What Not To Do with Your Automated Marketing

We all love our gadgets. From our classic kitchen appliances to the latest and greatest cell phone app, we’re surrounded by them. They’re great when they work. It’s when they don’t work that things begin to get complicated.

Technology giveth and sometimes technology taketh away it seems. 

The lesson can also be applied to automating your marketing efforts. When used the right way, automation can make your marketing efforts smoother, faster and simpler than you ever thought possible. With that much technological prowess at your disposal, it’s easy to get carried away. 

Here are a few things you should make sure of when you automate your marketing: 

Make sure you’re prepared to implement it. Marketing automation apps require more than simple installation. If you don’t have good training or a reliable employee or assistant, strong content and sound marketing processes in place already, you won’t get enough benefit from the one you choose.

Make sure you’re not automating bad habits. In many cases, marketing automation doesn’t do anything revolutionary. It just takes what you already do (or want to do) and does it faster and more consistently for you. If your marketing plan is flawed, automation isn’t going to fix the flaws. In fact, you’ll simply be making marketing mistakes faster than ever before. 

Make sure you keep an eye on it. Many people mistakenly think marketing automation is like using an alarm clock: just set it and forget it. The reality is more complicated. To get the most out of automating your marketing, you’ll still need to track your performance analytics, continually improve your strategies and keep up with the latest trends in your industry.

Make sure you have great content. Automation may provide you the means to get there, but content is the reason for the journey. It’s the shining beacon that makes the whole trip worthwhile.  Make your content lively and interesting, and your audience will follow. Without it, all the automation in the world won’t do you much good. 

Technology giveth, but it doesn’t have to taketh away. With a little thought, you can enjoy all the advantages of the 21st century while still creating an old-fashioned, personal experience for your customers.