It’s really no secret that I am not a fan of automation. I don’t hide my feelings on this one at all. Auto DM’s, auto replies, one button/multiple platform posting…when it comes to social media I’m of the belief that it has to be real-time, authentic and, well…social.
I do have exceptions, naturally. A scheduled tweet that won’t necessarily evoke a response, auto reply on email and re-push services on things like news feeds or press releases.
Automate a Twitter feed in its entirety? NO WAY!
So naturally, when I was at the IACP Annual General Conference last week and I heard my friend Sgt. Sean Whitcomb talk about 51 automated police accounts for the Seattle PD I just about had a cow! Seattle PD even has a name for this atrocity .. Tweets-By-Beat. What?? Not one or two automated accounts, but 51!
“Make the lambs stop screaming”
“Oh the unicorns are losing their horns and the fairies are losing their wings in record numbers because of this one!” I thought to myself.
Why oh why would you use a social media communication platform like Twitter and ignore your community and not be social by automating EVERYTHING about it?? I sat silently hoping that Sean was going to say he was just kidding, but I went online and looked for myself and there they were. Perfectly automated Twitter feeds. OH THE HORROR!
After the session (which was awesome by the way), I rushed Sean and asked why? Truthfully, I actually knew why because he explained it really well from the stage, but I still had to know more about it.
After talking with him about it, I still felt the same about automation, but I now include this form with acceptable uses for it. Here’s why:
- The accounts represent each of the patrol areas for the department.
- They automate the calls for service that officers are responding to.
- There is a 1 hour delay built-in (nice officer safety feature).
- Local residents can subscribe to their community feed.
There is no expectation of two-way communication and when people subscribe to the feeds, they know that. Here is an example that Sean gave which made me re-consider my stance on it.
“When a resident sees a police car parked on their street, they can go to the feed and find out why the officer was there.”
In my opinion… that is great! It eliminated the “middle-man” in the situation We’ve all received the concerned citizen call asking the same question and Seattle PD found a way to reduce that and inform their citizens at the same time! (Genius)
Here is what makes this system work for Seattle and why it may not work everywhere. (Hint: It all is dependant on their main Twitter account)
@SeattlePD gets the social aspect of social media. Their main account is vibrant with 2 way communication. They aren’t just spewing their information all over their citizens. They have a relationship with them and that’s why this can work in Seattle.
I have seen some police accounts who’s main feed is automated and that’s just grosse in itself… add more spewing accounts and it would be a cause for nausea medication.
HT (That’s a hat tip in twitter-eese) to the Seattle PD for this monstrous undertaking on the backend and the huge potential payoff at the front end.
Here is a NY Times article about the program.
Seattle PD on Twitter, Facebook and also, check out the Seattle PD blog (I love this)
Tim let me toss my two sense into this discussion. It works well only if you know exactly what tweets you are sending out AND use these tweets for the basis of engagement..
This applied to Law enforcement I would have no issue with a scheduled tweet remind people of a community event for example. As long as when people reply and ask questions these are answered. This is engagement.
Personally I tend to probably schedule about 10-12 tweets a day. These are all tweets I have selected,
I really dislike people who automate 100%. This is as bad as a TV commercial and one that screams of ignore. There is no social in 100% automation. I already ignore commercials on tv so these types of feed get ignored as well.
My two sense worth
Rob
Thanks Rob.
I think it is important to set a reminder on scheduled tweets when they are about to go out so you can ensure that the timing isn’t bad against something that is currently on-going which puts your post in bad taste or just a PR nightmare waiting to happen.
With what Seattle is doing, (and I’ve been watching for over a week now) they have got a pretty good thing going on and how it is being done. As long as there is no expectation of 2 way then they really aren’t breaking any of the social ‘rules’, while at the same time informing the community.’
Thanks for the comment!
I agree with those comments. Automation can always be pulled back. I have done it for myself and for clients at times. Things to change on an ongoing basis.
The key is lets keep engaging and keep the two way communication open especially with the younger generation.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Automated responses drive me crazy. I have to admit that I have actually responded to an automated DM in the past. I later realized that I had been duped and it left me feeling like an idiot. This is not how you want your followers to be made to feel.
Thanks for the comment Tina.
It has happened to many people. You weren’t the first and you certainly haven’t been the last.