3 Reasons You Need a Human Touch in Social Media

There are many new and exciting technological advancements made all the time. There are great programs, platforms and games available online. With all of these great computer advancements there is still something to be said for the human touch. I don’t worry about getting programmed out of a job because there is a lot that a human can do that you just can’t store in a database.

1. Common sense. I have yet to see a computer program or web platform that can look at something and then deduct that it is not quite right. Computers make decisions based on their programming, which in turns tells them what things to take into consideration and how to process that information. For example, I received a complimentary pen/flashlight from @MyronCorp, a great specialty advertising company. They have some awesome products that you can brand with your business, but unfortunately it was a computer that pulled my company name and phone number and had the pen printed and sent. That’s why I received a pen labeled Startmus instead of Star Moose. A human could have looked at that and said, “That’s a weird name,” and checked to make sure it was correct. I do not know where the computer got that name, but it’s now an office joke and Startmus is now our evil twin agency.

2. Replies that mean something. When you have a program that automatically tweets back to followers as soon as they follow you with a prepared statement, people can tell. When I get those notices that someone verifies their twitter followers using a program I quickly delete and move on to find someone else to follow. Automating your Twitter feed is kinda missing the point … okay really missing the point of the social interaction.

3. Silly computer, social is for people. The reason that social media has grown so much and taken over so much of the Internet is that it involves real people. You need to have someone managing your social media presence. Whether you hire an agency such as Star Moose, or you have an internal person managing it, it has to be a real person. Someone who knows your brand message and can think, react and reply. It is by having people talk to people that something becomes social.

This post originally appeared on the Star Moose Blog.