Bots: the most effective way to lose credibility on social networks!

THE social networks they are great tools. Realize that you can attract a community around you that is interested in what you produce, you can follow people who share content that interests you, and connect with practically anyone. There is interaction, exchange. In short, it’s social! However, we have the impression of meeting fewer and fewer people and meeting more and more bots.

Does it bother you?

First let’s start by defining what a bot is and Wikipedia will take care of it for me:

AND computer bot is an automatic or semi-automatic software agent that interacts with computer servers. A bot connects and interacts with the server like a client program used by a human, hence the term «bot», which is the contraction (by apheresis) of «robot».

Behind these very learned words, we remember that a bot is a program developed with the purpose ofautomate certain tasks. So, for example, my blog articles are automatically published at regular intervals on my Twitter account. I regularly have new subscribers who might be interested in my articles and this is a way of giving them a second life.

I understand that this may seem annoying, however it is not invasive and all you have to do is stop following me and you can no longer stand me. I have regular content, at least one article a week, on this blog or on Linkedin, which means I try to please both my new and loyal followers.

But there are bots that do just about every menial task on social media: like for you, retweet, follow and unfollow, add to lists, etc.

Don’t touch my bot!

And this is where we reach the limits of these processes. In fact, if I automate some of my tweets, I also publish myself, communicate with followers, thank them for their interactions, share the content of other accounts, etc. My account is alive and this is the very principle of social networks: exchange and sharing.

But when it comes to creating false exchanges, to pretending to be human, we are missing something. The reasons why we are present on social networks are no longer the same. Remember, with the social media marketingtheinbound marketingwe talk about returns to certain values, of authenticity yet we see certain fallacious fake marketing practices reappear.

So, a number of accounts (and not follow me!) add me to lists daily, hoping to get something from me (a follow?), delete me, and add me again… and this every day of the week. If a tweeter mentions me and suffers the same punishment!

Basically it’s about getting noticed, but how! Imagine a madman waving his arms in all directions while following you down the street. We’re practically there.

How can we let a computer program like or retweet for us on a network like Twitter? What image can we draw from such actions? What fruits do we reap from such practices? Let me be clear: reports that behave this way towards me are completely discredited. Same thing for automated private messages… I no longer dare reply for fear of talking to a bot.

On Instagram the practices are the same. I no longer count the bizarre and often off-topic comments regarding my images. Often in English (but more and more French-speaking accounts are starting this practice), these are comments that are intended to be encouraging. «That’s the fireman!» «, For example. In the worst case, the bot simply drops an emoticon. No value. No sharing. No interaction. Just a desperate attempt to gain followers.

Obviously it’s just about gathering followers, not creating a community, much less a relevant community. Only interest: making numbers. In that case, I only have one piece of advice: buy followers. It’s also boring and at least it doesn’t bother anyone.

Excessive automation it looks a lot like blackhat SEO practices. Cheating to get something you don’t deserve. I also insist on this last point: if your contents are interesting, well-constructed, worthy of being read and appreciated, there is no need for blackhat. The same goes for social networks. Be interesting, have something to say, share, get involved and you will receive feedback for your efforts.

Keep in mind that there is no work-free solution to achieving a quality community on social networks. A qualitative and focused community is achieved at the expense of human presence and exchanges. Marketers who want to constantly cut corners, to the detriment of your reputation and customer relationships, are the bane of this profession.

Right in his robots!

With these practices we will very quickly witness a mise en abyme: bots that will interact with bots. I imagine the atmosphere on Twitter and Instagram. It will be nice.

Worse yet, we focus on the word network and forget about social media! Therefore, what still exists of humanity in social networks should gradually disappear.

We rail against the algorithms that tend to reduce the visibility of our publications and, paradoxically, we do everything to kill the engagement and authenticity of communities.

I applaud with both hands when Facebook changes its algorithm. Sure, it’s painful, but quality, engaging content will eventually find its audience.

I have nothing against marketing automation, as long as it remains in the interest of the consumer. Therefore, planning a series of newsletters with interesting content for a new subscriber seems completely justified to me. We provide them with quality content, keep their interest and are available to respond to these emails.

In small doses, if used well, a bot can be useful. Some repetitive tasks can be automated, but never try to replace human contact, interaction and exchange. We cannot automate a relationship, it requires time, investment and trust. Ready to accept the challenge? Only at this price will you gather an interested and interesting community around your brand!