Learn how to automate social media management using Airtable, Make.com, and AI to centralize planning, control content from agencies, and save valuable time. In this article, we present a case study of implementing a ready-made, "tailor-made" solution for a company in the construction industry. See how to create your own effective and scalable system for managing Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other platforms.
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 Publication Control
The main challenge was to centralize the management of all social media profiles in one, easy-to-use tool. The client also collaborated with external marketing agencies and needed a post-scheduling solution 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 to 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 publication calendar.
- Desire to use AI (e.g., GPT models) to assist in generating post content 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 for managing posts was created, including fields for content, graphics/video, target platforms, status (e.g., Draft, For Approval, Scheduled, Published), publication date, and basic statistics (likes, comments - automatically retrieved after publication). Calendar and kanban views facilitate workflow management and post scheduling.
- 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:
- Automatically publishing 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.
- Integrating with language models (e.g., OpenAI API - GPT) to support AI content generation or hashtag suggestions directly in 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 for collaboration with a marketing agency.
Example of a Make.com scenario that automates post publication on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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 the 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 publication calendar and basic statistics.
- Solution Scalability: Ability to easily add new platforms or functionalities in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The implementation time depends on the complexity, number of platforms, and specific client requirements. Typically, a 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, building automation scenarios, and a short training session on its operation.
The costs are flexible. Airtable offers a free plan, and paid plans start from about $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 from about $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 does not require advanced technical knowledge for daily use (planning posts, approvals, reviewing stats). The training covers all necessary operations. The development and modification of more advanced automations in Make.com usually remain on my side or require 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 their API (e.g., no direct video publication from the API for standard accounts). In such cases, we discuss possible workarounds or partial automation. We always verify the current technical capabilities for the selected channels.
Off-the-shelf 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 options – from data structure, through workflow logic, to integration with any other tools (CRM, project management, AI). It is a "tailor-made" system that perfectly fits the company's specific processes.
Integration with AI (e.g., GPT models from OpenAI) allows for generating content proposals, hashtags, and post ideas directly in Airtable. We can precisely customize the "prompts" (instructions for the AI) so that the generated texts match the brand's tone of voice and 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 to 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.