Are the Robots Coming for Digital Marketers?

If you’re in the digital marketing space at all (and if you’re reading this blog, we assume you are!) you can’t go anywhere in the online world without seeing anything about AI. Well, we are here to tell you not to worry! The robots are not taking over! Not yet anyway. We’ve spent some time with ChatGPT in particular to learn just how much this AI tool can actually do and how we can leverage it.  Call Smart WSI Marketing today to learn more about how we’re using AI in our marketing strategies.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot model designed to answer queries in a conversational way. Ask ChatGPT a question, and they will answer you back in a conversational format. But it’s capabilities are so much more than that! You can ask ChatGPT to follow detailed writing prompts, and it will draft content for you, from social media captions to outlines, to full blog posts* and everything in between! (*disclaimer! This blog post was written by a human.)  And while this is kind of cool, it brings on a mixed bag of emotions from content creators and their clients alike. Like, if it can write blogs, can it just replace me?! As of right now the answer is a confident “no!”  but here are some ways that agencies and our clients can and do leverage emerging AI technologies.

Brainstorming

This is the number one way we can employ AI! We’re not proud of it, but even the most creative content coordinators get stuck on ideas from time to time. A little hand from AI can get you through that brain fatigue and help you look at things from another perspective. Depending on how you word your prompt, you can generate ideas for blog topics, product and service ideas, and solutions to issues. You can refine your prompts for more specific uses as well, such as brainstorming titles for pieces of content, names for products, and creating slogans or mottos.

Sample prompts:

• Can you give me ideas for [format] about [subject], perhaps covering [topics]?
• Can you generate a list of [adjective][titles/names] for a [brand/product/person] that is focused on [keywords & description]?
• Can you come up with a [adjective] slogan for a [product/service]?

These prompts are just very basic samples. The more details you give the AI tool, the more complete of an answer they can give you.

Strategizing

AI technology is a great tool for developing frameworks and strategies for concepts that human intelligence can flesh out. Things like social media strategies, content outlines, and blog plans can be drafted by AI, taking the guess work out for your content people. Then they can apply their brainpower to putting “meat” on the “bones” AI provided.

Sample prompt:

            Acting as a social media manager, can you help me create a content management strategy for a [type] company for [social media platform] in order to [goal]?

Buyer Personas

Creating buyer personas can be an extremely helpful activity for building an effective marketing strategy! But honestly, it’s very few people’s favourite activity. Maybe we feel a little silly creating ads specifically for Christine, the 42-year-old Coca Cola enthusiast who collects vintage Happy Meal toys and has exactly 2.5 children? But AI can dig a little deeper and find out what really makes Christine and her half of a child tick.

Here’s a sample prompt for creating a buyer persona:

            Can you create a detailed buyer persona for someone who is [age] and interested in [X, Y, Z]?

Content Creation

Using AI for content is pretty exciting! It can speed up and diversify content production in ways we had never even dreamed of before. But as we mentioned earlier, it’s beginning to make content writers a little nervous. Well, it shouldn’t. As of right now, it’s still a tool to help people write content. At least, that’s how it should be used, and that’s how Google wants you to use it! Google can tell and will penalize you if you’re just cranking out AI generated content. (Does the Helpful Content Update ring a bell?) It’s not the fact that the content is AI generated that Google may take issue with. It’s that AI’s “voice” and “speech” patterns lack personality and authority. There are a few tools your can use to check content if you suspect it was AI generated.

Here's a few of the limitations of AI technology:

• AI generated content seems to have definite pattern that Google can detect.
• AI written content lacks your company’s voice and personality! Anything generated by AI should always pass through your content editor before it gets posted.
• The information generated by AI technology isn’t always correct. This makes verifying your facts crucial before posting anything generated by AI!
• ChatGPT, for instance, is only verified up to 2021. Any events after that, or real-time information is not accurate. However, the platform itself will tell you this out right!
• AI may give you the same content as some one else. Be sure to check your AI generated content for plagiarism before it leaves your hands.

That being said, here are some ways to leverage AI technology for content creation.

Writing Blogs

Yes, it’s true. ChatGPT and Jasper AI can generate entire blog posts! With a well written prompt with a lot of direction AI can take most of the heavy lifting out of a writing a blog. But as we previously stated, it’s not a great idea to just post whatever the robots spit out. It should always pass by a human editor to make sure that the information is correct, and that the finished product has your company’s voice and tone.

A sample prompt might look like:

            Create a [desired length/type of post] blog of [type of company] about [topic] that includes these keywords: [keyword(s)].

Remember, the more specific your prompt is, better your outcome is likely to be.

Rewriting Content

Another cool capability AI tools like ChatGPT has is the ability to take existing content and repackage it for you! This is great for repurposing or updating blogs, re-writing them for a different topic, but with similar elements, or for adapting them to different content formats. This is also helpful for improving content by adding new elements such as injecting humour or adding structure like bulleted lists or new headings.

An example of a prompt:

            Rewrite the following content to make it [desired outcome] by adding [elements]: [insert content]

Drafting Website Copy

At this point we all know how important your website is to your business. It may be the first impression potential customers or clients get of your business or brand, so it should be a good one! It’s crucial that the content they read on your website grabs their attention and makes them take notice of you. AI like ChatGPT can help  you create compelling website copy to influence your audience and keep you on their minds.

Here's a sample prompt:

            Write a [type of text] for my [type of brand/product] that [persuasion technique] to [desired action or feeling.]

Generating Captions

On social media, a picture is worth a thousand words! But you also get to a chance to use words to captivate your audience with thought-provoking and memorable captions. Sometimes, being clever and catchy on social media leaves us drawing a blank. It happens to the best of us! Get an assist from AI programs like ChatGPT.

Use a prompt like this one:

            Create [captions for social media specification] for a [type of company/brand] that [industry specifications].

Responding to Customer Reviews

Responding to customer reviews is imperative for building up your brand reputation and building a loyal customer base. You need to respond to every review, both positive and negative, in a constructive manner that is tailored to the customer and their situation. That can take a lot of time and effort. It can also be difficult to keep your emotions in check, particularly when responding to a negative review of your business. With some guidance from a well written prompt, AI can generate a personalized, professional review response that addresses your customers concerns and leaves your personal feelings out of it.

A sample prompt might look like:

            Act as a customer service professional that works for [type of company] and provide a response to the following feedback in a [tone]: [insert review]

So Much More!

There are so many more tasks that AI can give us a hand with! Things like:

• Generating code
• Instruction & SOP creation
• Process and product optimization
• Developing productivity habits
• Creating interview questions
• Producing summaries
• Generating arguments
• Writing speeches
• Drawing up liability waivers
• Documenting policies
• Analyzing culture
• Creating overviews
• Summarizing books
• Learning teaching strategies
• Persuading people
• Relationship advice
• Meal & workout planning
• General health advice
• Identifying virtues
• Evaluating & rewriting texts for persuasion
• Gathering Advice
• Overcoming fears
• Creating travel itineraries
• And so much more!

AI on the Rise!

It may seem that ChatGPT and other AI models may have nearly endless capabilities, but it is important that we see them as what they are: a tool to help humans work more efficiently. While this tool on it’s own isn’t poised to replace human writers as of yet, it’s a good idea to get comfortable working with an AI assistant. They aren’t going anywhere!

Lynne Motkoski, Marketing Strategist

Specialty: Online Marketing Strategies
Education: MA Communications & Technology, BComm [U Alberta]
Author: The Online Marketing Handbook for Busy Entrepreneurs (coming soon)

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Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education, keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.

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