When Automation Goes Sour!

It’s nice to have something that eases the workflow in your business, and thanks to technology, we have a huge number of software we can integrate in our business to carry out certain processes while we are away.

However, with every good thing, there are always setbacks lurking in the corner, waiting for an opportunity leap on its prey.

Frankly, we have promoted the culture of laziness, and have become overly reliant on automation tools. But the truth is, automation tools play a huge role in business, especially within the digital marketing sphere.

So what’s the problem?

When it malfunctions or when it’s not set up correctly, your credibility will be at stake (trust me, you don’t want that to happen).

The idea of syncing your content between facebook and twitter seems like a good plan. But the downside is when you post a photo album on facebook, and all you see on twitter is…

I’m subscribed to the email list of a lot of entrepreneurs who I follow and learn from, and as a marketer, I know how important it is to have an email list.

Recently, I received an email from one of these individuals (someone whose organisation has helped a lot of businesses through their training programs), and this is what the email looked like…

Based on that email, you would agree that the connection there was completely lost. This often makes people feel as if they are classified as numbers, rather than human beings.

Again, as a marketer, I would say this person had good intentions, and this was just a one off, and could have been caused by the email marketing tool they used. But what about other people who are not marketers, and may have received the same email with the same blunder? Would they feel the same way like me?

How about DM automation people use on Twitter? Here’s one I got recently…

If you’ve noticed, I didn’t respond to the initial message sent to me on May 14th, mainly because I don’t like communicating with… “robots” (so to speak)!

I sent a DM to the person on the 9th of June when I noticed their post on the twitter feeds promoting their ebook, without adding a link to where people will access the ebook. After sending the first DM, I decided to click the link the person provided on the initial DM, and that is what prompted my second message, which I still haven’t received a response for.

Today’s business world thrives on real connections, and when we miss that by leaving everything to automation, we will quickly lose that value.

But, hang on a minute! What if I have a great amount of people in my email list or a great amount of followers on social media, should I manually interact with all of them?

Well, that’s humanly impossible to pull through, especially if your fan base is in the hundreds of thousands (or even millions). However, the real issue is not about the number of followers (no matter the size), the real issue lies within your motives. That is what people look at.

When you write an email or compose a tweet or facebook post (or whatever medium you use), what are you trying to achieve? As I write this post, my intentions are to point out why we need to get down to the nitty gritty (i.e. put in the work, and do what we know we are capable of doing, and then keep a good eye on our automation process, to make sure things are working properly).

Personally, I don’t use any social media content management tool out there; I post by myself, and if I can’t post at a certain time, then it is what it is.

Craving for ease in business should not end up destroying your credibility. Especially when you automatically send out a post or email about your latest “world class software or training” selling at a discount of $197, at a time when disaster has just struck a community, and all they need to hear are words of encouragement and comfort.

Where does automation fit in then?

Email is still a good way to reach your audience, and if done correctly, you will hardly experience any issues.

It’s always best to keep an eye on things. We often hear the phrase “set it up, and leave it!” I beg to differ, so here’s my take… “set it up, and monitor the process”, or better still – “set it up and get someone reliable to monitor the process”.

What exactly are you monitoring?

You’re monitoring activities around your business. Are there complaints coming in from the emails you’ve sent? What is happening around social media that might make sending out an email or a post at that time seem unfit and possibly upsetting for others? etc!

Honestly, we cannot get everything right, but making an effort always pays off a lot better than not trying.

Your turn… which automation tool(s) are you using and how have they been helping your business? What experiences have you had with posts and/or emails that didn’t bring some form of human connection? Comment below and share this post”

To your success!

P.S: If you would like some help with setting up a Conversions Engine for your business ((i.e. to get leads and sales online), then click here to check out my “Conversions Engine Masterclass” program!

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