Marketing automation is the greatest entrepreneurial invention since sliced bread.
Automation saves small business owners solopreneurs hours of time and thousands of dollars per year. And… yeah…. we trainers and coaches are BUSY!!!
It lets independent fitness, training and coaching entrepreneurs compete with huge firms by giving you the tools you need to get and keep the attention of your audience without having to manually reinvent the wheel every time you send an email.
But is it possible to taking marketing automation too far? How do you know when things have become so automated that your voice – and brand – have gotten lost in the shuffle?
Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when setting up your marketing automation systems:
- Never Using Social Media
With apps like Hootsuite and SocialOomph, it’s possible to never set foot on a social platform again.
You can automatically share your content and the content of others, ensuring a steady stream of great material that builds your authority and keeps in in the forefront of your prospect’s mind.
The problem is that social media is not a one-way conversation. Without engaging your followers in personal conversations online, you’re simply pumping out content with a marketing megaphone that’s likely to fall on deaf ears.
Spend at least a few minutes every day responding to social comments, liking other people’s content, and participating in relevant groups.
If you don’t have time to do this yourself, you can outsource the task to a VA or personal assistant – just make sure they understand your unique voice and business goals.
- Using Content Written By Bots
Have you used robot-based marketing automation to create captions, phrases, even entire blog posts for your website? If so, you probably love the convenience but hate the complete lack of nuance in the writing.
The truth is that only an actual human being can tell a great story (at least as of right now).
Case in Point: Writer Alexis Madrigal recently emailed his marketing list an image of two pizza boxes and an empty wine bottle sitting on top of a stove.
The automated photo caption read: “Two pizza boxes and an empty wine bottle sitting on top of a stove.”
The human-written photo caption read “Dude, what happened last night?”
It’s clear that ‘keeping it human’ has a huge impact on the way your brand comes across in your marketing.
That doesn’t mean you can’t outsource your writing tasks to someone else. Just make sure that someone else has a pulse.
- Not Responding to Blog Comments
You can outsource your blog writing, automate your blog posting, and automate almost every aspect of the marketing of your blog via email and social media.
But you’re not done yet. Just like social media, a blog is meant to be a two-way conversation between the writer (you or your outsourced writer) and the reader.
Blog comments are a great SEO boost, which means that answering every blog comment you receive packs a double marketing punch: the search engines love you because your site is so active, and your readers love you because they feel heard and engaged with your brand.
Again, you don’t have to do this yourself if time is an issue. Remember that nice VA who helped with your social media in #1 above? Add “responding to all blog comments” to their task list and watch as your engagement – and client roster – soars.
- Automating Complaints
I’m not a huge complainer – if I don’t like a service I usually just stop using it. But I recently had a big problem with a travel insurance company to the point where I was inspired to register a complaint (both with the company and the BBB).
What did I receive in return? Marketing automation at its worst: an automated email response that began with “Dear Sir/Madam…..” (no joke).
If you’re running your business with integrity and constantly engaging with your customers, you shouldn’t have to deal with too many complaints.
That means when you do face a complaint, you should go out of your way to handle it personally. A disgruntled customer or client has the power to ruin your reputation online with a single tweet, so bend over backwards to make it right.
Take your cue from Pete Blackshaw’s book on customer service: “Satisfied customers tell three friends; angry customers tell 3,000.”
- Emailing from a Dead Address
If you are a small business owner or solopreneur, chances are you don’t have thousands upon thousands of clients to deal with on any given day.
Part of the appeal of working with an independent entrepreneur is the personal attention you can expect. Your clients want to know, like, and trust you before, during, and after they make a purchase from you.
While I’m a huge fan of email marketing automation and even insist upon it for my clients, I also think it’s important to be accessible.
Recently I signed up for the email list of a famous foodie doctor whose emails were fantastic and engaging. In one of them she inspired me so much I went to hit “reply” to write her a message.
Imagine my disappointment when the email address was ‘not in service’! This is just one more example of a one-way conversation that should be going both ways.
Emails from your prospective clients are golden. They are free market research and should be treated as such.
Now, if you’re worried about clogging your inbox with hundreds of emails per day, there are two things to keep in mind:
- That’s a great problem to have – your clients are clearly engaged with you and your brand and hungry for what you have to offer.
- You never have to use your personal email address with marketing automation. Simply use an email address that goes somewhere. Your VA can manage the responses and forward you the ones that require your personal attention.
Marketing automation is an amazing tool that can and should be used in all aspects of your marketing. But automating 100% of your marketing 100% of the time results in a one-way conversation that prevents true engagement with your clients and prospects.
When it comes to social media, content creation, blog comments, complaints, and email marketing, make sure at least a small percentage of each area has the personal touch only you can give.
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