How to Take the Human Error Out of Social Media Advertising

[ This article originally appeared on The Way, Sprinklr’s content hub. As one of PRSA Pittsburgh’s sponsors, each month Sprinklr will be delivering you with some insights into how you can use technology to make your marketing more efficient and effective. ]

The purpose of any social advertising program is to build valuable relationships with real people. That’s why—no matter how many tools and technologies you may have to back you up—you need real, talented people behind your marketing operation.

They can use their intuition to make key decisions in real-time, find flaws within the system, and optimize strategies based on audience behaviors. They do, however, still make mistakes. That’s why it’s important to address your people problems up-front.

Use the right tactics to hire the most qualified talent, set up proper approval flows and take the human error out of social advertising.

Here’s how.

Take a New Approach to Managing Millennials

Your social advertising experts are most likely millennials. They get a lot of flack for being supposedly self-serving and unmotivated. But for many marketers, they are the key to running a successful social advertising program.

These experts are in high-demand and hard to find. When you have them on your team, you need to nurture and manage them with new processes.

Show millennials that you trust them by giving them opportunities to work autonomously. Offer clear directions, feedback, and rewards, and allow them to show you what they can do. You can also set up systems for collaboration. Team members can brainstorm innovative solutions, check each other’s work, and create a sense of community.

Always Be Educating

Advanced social advertising programs aren’t just limited to one team; they often span departments. IT, for instance, has to help set up new pixels and platforms. Customer service provides input about how to interact with certain consumers. Procurement departments have to purchase the right technology platforms for the best prices.

There are many different stakeholders, and they don’t all understand the nuances and benefits of social advertising. That’s why they need to be properly trained and informed.

Start with the C-suite. Prove the importance of this operation. Their buy-in will help encourage other departments to get on board. But you can’t stop there. The social landscape constantly evolves, and so does your team. Be sure to share your new best practices and optimized processes with the necessary parties on a regular basis.

Set Up Safeguards to Avoid Mistakes

Social advertising moves quickly. You want to reach people at the right moment with the right message. This fast-paced and tedious set-up leaves many opportunities for errors. Even the smallest typo in a tweet or bid form can cause backlash and cost thousands of dollars.

Protect your team from these mistakes by choosing a media buying platform that warns you about red flags before your publish. The right platform should also have built-in approval flows so you can ensure that all ads pass through each stakeholder’s hands.

If mistakes do slip through the cracks, don’t overreact by firing the person responsible. This will actually cost you more money in the long-run. Allow the talented team member to learn from their error. And create a positive culture that aims to reward accuracy instead of punish missteps.

Prepare for People Problems In Advance

Technology can carry out important processes, but you need talented people to create those processes. You also need them to drive real human interactions with valuable customers.

Just be sure to prepare for common human errors ahead of time. Educate your C-suite about the importance of social marketing. Set up approvals and workflows to catch mistakes before they happen. Give stakeholders the tools they need to communicate, gather feedback, and optimize.

With the right people and platforms in place, you’ll be prepared to launch your social advertising program to the next level.