Let's consider the following scenario: You're engaging with your favorite clothing brand on Instagram, seeking information about the price of a garment you like. (They have someone named Castillo who manages the Instagram direct messages)
After a few messages, you realize that you're not communicating with Castillo but with an AI chatbot providing responses to your queries.
How would you feel in that moment? Your trust will probably drop by half, won't it?
After all, if the business owner could spare the time to respond to your queries (or hire someone to do so), why should you trust him, and buy from him anyway?
See... One of the primary reasons people place their trust in brands and businesses for making purchases is "Affinity"—the feeling of a genuine connection between themselves and the brand.
The scenario above, and this Affinity concept are true for social media as well.
Now, consider the reactions of your followers, fans, clients, or potential customers when they notice that the content you're sharing on social media isn't authentically crafted by you but is instead automated and generated by AI.
What do you think will happen?
Don't get me wrong! Using automation for social media doesn't mean you lack authenticity.
It's using automation incorrectly that leads to a lack of authenticity.
But, wait... can we strike a balance between the two?
Well, let's analyze this from an experienced perspective in this article to gain a clearer understanding of whether it's possible to balance between automation and authenticity in social media.
Relationship Between Automation & Authenticity in Social Media
Since the beginning, being real or original (you can use either term) has played a big role in social media. Sure, some people use social media just for fun, but even when they're looking for entertainment, they want to know they're getting content from a genuine creator, not an actor.
In the past year, this authenticity thing has become even more important.
After ChatGPT officially came out, and even a little before that, a bunch of AI tools flooded the market.
These tools can write content, mimic human voices, make music, voiceover, design websites, and more.
It got to the point where pros like social media managers started worrying about AI taking their jobs.
This AI explosion made it crazy easy to create content for social media. Literally, anyone can whip up a whole social media post in seconds. But when something becomes super easy, its value goes down.
So, content creators, influencers, brands, and businesses have had to get creative and find new ways to stand out from all the mediocre content flooding every social media platform.
The answer they almost all found is MORE AUTHENTICITY.
Is Automation Bad for Social Media?
No, using automation on social media isn't necessarily a bad thing. But when people use it too much and rely on it too heavily, affect negatively their social media engagements because it diminishes authenticity, a crucial element in the social media experience.
The more accurate question that is needed here is not whether the automation is good or bad, but instead, whether you are using automation for your social media correctly.
Since we agreed that authenticity is the "Numero Uno" element for succeeding in social media, the most useful question becomes: Can we balance automation and authenticity in social media?
Can We Balance Automation and Authenticity in Social Media?
The simple answer is yes, it's possible.
To strike the right balance between automation and authenticity in social media, you should split tasks between yourself and AI based on what each does best.
Here's what AI isn't great at in social media:
- Being creative
- Showing empathy
- Understanding emotions
- Conveying feelings accurately
So, avoid relying on AI for tasks like:
- Writing your content
- Understanding your audience
- Interacting with your followers
On the flip side, as a human, you have your own limitations, such as:
- Inconsistency
- Making mistakes – we all do
You can achieve a perfect balance by letting AI handle repetitive tasks like scheduling, generating hashtags, and auto-publishing, while you focus on tasks that ensure your content remains genuinely you in the eyes of your followers. This includes creating content, using your unique voice in videos, sharing behind-the-scenes moments, and engaging with your audience in a friendly manner.
Hopefully, you now realize that automation is simply a tool, and you have complete control over how you use it. It doesn't necessarily compromise your authenticity on social media.
