Social Media Publishing Management Platform
Centralization, automation, and AI support in managing content across multiple social media platforms. Airtable and Make.com implementation case study.
Client and Business Context
The project was carried out for a small, dynamically growing company in the construction industry. The client actively used social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok) to build their brand and communicate with customers, but the process was fragmented, time-consuming, and difficult to scale.
Challenge: Centralization and Publishing Control
The main challenge was to centralize the management of all social media profiles into one, easy-to-use tool. The client also collaborated with external marketing agencies and needed a solution for post scheduling that would allow agencies to create and propose content without granting direct access to the company's social media accounts. It was also important to simplify the process of creating engaging posts using generative AI and obtain basic performance information (social media statistics).
- Managing 5 different social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok).
- Need for control over content published by external marketing agencies.
- Lack of a single place to plan and review the social media publishing calendar.
- Desire to use AI (e.g., GPT models) to support content generation for posts and descriptions.
- Need to monitor basic engagement metrics (likes, comments).
Main view of posts for publication in Airtable – the central tool for social media post planning.
Gallery of published posts with statistics (comments, likes, etc.)
Solution: Automation with Airtable and Make.com
In response to the client's needs, I designed and implemented an integrated system based on two key no-code/low-code tools, achieving social media automation:
- Airtable: Serves as the central database and user interface (social media management tool). A dedicated base was created for managing posts, including fields for content, graphics/video, target platforms, status (e.g., Draft, Awaiting Approval, Scheduled, Published), publication date, and basic statistics (likes, comments - automatically retrieved after publication). Calendar and Kanban views facilitate workflow management and post planning.
- Make.com (formerly Integromat): Acts as the automation engine, connecting Airtable with individual social media platforms (via their APIs). Scenarios in Make.com are responsible for:
- Automatic publishing of social media posts (approved in Airtable) on selected platforms at the scheduled time.
- Retrieving basic statistics of published posts and saving them back to Airtable.
- Integration with language models (e.g., OpenAI API - GPT) to support AI content generation or hashtag suggestions directly within the Airtable interface.
Thanks to this solution, external agencies can add post proposals directly to the Airtable base (e.g., via a dedicated form or limited access), and the client has full control over the approval and publication process, which is crucial when collaborating with a marketing agency.
Example Make.com scenario automating post publication on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
Example Make.com scenario automating pin publication and board management on Pinterest.
Key Benefits for the Client
- Centralized Management: All social media activities in one place (Airtable).
- Full Control: Over published content and agency access.
- Increased Efficiency: Significant reduction in time needed for managing and publishing posts thanks to automation.
- Generative AI Support: Ability to quickly generate draft content and hashtags (GPT).
- Process Transparency: Easy access to the publishing calendar and basic statistics.
- Scalability: Ability to easily add new platforms or functionalities in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Implementation time depends on complexity, the number of platforms, and specific client requirements. Typically, the basic setup of the platform in Airtable and Make.com, covering 2-3 main social media channels and AI integration, takes from a few days to about 1-2 weeks. The process includes consultation, database design, automation scenario building, and brief user training.
Costs are flexible. Airtable offers a free plan, and paid plans start at around $10-20 USD/user/month, depending on the required features. Make.com also has a free plan, and paid plans depend on the number of operations (often starting around $9 USD/month). AI costs (e.g., OpenAI GPT) depend on token usage, but for typical content generation, these are usually small monthly amounts. The overall cost is often more economical than dedicated SaaS platforms or manual work.
The goal is to create an intuitive interface in Airtable that doesn't require advanced technical knowledge for daily operations (planning posts, approvals, reviewing statistics). Training covers all necessary actions. Developing and modifying more advanced automations in Make.com usually remains my responsibility or requires dedicated support.
The system integrates with many platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.) using official APIs in Make.com. Some platforms, like TikTok, have limited automation capabilities via API (e.g., no direct video publishing from the API for standard accounts). In such cases, we discuss possible workarounds or partial automation. We always verify the current technical possibilities for the selected channels.
Ready-made tools offer a standard set of features in a polished interface but are less flexible. A solution based on Airtable and Make.com provides almost unlimited customization possibilities – from data structure, through workflow logic, to integration with any other tools (CRM, project management, AI). It's a "tailor-made" system that perfectly adapts to the company's specific processes.
Integration with AI (e.g., GPT models from OpenAI) allows generating content suggestions, hashtags, and post ideas directly in Airtable. We can precisely adjust the "prompts" (commands for AI) so that the generated texts match the brand's communication tone, comply with specific guidelines, and formats. The user can easily initiate generation and edit the results.
Absolutely. Make.com has hundreds of ready-made connectors for popular business applications (e.g., Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, CRM systems like Hubspot or Pipedrive, project management tools like Asana or Trello). This allows us to create a comprehensive ecosystem where social media management is seamlessly connected with other company processes, such as team notifications or reporting.
Interested in a similar solution
for social media automation?
If you're looking for a way to streamline social media management in your company, need a tool for post scheduling, want to automate publications, or leverage AI for content creation – contact me. I'd be happy to discuss your needs and propose a tailored solution based on Airtable, Make.com, or other technologies.
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