When it comes to online marketing automation, there’s at least one reason why everyone looks to do it; and this reason is time. Our most precious gift is time and it is one that business owners or even someone passionately pursuing their dream, never have enough of, like ever! Sound familiar? So, a choice has to be made and that’s where online marketing automation comes into play.
Before we get to the mistakes with online marketing automation, first a brief intro to the online marketing areas automation helps businesses with:
- Online marketing content, so posting and scheduling your content to send without you having to post live (I use Hootsuite for example).
- Network and engagement responses like those Twitter follow thank you tweets or DMs or Facebook messenger chatbots.
- Email marketing campaigns and lead generation.
*Note: we will talk about these separately, but for now let’s get back to the mistakes you want to avoid.
The first mistake that comes from automation was mentioned in last week’s overview of online marketing automation and that is the personalized aspect. The need to free up time isn’t something any of us control, but if your community is important to you this means you will set something up so that you can follow up with them on a personal note.
From the lack of personalization we have mistake number two: not having eyes on your social media accounts, in your emails, on your website, and your overall online community interaction. If you’re not paying attention to what is going on online, how will you know who you’re talking to and what they’ve been talking about, as well as what their needs are? You won’t and that will make the person feel somewhat unimportant to you or even if they don’t feel unimportant, they won’t notice you either. Think about it, how many Twitter DMs or emails do you tune out, maybe you save them, but you don’t open them.
The only way you will stand out as business or person who cares about the people you’re trying to help is if you always have personal touch and truly caring in mind. This means, yes, setting up your online marketing automation so that you may run your business or pursue your projects; but including in your automation a way that you will have eyes online and you will add something personal when your community reaches out.
A perfect example is the response or lack of response that I got from reaching out to two public figures (authors, researchers, and a bunch more titles): Gregg Braden (brings science and spirituality together) and Daniel Goleman (known for Emotional Intelligence).
I don’t want to bore you with the details, but a little background of my connection with them is needed first. With Daniel Goleman I am connected on LinkedIn (we are 1st connections, it’s like being friends with someone on Facebook). This means he or his social media manager accepted a connection request that I sent. Gregg Braden I am not connected to in any other way than me following his page, buying some of his books and getting his newsletters.
So, the story is that I wrote both for research I am conducting on my own book, and because I truly admire what they are doing and sharing with the world. While Daniel Goleman never got back to me, Gregg Branden’s assistant did. Now, you might say, how does an assistant’s response show Gregg Braden cares. It shows he cares because he has someone replying to his fans. Even if that message may be a template response, the person who sent it to me was very real and they addressed my query. On the other hand, me getting excited that Daniel Goleman accepted to connect on LinkedIn, but then totally ignored my message makes me much less of a fan. I know busy, but even a response a year from the time I wrote or some acknowledgment would have been showing he cared.
At the end of the day, it all depends on what matters to you most and what you prioritize. If your community is important to you, you will always find ways to include those personal touches and have eyes on those you’re helping; while also taking advantage of online marketing automation solutions so that you can free up your time.
