Frustrated with AI-generated social media posts that just... kind of suck?
When ChatGPT took the world by storm at the end of November 2022, I was optimistic and full of hope and bright visions for the future of content creation. What an incredible tool! There were so many possibilities!
As we close in on ChatGPT’s second birthday, I have now spent countless hours using and testing and studying and iterating and reading about ChatGPT (and other players in the AI game, like Perplexity) in an effort to discover and share the best way to use AI for everything from outlines and social media posts to emails and web content.
What I have discovered is that no matter how impressive these tools are (and truly, they’re amazing), they’re no replacement for human experience. The best way to use these tools in your content process is as a First Draft Generator.
My personal weakness when it comes to writing is what I fondly call Blank Page Syndrome. I am terrified of an empty Google Doc and a blinking cursor. AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are incredibly good at solving that problem. They can quickly get words on the page related to your topic and give you something to work with. A starting point.
Where you run into trouble is when you take that initial output and try to make it be a finished product.
Some of what these tools can create for you will be great. You’ll be so impressed. Other parts will be utter nonsense. Word salad that (maybe) sounds nice, but is completely devoid of meaning or value. AI is very skilled at using a lot of words to say absolutely nothing.
AI also thinks it’s very cute and clever. It loves to use cutesy, flowery language and emojis as part of its effort to make the writing “more human”, but what it actually achieves is copy that reeks of AI.
One last thing I’ve noticed, in particular with using AI for social media posts, is a total lack of regard for how people actually communicate on these platforms. Here’s a screenshot of what ChatGPT suggested as a LinkedIn post about using AI for social media. At a glance, it’s really not that bad. EXCEPT for that title. 😱
When have you ever seen someone title a LinkedIn post? The answer is, you haven’t. And if you have, that’s because ChatGPT wrote it and that person didn’t take the time to give any critical thought to it before posting.
So, my friends, for those of you who have made it this far down, here are my neat, succinct takeaways:
👉 Absolutely experiment with using AI as a tool in your content processes. Just don’t expect it to be a replacement for real work.
👉 Think of AI tools as a First Draft Generator, rather than as a full-fledged writer.
👉 Spend time reviewing and thinking critically about the output.
👉 Plan to spend time editing and rewriting what you’re given.
What would you add to that list? Drop it in the comments below.
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #CopyWriting #DigitalMarketing #SEO #SocialMedia #ContentCreation
