Month: March 2024

Social media for small businesses can be a challenge. Along with selling your products and services, keeping up with the invoicing, answering calls and emails and staying on top of your files, you’re also trying to find time to market your business on social media. It’s a big ask. 

Fortunately, there are several options available to help you post regularly on social media and still keep on top of your core business. In this blog, we’ll take a look at AI and how to use ChatGPT to generate content for your social channels. 

How to use AI to generate social media content

ChatGPT is an artificially intelligent platform that uses existing internet posts to answer questions and create content. This means it can give you ideas for social media posts and even write them for you. 

ChatGPT is free and you can use it by visiting the ChatGPT website and creating a login. Once in, it gives you the option to “message ChatGPT.” This is where you type in your request for information, whether you just want ideas or a whole social media post. So you might start by typing, “suggestions for social media posts for an outsourcing agency.” 

Then see what you get! And if you see an idea that appeals to you, ask ChatGPT to write you a full social media post about it. 

Some social media scheduling tools (e.g. Hootsuite) have artificially intelligent content generators too, aligned to calendars of awareness days. Simply click on the prompt and allow it to write your content!

Whether you used ChatGPT or the AI in a scheduling platform, you should now have a useable social media post. But before you copy and paste it into your social media platform, read it thoroughly and make sure it really is what you want to share with your followers. If it isn’t, you don’t have to ditch it completely – just make a few changes instead. 

How to edit ChatGPT and AI generated content 

Before you post, check the AI generated content. Ask yourself…

Is it really saying anything?

A danger with ChatGPT is that it sometimes generates posts that are all style and no substance. Check whether the content it has created for you is actually useful to your followers. If not, be prepared to add to the post yourself. 

Does it make the right point? 

ChatGPT takes its information from existing internet posts. This means that if you have a different point of view, or a new angle to share, ChatGPT won’t be able to incorporate it. Remember to check that ChatGPT has taken the same line you would. If you believe rising prices in your industry are a good thing and your followers need to know about them, make sure that’s the point that ChatGPT has made for you. And if isn’t, change it. 

Does it have the right tone? 

Check the post for tone too. ChatGPT reads like…ChatGPT. It’s bland, it’s not quite human and all its emotion (the bit that makes the post engaging) is second-hand. Fortunately, you have the power to remove the cliches, tell your followers how you actually feel and maybe swap some of the wording about. Trust your judgement. If you think the post sounds cheesy, it sounds cheesy. Tweak it until it reads smoothly and sounds like you. After all, you’re the person your followers want to engage with! 

A good thing about AI is that it won’t be offended if you change what it has written! Remember that it’s a good servant but a bad master – ultimately, you are the one who has control over your social media channels. 

Outsourced social media for small businesses

Whatever your experience of social media and/or AI, Get Ahead are here to help. Our experienced social media managers can provide as much or as little support as you need. From helping you with ChatGPT basics to setting up your social media platforms, writing content to in-depth analytics, our team can support you to grow your business through social media. 

Here are some of our top resources about social media – check them out! 

Social media for small businesses – long-term solutions – Get Ahead VA

Ten realistic social media ideas for small businesses – Get Ahead VA

How do I create a social media strategy and why does it matter? – Get Ahead VA

Social media is a great free marketing tool for small businesses. It’s quicker and easier to update than your website, and a brilliant way to interact with your clients and customers. 

But social media evolves all the time. What was working for you when you first started might not be as effective now. Maybe a new platform has come along and it’s time for you to get involved. Or maybe you need a new process to help you post consistently without your core business losing out. 

As it’s springtime, we asked our social media manager Natasha to share her top tips for spring cleaning your social media! Read on to find out more.

1. Spring clean your social media accounts

Most businesses use more than one social media platform. However, platforms come and go – for example, Twitter (now X) used to be a busy business hub but now since the platform’s re-branding it’s largely used for political commentary. Businesses change too – maybe Facebook worked well for you when you first started, but now you’re gaining more interaction on LinkedIn. The important thing is to evaluate which platform your own clients and customers use, and make sure that’s the platform where you post most often.

If you have accounts that are getting considerably less traction than others, let them go altogether and enjoy the time and money you save!

2. Spring clean your bios

When did you last update your social media bios? Take a moment to reread them and consider whether they still reflect you and your business. If your business has grown or changed direction, make sure your bio reflects that.

3. Spring clean your social media tools

Take some time (or ask someone like me!) to research social media tools that could be making your life easier. From new scheduling apps to advanced analytics tools, you might find some new tech to help you get more out of social media. 

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of options available, but don’t worry – Get Ahead can help. As one of their social media managers, I am often asked to help a business owner choose what tools to invest in. I talk to them about whether they want their posts scheduled in advance or a better understanding of the data, or something else. Then I share my experience to help them make the best choice. Contact Get Ahead to find out more about how we can help. 

4. Spring clean your social media management

Many business owners post on social media in an unplanned way, as and when something social-media-worthy crops up. While this can be delightfully fresh and spontaneous, it can also lead to inconsistent sharing and long gaps between posts. 

Take some time to think about your social media management and work out what you need to make it better. Consider setting up a folder where your team can add photos and stories – this will mean you always have content to draw upon, as well as showcasing different colleagues and different points of view. Making social media a regular agenda item at your team meeting might be another way to gather content ideas and share success. 

5. Spring clean your work diary

If you’re struggling to post regularly, consider blocking off time in your work diary to create and schedule social media posts. 

It’s also a good idea to weigh up whether posting on social media is the best use of your own time. Would you have more time, more headspace and more effective social media if you got someone like me to do it instead? If you think it would, talk to Get Ahead today – the solution you’re looking for might be more cost-effective than you think. 

Outsource social media 

We hope Natasha’s ideas will help you structure your social media and get more from Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and other channels. And if you think you could benefit from support from Natasha or one of our other social media managers, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us to find out more.

PS – if you’re looking for inspiration for different social media posts, check out our top ten ideas here!