I Hate Triggers: When Not to Automate Your Social Media

This past week, the New England Patriots of the National Football League were embarrassed when an automated social media campaign prominently tweeted the racist Twitter handle of their one millionth follower.

If you are interested in the details, Deadspin caught a screen capture of the now deleted tweet and imagery.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to automate marketing. It is what allows many thousands of emails to go out to customers at an affordable CPM. It is what can allow a small team to monitor many social media channels around the clock.

The issue here is that an automated campaign sent out unvetted content. That is the no-no, and something an automated campaign should never do.