If This Then That
Last week I railed against the “Dangers of Marketing Automation.” To provide some balance, I’m following up with my favorite automation tool, IFTTT.
If you don’t what IFTTT is, it’s a powerful rules engine that let’s you automate simple tasks based on conditions. Â If THIS happens then do THAT.
IFTTT is great for making your life easier, but it’s a powerful engine that can let you do stupid stuff. Â For example, for a while I was using IFTTT to wish people a happy birthday on twitter. Ideally this is great because I’m terrible at remembering birthdays. The problem is the messages are sent without any context or relevance. I didn’t get a chance to make a joke about a recent event. I could only say “Happy Birthday!”. Which seems so lame, especially for people I care about.
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Rule of Thumb
Use automation where it makes your administrative life easier, but doesn’t connect with your audience.
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Here’s an example of what not to do…
NO! This is a kitten killer.
GOOD IFTTT Examples
Each example is clickable and will bring you to the IFTTT page with details on the task.
 1. Congratulate LinkedIn connections
Congratulate connections on their new job
2. Create a record of your tweets
Keep a record of your tweets
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3. Dress correctly for the weather
Tell me about nasty weather
4. Keep a record of shared links Â
Keep a record of shared stories
5. Find your phone!
Ugh, where is my iPhone?
If you haven’t tried IFTTT, then get started. If you do you use IFTTT, share your favorite recipe in the comments.