The Evolution of Instagram Automation

Brands — and by extension, marketers — have been chasing social media automation since Tom Anderson went missing.

Social media, whether you’re simply trying to get your name out there or you’re actively pushing for revenue, remains a vital part of any marketer’s job. Social media automation software has become an increasingly indispensable tool for marketers to do that job. And with the average customer cruising more than six social networks every month, that’s a lot of ground to cover.

Fertile Ground

Analysts expect global social media ad spending to creep up to nearly $220 billion this year. While Facebook still garners most of the attention (sorry Gen Z), with 89 percent of marketers relying on the platform, Instagram runs a close second, used by 80 percent of them. And it’s little wonder: Instagram runs neck and neck with Facebook for the highest ROI.

The engagement rates are even more impressive; Instagram consistently ranks four times higher than Facebook — .60 percent vs. 0.15 percent. But engagement remains a competitive, moving target. TikTok is making inroads fast, notching 100 percent user growth between 2020 and 2022.

All of that becomes even more attractive when you consider the demographics: More than 61 percent of global Instagram users are between 18 and 34 years old.

That’s a lot of fertile ground to cover.

Automation’s Perks and Pitfalls

Automation solutions typically take two forms. The first focuses on the front end, such as interacting with users. The second is more about the back end, solutions designed to publish posts while tracking analytics.

As any marketer worth their certifications knows, automation’s no longer a luxury reserved for top-tier firms. It’s now the cost of doing business, as essential as electricity.

Aside from the obvious convenience, automation:

• Makes posting more efficient, since it’s easier to schedule posts when they can be the most effective. And that helps brands build their audience and expand their reach.
• Makes it easier to adhere to more consistent brand messaging, whether it’s timing or tone.
• Allows marketers to manage multiple platforms at once, solving a logistical nightmare that plagued an earlier generation of marketers.

And, maybe most importantly, automation offers analytics. All of those glamorous social media posts aren’t worth the bandwidth they consume if marketing teams can’t report back to the C-suite with critical performance metrics. Real-time, data-driven insights make for more nimble marketers. Instant reporting can help marketers spot trends quickly, tweak messaging as they see what resonates, and shape their strategies on the fly.

But automation’s not a panacea. There are risks. 

For one, marketers who rely solely on automation risk a disconnect by trading personality for convenience. In an increasingly automated world — even lawyers have begun to worry about artificial intelligence taking their jobs — social media users are looking for genuine interactions.

Automation also:

• Makes it easy to post too damn much. If there’s one thing customers hate more than generic, impersonal posts, it’s being flooded with them.
• Challenges spontaneity. As convenient as it is to schedule posts in advance, it robs the poster of the ability to draft more timely posts. There’s no point in real-time analytics if the posters aren’t taking advantage of it. It also puts a brand at risk if real-world events cast a scheduled post in a questionable light (so plan accordingly). 
• Creates a reliance on technology. As we all know by now, technology is far from foolproof. Just ask CrowdStrike. Systems crash, glitches crop up, and software updates can wreak havoc.

Instagram automation

Part of Instagram’s appeal — aside from its 2 billion active monthly users — is its ability to leverage video. Roughly 44 percent of social media users prefer to learn about new products and services through video.

Since its rise to prominence, Instagram has pulled in advertisers almost as quickly as it cultivated influencers. In 2016, less than two years after opening the app to advertisers, Instagram boasted half a million ad accounts. They hit 1 million a few months later.

Later that same year, the app launched Instagram Insights, a tool for commercial accounts that opened up access to vital analytics, such as post performance, reach, impressions, engagement, and demographics. 

In 2018, Instagram made it possible for companies to sell products directly through the app. A native affiliate marketing tool followed in 2021.

It’s no surprise, then, that a cottage industry of third-party providers cropped up. But things changed when Instagram announced that, effective June 2016, it would terminate “feed” API access to its platform so that it could “maintain control for the community and provide a clear roadmap for developers” and “set up a more sustainable environment built around authentic experiences on the platform.”

The app then took a page out of Apple’s playbook and barred third-party vendors from using the text strings “insta” or “gram” in their name. Company officials cited security concerns.

Instagram rolled out further restrictions in 2018 after Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Hitting a Moving Target

Suffice it to say that keeping up with all of Instagram’s changes can be a challenge for the IT department, let alone the marketing team. 

That’s why it’s particularly important for marketing to work with an automation vendor that doesn’t just provide a robust solution, but a compliant one.

Solutions like Manychat can automate your Instagram presence, allowing you to jumpstart your engagement, attract quality leads, and convert more of those leads into sales. Robust solutions like Manychat can:

• Always respond instantly with Instagram DM Marketing. It’s more cost-effective than a virtual assistant and never fails to respond.
• Help you generate a contact list, gather leads, and re-engage cold prospects. And that means no more time wasted on uninterested prospects.
• Cut down the time it takes to convert prospects, collect reviews, and collaborate with partners.