get around to refollowing people back but don’t do it to everyone as you probably saw in the video… it doesn’t mean I don’t interact and help those I don’t follow so if you fancy listening I am @amanda_hill.

 

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This is a great free social media management tool #socialmedia

hootsuite or tweetdeck?

 

I often hear “But I don’t have time to do anything”… really? Or are you just not using the time you have well.  You can always find time to have a cup of tea or other habits you use on a daily basis… so get in the habit of planning your social media strategy.  Hootsuite is a dashboard.  You can add up to 5 of your social media platforms to it and schedule something to go out every day.  So even when you are busy it happens… and you can dip in and out to engage when you do have time.

There are plenty of social media platforms on the market that do different things and cost different amounts… we have look at plenty and play with a few.  Tweetdeck is similar to Hootsuite but some of the features drive me bonkers.  I also use buffer which is a scheduler that gives you the optimum time for posting out your content on a regular basis.

Take a look at this hootsuite video and see what I mean.

Social media management is also about managing time as well as creating engaging and quality content.  If you can manage the time and you can consistent with what you are posting you will find you can look for what your audience needs and give them more.

If you decide you really just don’t have time to manage your social media get in touch and we’d love to chat about how we can help you.

We always love to hear new ways and tools on the market of managing social media so why not share what works for you.

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