AI

Convenience at a Cost: Scrutinizing ChatGPT’s Role in Social Media Marketing

We’re all for embracing the future and leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT. It can save a ton of time on content creation and spur fresh ideas when you’re feeling stuck.

We get it—it’s an affordable and accessible way for small businesses to do their own marketing. But all too often, people use AI to desperately keep up with the need to generate a large volume of social media posts, email newsletters, blog posts, and other marketing, often with no regard to strategy.

The Issue

Every time you scroll through your social feed, you might come across a post that goes something like:

“Hey, cat enthusiasts! 😻Is your cat making too much noise all the time? 🤔Is your cat constantly stomping around, driving you crazy? Think there’s no answer? You’re so stupid! There is – kitten mittens! 🐈🧤
Finally, there’s an elegant, comfortable mitten for cats. Is your cat one-legged? Is your cat fat, skinny or an in-between? That doesn’t matter, ’cause one size fits all. Kitten Mittens. You’ll be smitten. 😻
So come on down to Paddy’s Pub. ☘️🍺 We’re the home of the original Kitten Mittens.”

Sounds familiar, right? It’s that signature ChatGPT style – a catchy hook, a sprinkle of emojis, some details, and the finishing touch of a CTA… with more emojis. It’s becoming all too common.

The Impact

Considering most of us spend an average of 2.5 hours on social media daily, and six in ten adults now recognize ChatGPT’s work, it’s easy to spot AI-generated posts.

Why does it matter, you ask?

For one, it begins to spark skepticism: Is this truly the brand’s or individual’s knowledge and expertise? Or are they simply drawing from ChatGPT’s vast repository of knowledge? Are we seeing their true insights, opinions, and values, or just echoes of the ChatGPT algorithm? (Fun fact: in its training period, ChatGPT 3.0 was fed more than 570GB or 300 billion words worth of information).

Need more reasons? By default, when asked for social media content, ChatGPT spits out a post in the same tone—one that might be characterized as enthusiastic and a tad overzealous, coming across as formulaic and cheesy. There’s a tangible risk of the content coming off as insincere or low-quality, which can inadvertently project an image of the brand being cheap or even scammy. In an age where authenticity and originality are key, brands must ensure that their content, even if sourced from AI, aligns seamlessly with their tone and reputation.

It can be summed up like this: For all its prowess, ChatGPT lacks the essence of human intuition. When you lean too heavily on bots for your content, your brand starts to sound…well, robotic. And here’s a newsflash: people connect with people, not algorithms. Brands are built on narratives, emotions, and stories. And while AI can mimic, it can’t truly resonate the way humans do. The audience starts feeling like they’re interacting with bots rather than brands with real human beings behind them. In this automated age, the human touch remains our most invaluable asset.

Plus, when your posts look and sound just like every other post on someone’s feed, you’re getting lost in a sea of similarity, doomed to be scrolled past.

The Solution

There’s no doubt that AI is a game-changer, especially in marketing. It’s reshaping the content landscape, enabling faster production rates than we’ve ever seen.

But ChatGPT is a tool, not a strategy. And many people are forgetting to treat it as such. When you copy & paste ChatGPT’s first response to your prompt for a social media post, you’re doing your brand a disservice. Sure, you’ll get something to post tomorrow in five seconds flat. But have you stopped to ask yourself WHY? Why do I need to post this? How is it helping me meet my goals? What ARE my goals? Without a strategy, content creation is just noise in a saturated social media landscape where it’s already hard enough to be heard.

Yes, ChatGPT can be tailored to echo your brand’s tone and values, but it’s not a plug-and-play game. It demands effort, iteration, and a generous sprinkle of human touch.

 

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