Julia Becker Collins, COO of Vision Advertising, provides some advice on using emerging AI technology to assist with marketing
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We’ve all seen artificial intelligence-generated content, either images or words, running the gamut of painfully obvious AI to dubious provenance. This is the double-edged sword all productivity tools, including AI, fall into: Can you use it enough to save time while spending enough time to make content engaging and helpful? I think you can.
4) Why would you use AI tools in marketing? The answer comes down to a lack of resources: time, expertise, money. You might be lacking in one area, like not having enough time to write daily social media statuses, or lacking in multiple, like not having a marketing background nor the overhead to bring on an employee who does. AI tools, including text chatbots like ChatGPT or Bing AI and image generators like Midjourney or Stable Diffusion, look promising when your resources are thin.
3) People will notice unaltered AI marketing. If you’re taking content made by an AI and directly placing it into your marketing, people will notice. AI work is imitation, and you don’t need to look too closely to find issues with both style and substance. This can lead to pointed comments and discussions that can hurt your brand.
2) Use AI as a starting point. The solution is to treat AI like you would an intern: It needs supervision and review, and not all content it produces will be useful. A few examples include:
• Prompts and outlines: If you’re not sure what to write a blog about or post to social media, chatbots can produce general lists or prompts, or you can use produced content as a starting point.
• Not cornerstone content: AI shouldn’t produce content integral to selling, such as website copy, and certainly not products people have to pay to see. Instead, it can help create blogs, social media, and content on third-party websites.
• Content needing branding: AI graphics or written content lacks your logos, voice, and calls to action. Once the AI content is produced, it needs these further edits.
1) You still have to do the work. You need to be hands-on to ensure your marketing is successful. From reviewing all the content created to making edits, you’re involved. AI can be a useful tool, but it’s not replacing the hard work. You’ll need to build your marketing expertise; AI only helps.
