Simply automating the posting of social content is not enough for it to succeed. If you or your company do not manually engage with comments and reactions within the first hour of an automated post going live, the platform's algorithm is unlikely to favor it, causing the post to be "dead on arrival."
Avoid sending all your automated communications at standard, predictable times like 9 a.m. By scheduling some automations to go out at unconventional hours, such as 8:07 p.m., you can cut through the noise and prevent your messages from becoming "wallpaper" that customers are conditioned to ignore.
Extend your automation beyond the inbox. When a user joins your email list, automatically add them to a custom ad audience for educational or retargeting campaigns to stay top-of-mind. Simultaneously, add them to an exclusion list for top-of-funnel acquisition campaigns to avoid wasting ad spend on existing contacts.
Don't rely solely on automated sequences. Sending occasional, manually written, one-off emails to the same audience—without pausing the automation—can dramatically improve results. This "over the top" approach breaks the pattern and re-engages users who have become accustomed to the automated flow, waking them up.
To prevent automations from feeling robotic, inject your brand's personality. Use conversational language, like saying "I saw you scrolling," and incorporate fun media like GIFs or memes. This approach makes automated messages feel more like a personal interaction, leading to higher engagement and positive brand perception.