Marketing automation refers to the ability to schedule messages to a specific audience based on time, interactions, or lack of interaction with other messages. When talking about marketing automation, most people think of email marketing and the ability to pre-schedule email messages to specific audiences based on interactions with previous emails, but there are other channels where marketing automation can be valuable.  For example, using marketing automation in social media and mobile app marketing can increase your reach and engagement with these audiences.

Let’s first consider using marketing automation on your social media channels.  In simple terms you can create and schedule posts to go live on specific days and times.  If you know your early bird registration discount ends on a certain date you may want to schedule countdown tweets and Facebook posts for the days leading up to the deadline. You may schedule posts ahead of time that remind sponsors about the ROI they can receive from your sponsorships and depending on what tools you are using you can target your posts to specific demographics and audiences. Facebook and Twitter offer their own free tools to get you started in simply scheduling posts and there are free 3^rd party free tools (HootSuite, Buffer, PostPlanner, EveryPost, SocialOomph, and more) that offer a few more features that may be a good place to start exploring. These tools can also help you to monitor what message are generating interactions and the best ROI. This data can drive your future posts.

There are also marketing automation tools that allow you to manage mobile app push notifications to your events mobile app users.  This can be used to invite users back that have not used your app in awhile (think of those notifications you get when you haven’t played your favorite mobile game in awhile). You can also schedule notifications to go out when deadlines are approaching, contest reminders, or pre-schedule reminders about building an itinerary or a favorite exhibitor list.  Once the show begins you can schedule alerts about the keynote starting in five minutes, reminders about sessions beginning now, and the exhibits floor opening. You’re attendees and exhibitors won’t miss a thing!

As with any marketing you don’t want to set it and forget it! Conditions are constantly changing and your marketing will need to be responsive.  If someone interacts with your posts then you want to respond to this interaction, if appropriate, in order to maintain the human element. Also, mix in real-time posts with your scheduled posts to keep your interactions interesting and meaningful.