Content Curation and Marketing

A friend of mine (who is well respected in the marketing industry) shared a link to an obvious snake oil consultant blog post with their network today.

Interesting post bashing automation. Here are my comments posted on his blog:

There seems to be interesting debate about whether to use automation or not in marketing. I don’t get what the argument is about.

Just because every post you make on every social media site or outlet is not a manual effort – does that make you a bad person?

I think there is a place for automation and there is a place for direct, manual, intimate response. Both can co-exist. It’s not an issue of which is better.

For example, I have a lot to say on 3-4 major subjects through twitter, facebook, and linkedin. I curate an enormous amount of useful content for my networks. I’m not as interested in attracting new folks as I am in being helpful to my network.

I automate some of my twitter, facebook, and linkedin posts. I do it because it can be a very manual and tedious process and I don’t spend much time in front of my computer during the day. Secondly, I don’t want to jam the streams of my network with 5-6 posts all at once. So I automate – feed my content/comments/ideas at various points through-out the day.

Layered on top of this automation, I review at 2-3 points during the day, the feeds/streams of my network and selectively pick out items to comment on, applaud, support, reflect, and expand upon.
I’ve found a MIX of direct interaction, automation of the sharing of older valuable content, content curation, and original creative content development is a great combination.

Of course, there will always be individuals who abuse any tool or technique. Those are the exceptions. Most of us are just trying to be helpful and show some value. The whole social media experience is “trial and error”. No one has a lock on the right way to do things since it’s still in such a state of flux and infancy. For example, I struggle with what’s the right amount of content to share with my unique networks on various platforms.

Is 15-20 twitter posts appropriate for a diverse 15000 person twitter following? Is 5-6 LinkedIn Status updates appropriate for a 5000 connections on LinkedIn on a daily basis – esp when none of them are direct status updates but activity updates of commenting on network updates, posting to groups, and discussions within groups?

I don’t know what’s right. I’m experimenting all the time. What’s too little interaction? What’s too much interaction? There are no rules of engagement in social media. Every network, segment, platform, strategy is different. There are no experts – everybody is experimenting. What works for one “authority” blogger may not work for another.

Sorry for writing the book in this comment – but I don’t buy into the argument for manual interaction beats automation. Once again, there is a place for both.

Thanks for “framing” this discussion.

Barry Deutsch
IMPACT Hiring Solutions
http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/blog

I love real world examples of companies using social media to drive leads and nurture customer prospects. Here are some good examples of companies that are role models in leveraging social media OR social selling during their sales cycle.

Barry Deutsch