AI Tools For Marketing, Friend Or Foe?
As a business owner, you inevitably wear many hats, no matter what stage of growth your company is in. All of us have wished many times that we could duplicate ourselves, and advancements in technology, notably AI, offer a way to actually do that. AI is everywhere. Most entrepreneurs are highly aware of it and/or are already using it, and are constantly bombarded with content from AI providers. But how do we harness and utilize this emerging technology without losing the human interactions that our customers require, and without compromising ourselves or our brands? We proceed cautiously! There are a ton of AI tools out there, and at the end of the day, they are all in BETA. If a provider is telling you that they are NOT, steer clear. This is an emerging technology, and with that comes risks, some which could bury your business if not deployed properly. AI “assistants” are representing you and your brand, and like a new employee, they require training, because as “smart” as they are, like a human employee, they WILL make mistakes. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t utilize and adapt this technology to get some time back in your day. We live in a very litigious world, so it’s important to make sure that you have taken all of the steps to protect your business and yourself, personally. As an SMB, you probably have the appropriate insurance coverages for yourself, your company and your employees. Now, with the emergence of AI, you have to start thinking about having those same protections for your “AI Employees”. Cyber Insurance is sometimes overlooked by many SMBs. Take me, for example. As a Digital Media Agency owner, Cyber was a MUST, as soon as it became available. We’re responsible for the growth and success of every client that we take on. Marketing and Sales are the Growth Engine of every business, and it is a responsibility that we take very seriously, as do our fellow agencies. Our everyday operations involve staying at the forefront of the digital technologies that we are deploying for our clients. Many SMBs are navigating without an agency partner or may not have support in marketing or digital advertising, but they still need to market themselves. AI can help tremendously, but if you’re in that boat, make sure that you have an oar. The first thing that is crucial is covering yourself: Invest in a good Cyber insurance policy. It’s not costly, but as this technology emerges, the prices on these policies will probably rise. “Cyber Liability is an industry term that can refer to one or a number of distinct and separate insurance coverages. As an emerging area of business risk, insurance carriers have adopted a number of individually rendered policy forms and coverage plans. While there are hopeful signs of standardization, as of today, coverage varies widely from carrier to carrier.” Cyber Liability and the Work from Home World* So how do you, as an overworked entrepreneur, utilize AI to streamline your marketing? Think about it this way. What is Internal vs. what is External? This basically means defining internal processes used in the creation of the the finished product, which is your “broadcast”. Internal is anything that doesn’t reach the pavement outside your door. Taylor Swift eulogizes that she “keeps her side of the street clean”, and that analogy works here. I’ll share an example. As a small business, you might be posting on Social Media, sending emails to current and past clients to ask for reviews, and maybe even running a small ad campaign. If you’re like me at that stage in my business, I was faking it till I was making it, working until I was deliriously exhausted, and stressing everyone in my household out. I eventually figured out that I had to work SMARTER, not harder. One of the things that helped me get there was employing not just human bodies, but AI. Not on the street at first, though. I started out, like many of us have, on Chat GPT. I discovered that using Chat GPT was/IS an excellent way to generate keywords for ad campaigns and SEO optimization. What would have normally taken me and my staff 5+ hours of combined hours, just to do the research on the myriad variations of search terms that an ideal customer would search for, could be DONE with a CLICK! I recent utilization generated over 4k keywords. Yes, we had to go through each one to make sure that they were relevant, but that took MAYBE 45 minutes. It took a day or two to get the approval back from the client, but that was only because they were absorbed with the duties of running their business. The keywords were perfect, and the campaign performed beautifully. Without AI, we’d be adding on another day and lost opportunities due to a slower campaign launch. In this case, AI provided us with a valuable shortcut and saved us and our client time and money. This use of AI was Internal. Internal vs. External use of AI. What’s the difference? It’s pretty easy… Internal use of AI looks like utilizing Otter AI, Fathom Notetaker, or any application that records and stenographs your online meetings. When I started utilizing this technology, it was a GAME-Changer. Not only does my Note-Taker transcribe my meetings, but she summarizes them, provides action items, and sends me friendly nudges when I’m overdue. Priceless. Lets talk about External use of AI. This can get you in trouble for multiple reasons. Think of “External” as your Public Persona. Your website, your social media channels, your advertisements, etc., are your broadcasts. This is External. Have you ever heard of the saying, “You get one chance to make a first impression”? We all know it’s true, but in the context of your online presence, it can make or break you. There are several reasons for this, outside of the obvious. We all know that Google is “God”, but
AI Tools For Marketing, Friend Or Foe? Read More »
