Being a successful marketer is like being a successful juggler. There are a lot of balls in the air that you have to manage at any given time, and the longer you do it, the more you get thrown your way. Unlike juggling, however, you can hand off some of those things and still do great at your job. Especially when it comes to social media.

For whatever reason, posting to social media often seems to be the low man on the digital marketing totem pole. And that’s surprising, considering that for 50 percent of Gen Z consumers and 42 percent of millennial consumers think social media is the most relevant advertising channel.

Putting together a comprehensive social media strategy can have numerous benefits for your branding, influence, and engagement — it can also make a big difference for your bottom line. With so many other balls in the air, though, it pays to invest in some assistance, and that’s where social media automation comes in.

Automate social media to save yourself time and to start giving your social channels (and the people on them) the focus they deserve. Below, we’ll discuss why it pays to amp up your social media marketing and how automation can help you do it.

Why You Need a Social Media Strategy

There’s a lot of value to having a sound social media strategy. More than half of all social media users engage with brands several times a month, and 71 percent of consumers who have a positive social media experience with a brand are likely to then recommend that company to others. And with 42 percent of the entire global population active on social channels, that’s a lot of missed opportunities if you’re not prioritizing your social strategy.

A social media strategy allows you to more widely distribute the content that you’re already creating for your network, getting more eyes on it and the potential for a lot more shares. It also humanizes your brand, adding personality and a unique point of view that can break down the barriers that so often stand in the way of consumer trust. The ultimate goal of a social media strategy is to make the content reach a vast audience which can be achieved easily through paid services. For TikTok, you can go with packages which can increase the traffic to the content.

When you give your audience a direct line to engage with you and your company, you provide better customer service and have a chance to listen in on the things that matter most to your audience. You also help spread your brand’s influence by creating a space where you can be consistently present and engaged and comment on industry topics.

Bringing Automation to the Table

Automation can — and should — be a huge part of your social media strategy. By automating your social media efforts, you simplify the core processes involved in executing and sustaining a strong social presence. In addition to saving yourself a lot of time, you give yourself more control over your brand’s narrative and insight into what your audience wants.

Automation makes sense for many reasons, some of which you’re probably already well aware of. But just in case, here are three of the biggest reasons you should definitely be automating your social media marketing.

1. It’s more efficient.

We don’t know about you, but we’re down for anything that can make our lives easier. Social media automation does just that, simplifying social content creation, scheduling, approvals, and analytics so you can focus on other important things.

2. It’s data-driven.

Like all marketing channels, social media requires careful data oversight to ensure that you’re optimizing your content and your timing. With automation, you can easily track your social publishing successes and failures to determine what’s working and what’s not.

3. It’s benchmarkable.

The analytics you get from social automation don’t just help you monitor performance—they also help you set benchmarks for your social strategy so that you can create new goals over time and compare your metrics post to post, month to month, and quarter to quarter.

On average, 32 percent of businesses see an increase in revenue within just one year of implementing marketing automation tools. And with so much potential for brand exposure and growth in social media, it makes a lot of sense to incorporate it sooner rather than later, if you’re not already.

As for choosing an automation tool, be sure to do your research. There are many options out there, and a wide range of features, capabilities, and costs. In addition to considering your budget, you should also be ensuring that all of the channels and features you need will be included, and you should demo the platform before purchasing it to see how it works and feels in action.

Become a more efficient juggler. Do more and do better with your social media by working automation into your strategy.

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by Benchmark Team