Content Marketing Automation: Your Business Growth Game-Changer

You’re constantly dreaming up content ideas for your business, but actually sitting down to create them is another story. After spending half a day working on a blog post, you realize you haven’t posted anything on Instagram in a week, so you spend your Saturday morning doing a frantic mini photoshoot. 

Sound familiar? Keeping up in the content race can quickly become overwhelming. The good news is, you can free up your schedule again with content marketing automation. Automating your content helps you get more done in less time, so you can stay on top of your content calendar. In fact, businesses that embrace automation are 24% more likely to keep up with content demands. 

You don’t need expensive tools or an AI bootcamp to become an automation whiz. This guide breaks down everything you need to build an automated content system, freeing up your schedule for everything else you’re juggling. 

What is content marketing automation? 

Content marketing automation uses software to automatically handle the most repetitive aspects of content creation. This can include planning, creating the content, distributing the content, and even analyzing results. Instead of drowning in busywork, you can focus on tasks that actually move the needle for your business.

Creating a series of how-to videos? Use an automation tool to draft the scripts. Goodbye, hours-long brainstorming sessions. Plus, scheduling software lets you automatically share the finished videos through email and social media. That’s much faster than setting it up on each platform yourself. 

Of course, any automation tool still takes human effort. You can’t trust software to create flawless emails and fire them off. But when combined with a little human oversight and a clear strategy, this technology can help you produce more quality content, faster.

Why your business needs content marketing automation now 

Customers (and algorithms) have a huge appetite for content, and it’s only getting bigger. In 2023, just over half (54%) of marketers said their organization needed more content. A year later, that had increased to 93% — but only 63% of marketers were keeping up.

Creating consistent content isn’t about flooding social media feeds or constantly adding new content to your website just for the sake of updating it. Consistently putting out high-quality content makes your brand unforgettable, or at least more likely to be at the front of your audience’s mind. Someone who reads your helpful blog posts, for instance, may circle back to buy something later. It also helps you stand out from competitors who don’t bother to create content.

But if you (or your team) is constantly racing to churn out text and videos, burnout is a real possibility. Or that familiar brand voice your audience loves could start to feel bland. 

Content marketing automation helps you organize a chaotic calendar. And when you’re always sharing timely content, your audience will start to view you as a go-to resource.

How content marketing automation transforms your business

In a perfect world, you’d have an army of brilliant marketers. But that’s probably not in the budget. With automation, you can get many of the same benefits without going on a hiring spree. 

Saves precious time and resources

With an average salary of $73,000, full-time marketers aren’t exactly cheap — and that’s before you add in all the benefits and training. Even the priciest automation platforms usually cost a fraction of that, giving you a higher return on investment (ROI). 

Plus, these tools can outpace even the speediest pros. With Constant Contact, for instance, you can automatically text customers who abandon carts. If an employee had to do that manually, they’d be tapping on their phone all day.

Delivers personalized content at scale

Everybody loves personal touches, but writing custom emails and text messages for each client just isn’t feasible. Instead, use automation tools to add dynamic content. It’s the same outcome, but much faster. 

A pet store could add dynamic images to its weekly newsletter. Cat owners see adorable kittens, dog owners get golden retrievers, and so on. The business could also give custom product recommendations based on each client’s browsing history. These gestures might seem small, but they can have a huge impact on loyalty and sales.

Improves content consistency and quality

When you’re constantly bouncing across channels, it’s easy for your brand messaging to get a bit scattered. Chaotic, even. Before you realize it, your Facebook captions sound much snarkier than your blog posts — and customers are wondering if your account got hijacked by a sassy Gen Z intern. 

Automation helps you create content that’s consistent without feeling stale. An AI generator, for instance, can learn your brand voice and draft social media posts that hit the mark perfectly. That way, your content always feels familiar. 

Real-world content marketing automation examples

When you think about automation, you might picture a Wall-E lookalike trundling around the office and writing emails. That’s not quite how it works (sorry, Pixar lovers). Use these practical marketing automation examples to inspire your next campaign. 

Email content automation 

While you can’t get a robot to write emails at your computer (if only), you can use software to handle all the heavy lifting. 

Building a welcome email series is an easy way to start. When people join your mailing list, ask a few questions about their preferences, such as, “What’s the biggest gap in your wardrobe?” Then, use automation software to share custom product recommendations. You could also follow up with a coupon for new dresses or whatever they’re missing. 

Other simple ideas include:

• Automatic birthday emails with a custom message and a free gift (“Try a new lip gloss on us!”) 
• Abandoned content campaigns, such as the recording of a webinar they signed up for but didn’t join 
• A series of educational emails, such as how-to guides and tips for using a newly purchased product 

These automated emails help keep customers engaged while you focus on other parts of your content strategy. 

Social media content automation

There’s nothing more tedious than logging into all your social media accounts to upload the same content again and again. With automation software, you can automatically turn an Instagram carousel into a LinkedIn post or a YouTube Short into a TikTok video. 

Plus, you can schedule content to post at the perfect time for each channel — like 10 a.m. for professionals browsing LinkedIn during their second coffee break. 

Social listening tools like Brandwatch can also track conversations about your business and even generate automatic responses. Is someone complaining about receiving a damaged item? Automatically encourage them to contact customer service. 

Save time by automatically curating content, too. For example, Autonoly uses AI agents to scour social media for user-generated content, so you’ll never miss another glowing TikTok post about your products.  

Blog and website content automation

Obviously, your blog posts still need a human hand. Otherwise, you might accidentally publish AI gibberish or dangerous advice. But you can certainly automate repetitive tasks, such as outlining and proofreading. 

AI scheduling tools can also help you share your content at the perfect time. Try writing a few evergreen blog posts ahead of time, then automatically spacing them out across a few weeks. That way, you have a cushion for when your business gets busy.

Once your content is live, encourage visitors to stick around with a smart recommendations tool. You can also add dynamic web content that adapts to each visitor’s behavior. Did someone browse your hiking gear? The sidebar can suggest related posts, like “How To Pick a Winter-Proof Tent.” 

Getting started: Your first content marketing automation campaign 

You don’t need to bring in a computer scientist or splurge on fancy equipment to launch your first campaign. With a little planning, you’ll be automating everything from Instagram captions to video scripts. 

Step 1: Audit your current content process

Don’t just start automating random tasks. That’s not very effective, and you might unintentionally derail your entire workflow if you automate the wrong thing. 

Take the time to map out your current workflows and look for repetitive tasks that you could automate. If you publish a weekly e-newsletter, your process probably looks something like this: 

• Curate content, such as your latest blog post and an update about your next product launch. 
• Draft an introduction and a blurb for each piece of content. 
• Use an email template to format everything. 
• Ask your grammar-loving colleague to proofread everything. 
• Use A/B testing with a small group of subscribers to figure out the most clickable subject line. 
• Send the email to your entire mailing list. 

A to-do list like this is ripe for automation. For example, you could use AI to draft blurbs, then tweak them as necessary. Constant Contact also makes it easy to automatically A/B test your content. Before you know it, your hours-long chore will be a breeze. 

Step 2: Start small with high-impact automation 

It’s best to ease into content automation marketing so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Focus on just one type of content at first.

Email is an easy way to start. Constant Contact’s Automation Path Builder makes it easy to build a basic welcome email series. Simply choose a pre-built template, then customize it with your content and preferred timing. You can even use the AI Content Generator to help write the messages in a flash.

When someone signs up for your list, automatically send them a brief introduction to your brand. Want quick sales? Include an exclusive coupon to entice them. Or try a friendly video message from your founder.

Wellington Brewery is one brand that’s embraced automation. By automatically sending abandoned cart emails with Constant Contact, they’ve increased their revenue by $36,000 a year. Not a bad ROI for something that’s basically “set it and forget it.”

Over the next few weeks, follow up with more emails to nudge potential customers along the buyer’s journey. People who have just discovered your brand may appreciate product spotlights or behind-the-scenes content that shows your values. Later, send a customer testimonial or two to help persuade them to buy. 

As you gain confidence, branch out with social media scheduling. Research your audience’s scrolling habits, and time your posts for when they’re more likely to engage. For young TikTok users, that might be late at night, while parents may peek at Facebook in the school pickup lane.  

Step 3: Monitor, measure, and optimize

Don’t assume that everything is smooth sailing once your campaign goes live. Many automation tools have built-in analytics tools to track key metrics, such as: 

• Email open rates
• Revenue 
• ROI 
• Social media engagement (comments, follows, and likes) 

Keep an eye on your productivity, too. Are you still up late writing Instagram posts, or has your content production sped up? For busy business owners, that’s perhaps the biggest sign of success. 

Use this data to see where your content marketing automation is working and where you need to adjust. If your productivity is up but open rates are down, it’s probably time to try more inventive subject lines or a new send schedule. 

Take control of your content marketing today 

Content creation has become an essential part of digital marketing, but it doesn’t have to take over your entire life. With the right automation tools, you can pare down your to-do list without sacrificing productivity. 

Dip your toe into the content marketing automation pool by creating an automated welcome email series to start familiarizing newcomers with your brand. Need a little extra help? With a free trial of Constant Contact, you’ll have access to all the digital marketing tools you need in one place so you can start setting up automations today.