SEO Warrior

Using Automation

Many tools and vendor-specific APIs are available to do custom development for just about any social networking site. You can also design custom scripts. Before you go this route, check what’s currently available online. Sometimes you may have no choice but to create an in-house design to fit your requirements.

Some of the pitfalls of custom design include the need to continuously monitor and modify the scripts when the host site changes its site structure (in case of scraper scripts). When creating automated agent scripts, be mindful of the target site. Create your scripts to emulate regular user behavior with appropriate pauses between clicks. Otherwise, the host sites might ban your account.

Creating a Twitter Scheduler

Many complementary tools, sites, and services are available for most of the social media sites. It is wise to explore what can help you achieve your social media strategy. You can also automate some tasks.

For example, if you are implementing a strategy for Twitter, instead of worrying about the steady flow of your tweets, you can create a simple application to send prerecorded scheduled tweets. Imagine a simple application as described in the use case diagram in Figure 15-4.

Figure 15-4. Twitter scheduler: Use case diagram

Creating the database

You can use PHP and MySQL to create a simple Twitter scheduler application to send your tweets. To create such ...