4 Ingenious Hacks for Multichannel Content Automation

When considering how content automation can improve your marketing efforts, you probably think immediately of email. That’s no surprise considering that marketing automation functionality started in this channel, and email is a proven way to push content direct to specific audiences.

Consequently, you probably know that email is a saturated channel that gets used extensively within marketing silos across business units, regions, etc. And this can be problematic as it may leave your audiences feeling bombarded – or worse, spammed – by your company. If they’re getting too many emails from multiple silos within your company, they may opt-out completely. And if you’ve put most of your content eggs in the email basket, your ability to reach your audience has now diminished significantly.

So how can we avoid this situation? Well for starters, you can introduce a content marketing platform that breaks down those silos and brings much more visibility into all content that is being planned and published.

But the main thing I want to discuss today is how important it is for companies to leverage automation to embrace a multichannel approach to content. Not sure where to start to make this happen? No worries; we’ve got some ingenious hacks for multichannel content automation.

What Is Multichannel Content Automation?

We’re living in a multichannel world. For any prospect to be sales-ready, it takes seven to 13 touches. Those touches can’t all come from email, and with all the modern ways to engage a prospect, they don’t have to.

When using the term “multichannel content automation”, it means you will choose a variety of channels to push content and you’ll do so with the help of automation. Why does multichannel matter? It comes down to consistency and reach. Being able to share a consistent message across many channels allows it to be more memorable. It also dramatically increases your reach, as different buyers seek information in different places.

Relying on a single channel like email may be somewhat effective, but it won’t deliver the engagement and traffic your brand needs for growth.

How to Execute Multichannel Content Automation

To leverage content automation across channels, the most important thing you’ll need is the right technology. Start with a content marketing software platform that facilitates the planning of integrated, multichannel campaigns, and provides you with the right tools and automation features to execute them.

Executing these strategies manually is next to impossible in large organizations. That’s why we don’t see them executed very often. To streamline workflows and eliminate time-intensive manual tasks, you’ll want to find a system that truly supports planning and promoting content in multiple channels.

As with anything in content marketing, automation must be aligned with your content strategy and content plan. With a strategy and a plan, you’ll define types of content, channels, topics, and distribution efforts.

Further, a significant part of your software is a content calendar. This is your hub for all marketing efforts. It provides visibility and transparency to all content campaigns and assets. A content calendar keeps you organized and on a schedule, and defines every aspect of your content, including how you’ll promote and distribute it.

Multichannel Content Automation Hacks

multichannel content automation

You may be feeling a bit overwhelmed about the opportunities for content automation. Many possibilities and scenarios can play out—some better than others. You also may be concerned about the time or investment you’ll have to make to facilitate multichannel content automation. That’s why you need some hacks, and we’ve got that covered.

1. Automate Publishing and Posting

How much time do you or your team spend publishing and posting content on all your digital channels? Probably too long. You also may be unknowingly inconsistent. Instead of just randomly posting and publishing, you can use automation to make it easier and more cohesive.

For example, if you have a specific content campaign around a topic that consists of a landing page, blog posts, social posts, and video, then you need to publish and post this campaign strategically. When you publish and post, you are immediately sending it to several channels—your website and all social media sites. But you should also align these things with other channels like email or paid ads.

By using your software platform, you can define when and how you want to post and publish so that everything lines up with your omnichannel approach. Plus, your team now gets more time to do high-value work rather than admin tasks.

2. Lead Nurturing

As you know, buyers are savvy, and making a final decision on what product or service to buy can take time. That’s why marketers are obsessed with lead nurturing. But it’s not always easy to execute or scale.

Enter content automation. It allows you to lead nurture across channels because email isn’t the only place to cultivate a connection. With the power of technology, you can monitor audience activity across social media and your website.

By leveraging technology to “follow” buyers around as they interact with your brand, you have the ability to personalize the message with content automation capabilities. If you are tracking a user who has downloaded content on your site, then the next time they return, use technology to enhance their experience with personalized engagement and content that is tailored to them based on their past behaviors.

multichannel content automation - chatbot

3. Instant Messaging: An Emerging Channel for Engagement

With the rise of instant communication, your audience wants information immediately. They will often choose an instant messaging (IM) channel. This could be directly on your website or via social media like Facebook messenger.

Buyers tend to prefer the ability to use IM versus emailing or calling. It all goes back to the expectation that you should have an answer for them now. And you can achieve this, with content automation. You can choose to employ AI-enabled chatbots that can answer common questions or provide links to specific content on the topic.

With this technology, you reduce the burden on human labor and you can increase engagement because of immediacy and relevancy factor. These channels could eventually become ones that convert prospects as well. You may provide a visitor special offers based on the questions they ask that indicate they are sales-ready. Or, if your sales cycle is longer, you can use chatbots to push demos, long-form content, or consultations.

4. Improving Content Workflows

If you’re going to play in multiple channels, which you should, you’ll need repeatable content workflows that keep all producers in sync. Launching a multichannel campaign often means multiple assets that need to be produced in parallel and ready to go live on a specific date. Without a centralized workflow platform to keep all balls moving toward the goal line, who knows when you’ll be ready to launch.

Your content marketing system must have workflow features that can be automated, including generating tasks, role assignments, and production schedule calculations. This foundation allows you to leverage more channels in less time. And depending on the channel, you can create a custom workflow for each.

Ready to reach more prospects and ensure consistency across channels? Then it’s time to get the right tools in place. See how DivvyHQ can help by requesting a demo right now!