Should you hire a professional digital marketer, use AI, or try a combination of both? Artificial intelligence (AI) is in the headlines. But you’re probably not sure what it means for your business, your marketing strategy, or who you should hire. Take a look at what small business owners need to know about the effect AI and chatbots have on digital marketing and content creation.
What Is AI for Digital Marketing?
Artificial intelligence is not a futuristic science fiction idea. AI is here—and not in a scary “Terminator” way. The growth of digital content creation (including approaches to marketing for small businesses) is now at an intersection with AI. If you’re a small business owner and new to AI, chatbots, or even digital marketing, the first step is to familiarize yourself with the lingo and understand what these programs and services mean to you.
In the world of content creation and digital marketing, artificial intelligence does not refer to robots that act like humans. Instead, AI includes chatbots or programs with advanced abilities to write (or design other content) in a way that is almost indistinguishable from humans. Through language learning models, chatbots teach themselves (through human engineers) how to build content from prompts.
The content generated by AI allows some businesses to quickly create blog posts, marketing copy, emails, newsletters, social media posts, or other digital media that directly target their preferred clients or customers. AI may also help business owners to develop and implant marketing strategies based on a specific set of metrics.
Will AI Replace Human Content Creators?
There is no certainty as to how AI will change the landscape of digital marketing and content creation in the future. Right now humans generate the majority of the content that your customers read or interact with online, through apps, or on social media.
But this doesn’t mean that some businesses aren’t taking advantage of AI’s effective and efficient ability to swiftly (and often accurately) write engaging text. And it’s likely that more and more businesses will begin using AI as time goes on.
Which Option Is Right for Your Small Business?
The answer to this question depends on your marketing goals, your advertising needs, existing engagement (from clients or customers), your budget, your marketing timeline, and your preferences.
The decision to choose between AI and human-generated content isn’t all or nothing. Some small businesses prefer a blend of the two. Not only could you mix the two options, you may also need to explore how you would create AI content.
A computer won’t generate your marketing materials on its own. Humans program and interact with chatbots. This means you will either need to learn how to use these programs or hire an expert marketer/content creator who can effectively choose prompts and astutely interact with AI.
What Are the Next Steps For Your Small Business?
Before you decide on a marketing delivery strategy (AI, human-led, or a blend of the two options), you need to think about your overall business and digital goals or needs. If your small business only needs help boosting social media engagement or you want to create a few blog articles for your company’s website every week, a human content creator is most likely your best bet.
But if you want to generate mass amounts of text consistently or if you have an extremely large marketing material need, an AI bot can streamline the process. Again, this doesn’t mean you can only use computers or software.
If you do choose to explore your AI options, a marketing expert who has proven experience creating chatbot prompts and working with these programs can help you to implement a digital plan. This type of hire provides you with a professional who can turn your marketing ideas into a reality and eliminate the need for you to either create your own content or navigate the new world of AI bots.
Do you need help creating digital marketing content? We can help. Contact Grow Team for more information.