Marketing Automation when done correctly can be AWESOME for your business. However, when done incorrectly, it can HURT your business. So what is marketing automation and how can it HURT or HELP your business?
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Well, let’s start of by defining Marketing Automation (in my own way). According to dictionary.com, Marketing is “the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the seller to the buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling” and Automation is defined as “the technique of controlling a process by highly automatic means, and reducing human intervention to a minimum.”
So my definition of Marketing Automation is “the technology used to control the activities involved in the sale of products or services to a consumer by automatic means, with minimum human intervention”
When done correctly you can use Marketing Automation software to more effectively market on multiple channels online (such as email, social media, websites, etc.) and automate repetitive tasks.
However, when done incorrectly Marketing Automation can make your brand look inauthentic, cold and not genuine, and this can hurt your business. The difference comes down to two things the message and the timing.
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Message–
- Website– The most common marketing automation for your website is to automate your blog posts. This involves being able to schedule your blog posts for a future time. This can be great for your business because it can save you time when you can work on you blog posts in advance and then automatically schedule it for the future. Just like everything else in your business, your blog posts should be genuine and authentic and express the voice of your brand.
- Email Messages– the most common marketing automation for email is autoresponders and drip campaigns, which are both a series of automated emails sent over time. This is an awesome way to automate the repetitive task of sending out emails to potential customers or prospects. However, the message in your email can help or hurt your business, if the message is one-side (look how great I am, buy from me, look what I have to sell), and doesn’t offer valuable information (tips, techniques, helpful information), then this technique could actually backfire for your company. The key to email autoresponder and drip campaigns is to be genuine, helpful, and provide value!
- Social Media– the most common marketing automation for social media is scheduled posts, and automated direct messages.
- Scheduling social media posts ahead of time can be a great time saver for your business. However, it is important to not just schedule your social media posts, but to also be present online in real time. People want to know that you are engaged in the platform and not just scheduling messages, so commenting, liking, sharing, retweeting, is a great way to show that you are not just scheduling your information but you are also engaged on the platform.
- Automated Direct Messages– Another marketing automation method is to send automated messages when people connect to you on a platform. I see this a lot on Twitter when I follow someone and then I immediately get a message that says “Thanks for the follow and then instructs me to do something like go to their website, join their email list, etc.” I personally dislike automated direct messages, because they never feel authentic and I also feel if you are going to direct message someone it should be personal not a generic message.
- Website– The most common marketing automation for your website is to automate your blog posts. This involves being able to schedule your blog posts for a future time. This can be great for your business because it can save you time when you can work on you blog posts in advance and then automatically schedule it for the future. Just like everything else in your business, your blog posts should be genuine and authentic and express the voice of your brand.
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Timing-
When using marketing automation, it is important to time your messages appropriately. For example, if someone joins your email list they are most engaged with your company and brand as a new subscriber,so it’s important to nurture this relationship with an automated series of emails (autoreponders and drip campaigns).
Another example of good timing is scheduling posts in social media. It’s important to schedule your posts at the most optimal time when a large percentage of your fans or followers are online, so paying attention to your social media reports and knowing popular online times for your network is important.
In summary, with the RIGHT message at the RIGHT time Marketing Automation can do wonders for you business. Are you using Marketing Automation in your business? If so, comment below and tell us how Marketing Automation is working for your business.
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