Automating Time Consuming Tasks

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as automation. Moving time consuming, repetitive tasks off your plate is a real treat but when it comes to anything in the digital word, good automation usually requires time to build and can be expensive.

But every now and then, middleware solutions like Zapier can provide reliable automation that is comparatively easy to set up.

Case in point, Zapier’s functionality has become more refined in recent years to the point where they can take something like a WordPress custom post type and push that unique content to multiple social media platforms.

Not that long ago, this functionality was limited to default blog posts, and you could only pull basic information like the title and excerpt. But provided the custom post type runs on some solid code, you can now push automatic social media posts that include a wide range of custom meta and custom static copy.

Case in point, I finally had some time to set up a host of automated functions for Arts Admin Jobs. Previously, an assistant would need to manually post listings across multiple social media accounts. Now, once a new job listing is published, it gets posted at Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn automatically. While much better than it was a few years ago, it’s not perfect. You’ll need a Facebook page to post updates, individual accounts aren’t an option. That meant creating an Arts Admin Jobs page, but the automation is worth the time.

Twitter was the easiest to set up and provided some of the most flexibility, but all three profiles are worth taking the time.

If you’re looking for a good solution to automate distribution of static content, like Press Releases and you’re a WordPress user, I highly recommend taking a look at Zapier’s integration options.