You’re an organization that promotes the social good.  You’re on social media.  Why doesn’t it feel social?

This is not what you want to do on social media!

Probably because you’re trying so hard to keep up.  Following other people on social media is proverbially like “drinking out of a fire hose.”  Feeding your followers’ hunger for content is like running a short-order kitchen.

When do you sit down and actually talk?

Automate Tasks, So You Can Be More Personal

You want to use social media to a) get to know your supporters and b) have them get to know and love you better.  That takes a personal touch.

Paradoxically, the way to get personal is to automate more tasks.  Think of it this way: you have only so much time, right?  How would you rather spend that time: scheduling posts (which is something a machine can do), or having a real conversation with someone who’s interested in your group?

Social Media Tasks to Automate

There are certain social media tasks that lend themselves easily to automation.  Adam Stetzer, President & Co-Founder of HubShout, lists a few do’s and don’ts.  DO:

• Automatically share every blog post to multiple social media platforms.
• Use software to schedule posts so your feeds look alive when you are asleep.
• Find strong sources of specific content about your mission that your audience will enjoy, that you won’t have to create.

Don’t Automate These Social Media Tasks

• Highly-customized content that complements the news about your issues mentioned above, but shows the personality and human-side of the organization.
• “Thank you’s”: When a human reaches out to you, find a way to build the contact into a relationship with a highly customized (i.e., human) response.
• Refollows: Don’t follow every follower. Many are machines and bring no value.
• Retweets: Automation will reduce the quality of social media presence.

Will you put these tips to use in 2015?