ChatGPT has quickly become one of the most versatile tools for marketers, streamlining content creation and conserving valuable time.
While AI tools like ChatGPT offer remarkable capabilities and are revolutionizing the marketing world, it’s important to remember that they complement, rather than replace, human expertise.
Discover the many uses of ChatGPT in marketing that you might not have considered.
Can you really use ChatGPT for marketing?
ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can assist businesses in enhancing their marketing campaigns.
However, it’s important to note that it does not replace human creativity and expertise. Instead, think of it as your trusty marketing sidekick, ready to assist you in generating ideas, refining your messaging and optimizing your content for maximum impact.
“AI tools are also good for idea generation and getting your thoughts organized, so more like using it as a writing assistant.”
– Shaheen Samavati, CEO of VeraContent
The possibilities are endless when it comes to using ChatGPT for digital marketing. Beyond content creation, here are four of the most common ways to use ChatGPT for marketing to a global audience:
- Idea generation: If you’re struggling to develop new ideas for your blog, social media or email marketing campaigns, ChatGPT can help. Simply input your topic or keywords, and ChatGPT will generate a list of relevant ideas to explore.
- Content optimization: Once you have a content draft, ChatGPT can help you refine and optimize it for your target audience. It can suggest edits and improvements to your writing style, grammar and tone, and provide insights into the SEO keywords and topics most likely to resonate with your audience.
- Audience analysis: ChatGPT can help you better understand your target audience. Using your existing content and customer data, it can identify topics, keywords, and messaging most likely to engage and convert your audience. This is particularly helpful when targeting a global audience, as ChatGPT can help you narrow down your analysis to each target market.
- Marketing translation: While not a dedicated AI translation tool, ChatGPT has some pretty impressive translation capabilities. The biggest benefit of ChatGPT vs. other machine translation tools is that it allows you to be more involved in the translation process by providing context—including prompts like “keep the rhyming aspect” or “add a similar idiom”—to refine the results further.
- Writing assistance: Can’t think of a specific word? Struggling to rephrase a sentence to read better? ChatGPT can assist. While getting the tool to write all of your content is not advisable, it works well as a writing assistant.
These examples just scratch the surface. More specific marketing uses for ChatGPT include using it to build chatbots for ecommerce sites and multi-language customer support systems or integrating ChatGPT into a lead-scoring system to help identify and prioritize high-quality leads.
So the short answer to the question above: Yes, ChatGPT can be used for marketing.
See also: 25 AI marketing tools to transform your workflow right now
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ChatGPT content creation: Is it any good?
AI models like ChatGPT have become valuable tools for marketers.
But can it be their go-to content creator, delivering polished pieces at the click of a button?
The answer is a bit nuanced.
As mentioned, ChatGPT works best as an assistant rather than a standalone content creator. It excels at providing inspiration, offering suggestions and generating ideas. It can be a creative springboard, helping you break through writer’s block or brainstorm fresh concepts. However, when it comes to producing final, ready-to-publish content, ChatGPT has its limitations.
“You want to apply the 80/20 rule. 80% of the heavy lifting and writing is done by the writing tool. 20% should be you doing fact checking, making sure it flows correctly and humanizing it a little bit more.”
– Marty Englander, YouTube and TikTok content creator
If your primary goal is content creation, there are AI tools specifically designed for that purpose. Platforms like Jasper and Copy.ai are tailored to generate high-quality content in various styles, formats and tones, making them better suited for the job.
That said, there are ways to still benefit from ChatGPT’s content creation abilities. Here are five key things we’ve learned when it comes to ChatGPT content creation.
1. It all comes down to your prompts
The better you instruct ChatGPT, the better results you’ll receive. Specific, clear instructions lead to more relevant and coherent output. It’s all about feeding the AI with the right information—including as much contextual information as you can.
For example, when using ChatGPT for blog posts for a specific brand, try to provide as much detail about that brand as possible—including brand mission, complete service offering, key selling points, tone and brand guidelines. If you share this information with ChatGPT before you start prompting it for content creation, it will continuously reference these points throughout the content it creates.
Tip: Save your ChatGPT marketing prompts. If you want to continuously get similar output from ChatGPT, save your prompts to reuse—but remember to refine them each time. This is a major time saver!
2. You need to add context to every prompt
Along with brand background information, always include who the content is for and the aim for each prompt. Get specific.
For example, if your brand caters to environmentally conscious consumers and your content is about promoting eco-friendly products, specify that the target audience comprises eco-conscious shoppers who value sustainable choices.
Your aim for this content could be to educate them about the benefits of your eco-friendly products and encourage them to make environmentally responsible purchase decisions.
3. Not everything ChatGPT generates is ready for prime-time
It’s your responsibility to pick and choose from the content ChatGPT provides. Think of it as a chef selecting the best ingredients for a gourmet dish. Craft your content by taking the AI’s input and weaving your narrative around it.
Tip: Always ask for more than what you need. For example, if you’re looking for a one-liner to add to an Instagram caption, ask ChatGPT for 100 words. Within those 100 words, you’re more likely to find a usable one-liner than if you only asked for one sentence.
4. If the tone or style isn’t quite right, don’t hesitate to communicate your preferences
Tell ChatGPT what you’re looking for, and it can adjust accordingly. You’re in the driver’s seat, guiding the AI to align with your brand’s voice. The best way to get the tone right is to provide a sample text of the exact tone you’re looking for and tell ChatGPT to copy the same tone.
If it’s still not getting it right, try the scale method. For example, if you’re looking for a conversational tone but the copy it produced was way too conversational, tell ChatGPT where on the scale that copy is and where you want it to be.
Here’s how:
“On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is very conversational and 1 is not at all conversational, this example is an 8. Rewrite the copy to be a 6 out of 10 in terms of conversational tone.”
5. Certain content types are better suited for AI-generated assistance than others
For highly technical, time-sensitive, or critical content, it’s advisable to rely on human expertise. This is especially true if you’re not already familiar with the topic, as you’ll likely end up spending more time fact-checking than if you’d written the content from scratch yourself. However, for lighter, fun, or exploratory topics that you can vet and refine yourself, ChatGPT can be incredibly useful.
Ultimately, the quality of what you get from ChatGPT depends on what you put into it. Master the art of prompting, curation and refinement to make the most of this powerful AI assistant.
VeraContent CEO Shaheen Samavati chats with AI tools expert Marty Englander about how to use ChatGPT to speed up content creation in the below podcast episode:
ChatGPT for social media marketing
Are you looking to level up your social media marketing game with a little extra help from the AI world? Here are a few ways to use ChatGPT for social media marketing:
- Content ideas. Tired of staring at a blank screen, wondering what to post next? ChatGPT can help you brainstorm fresh content ideas. Just toss in a prompt like, “Give me some quirky Instagram post ideas for a doggy daycare,” and watch the creative sparks fly.
- Crafting captivating captions. You’ve got the perfect picture, but now, the caption dilemma. ChatGPT can whip up witty, charming or downright poetic captions that’ll make your posts pop. Just give it a brief on the vibe you’re aiming for, and voilà, instant word wizardry!
- Personalized responses. There are only so many ways the human brain can think of ways to respond to followers. ChatGPT can help you personalize responses to comments and messages, making your followers feel valued. No more generic “Thanks for the comment!” replies—you can show them you’re genuinely engaged.
- Hashtag help. Choosing the right hashtags is essential for getting your content seen. ChatGPT can recommend hashtags based on your content and target audience. It’ll help you join the trending conversations and reach a broader audience. This is also useful for finding location-specific hashtags.
- Localization ideas. You can use ChatGPT to tailor your social media content for different geographic regions and audiences.
Remember, ChatGPT is like a trusty sidekick. It can give you suggestions, automate tasks, and make your life easier, but you’re still the boss. It’s up to you to curate the content, ensure it aligns with your brand’s voice, and put that personal touch on it.
ChatGPT for Facebook Ads: Does it get results?
While ChatGPT can help you generate content for your Facebook ads, your results depend on factors such as ad design, targeting, and your product’s quality. It’s a valuable tool in your Facebook ad arsenal, but success hinges on a holistic approach.
When using ChatGPT for creating copy for Facebook ads, make sure to first understand your audience—who they are, their pain points and what solutions your product or service can offer. Then, determine your ad objective—is it awareness, engagement, traffic, conversions or something else? This shapes the content.
You can then use ChatGPT to generate the ad copy by providing a clear and concise brief with the above details. You can also use it to create multiple ad versions and headlines for A/B testing, optimizing your ad campaigns for the best results.
See also: Paid social media campaigns: Best practices to get results
How do you ask ChatGPT to write a marketing strategy?
Asking ChatGPT to write a marketing strategy involves providing detailed information about your product, target audience, goals and any specific constraints or considerations you have in mind. The more information you can give, the more tailored and effective the strategy can be.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to ask ChatGPT to write a marketing strategy:
- Introduce your product or service: Start by briefly explaining what you’re offering. Describe your product or service, its unique selling points (USPs) and why it benefits your target audience.
- Define your target audience: Explain who your product or service is for. Include details such as demographics, psychographics, behavior patterns and any other insights you have into your target market.
- Outline your goals: Specify what you want to achieve with your marketing strategy. Goals can range from increasing brand awareness, generating leads, boosting sales and improving customer retention to entering new markets. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).
- Budget and resources: Share any budgetary constraints or limitations you have. Also, mention the resources you have available, such as a marketing team, tools and platforms you plan to use or are already using.
- Competitive landscape: Provide information about your competitors. Understanding what others in your space are doing can help identify what works well and what gaps you can fill with your strategy.
- Marketing channels of interest: If you have specific marketing channels in mind (social media, email marketing, content marketing, paid advertising, etc.), mention them. Otherwise, you can ask for recommendations on which channels might be most effective for reaching your target audience.
- Any successful strategies used in the past: If you’ve employed marketing strategies in the past that have been successful, sharing these insights can help tailor future strategies to replicate past successes.
- Ask for a specific structure: You can request that the strategy be structured in a specific way (e.g., executive summary, market analysis, strategy overview, implementation plan, KPIs for measuring success).
An example request might look like this:
“Could you assist in developing a global marketing strategy for our new line of smart home devices aimed at enhancing energy efficiency? Our product suite includes smart thermostats, lighting and plugs, designed with both residential and commercial users in mind.
We’re targeting a global audience with a focus on urban areas in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. The primary demographics are tech-savvy individuals and businesses interested in sustainability and reducing energy costs, aged between 25-55.
Our objective is to achieve $1 million in global sales within the first year by building brand recognition and establishing a strong online presence.
We have a marketing budget of $100,000, which needs to cover digital marketing, market research for different regions and potentially localized marketing efforts.
Resources available include a dedicated global marketing team, multilingual support staff and partnerships with several major e-commerce platforms. While we face competition from established smart home brands, our USP lies in our devices’ interoperability with multiple ecosystems and our commitment to sustainability. Previously, we’ve seen positive results from targeted social media campaigns and partnerships with local influencers in test markets.
Please provide a strategy that includes a comprehensive market analysis per target region, suggests tailored channel strategies for different markets (including digital and potential traditional channels), and proposes an implementation timeline. Additionally, include key performance indicators for tracking the effectiveness of our global marketing efforts.”
Feel free to customize your request based on your specific needs and information. Once you get the results, remember that they’re likely just the starting point for your marketing strategy. When developing a global marketing strategy focused on specific regions, it’s best to always get assistance from locals on the ground.
Local professionals offer invaluable insights into cultural nuances, consumer behavior and market dynamics, enabling the tailoring of marketing messages to fit regional sensibilities accurately. This approach ensures your strategy is culturally sensitive and legally compliant, while also enhancing its relevance and impact.
Collaborating with local influencers, using feedback and adapting strategies based on regional responses further refine your approach, building a deeper connection with each target market.
Look at ChatGPT as your marketing partner, not replacement
ChatGPT is quickly changing how we do marketing. But not in the way many may fear. It’s becoming the marketer’s trusty assistant, making content creation a breeze and saving precious time.
The real magic happens when you blend AI with human know-how, especially when it comes to creating content for a global audience. Nothing will ever replace a local’s perspective. That’s why it’s essential to consider ChatGPT merely a tool to add to your marketing toolbox and leave the juicy, creative bits to the professionals.
Get in touch to learn more about our marketing translation services and how we can help level up your global marketing strategy.