Modern-day small business owners have plenty of uses for artificial intelligence. It’s widely used for customer service, sales, inventory management, accounting, human resources, and manufacturing. AI is also a valuable tool for marketing your business. ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI, is taking that function to a new level.
What is ChatGPT?
Simply put, ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot that processes natural language to let you have human-like conversations and more. The tool can answer questions and respond to prompts, pulling information from sources like news articles, scientific journals, books, and Wikipedia.
The “GPT” stands for generative pre-trained transformer.
On the surface, ChatGPT looks like any other AI application. It’s what’s under the hood that makes this app different. The language model developed by OpenAI for ChatGPT is one of the most sophisticated ever created. The original version, built on GPT-3.5, communicates with text only. An updated version built on GPT-4 is scheduled for launch in March 2023.
What can ChatGPT do?
ChatGPT is a tool to assist humans, not to do their jobs for them. That’s an important distinction that will determine how successful your small business can be using this AI application. Relying on it too heavily could have negative consequences. Using it properly can save you time and make your company more efficient. Here are some examples of what ChatGPT can do:
- Respond to prompts: The prompt is the key to unlocking the power of ChatGPT. Users can ask the software to create outlines, research topics, write original content, etc. The newer version built on GPT-4 may also open the door for video creation.
- Remember prompts from earlier in conversation: This is where ChatGPT clearly outpaces its competitors. The application remembers prompts, giving it the ability to carry on a conversation without the user needing to re-input data.
- Adjust response based on follow-up corrections: No AI is perfect. Users of ChatGPT should monitor the output and make correction prompts when needed. The application remembers those corrections and will adjust additional conversation accordingly.
How can ChatGPT benefit my small business?
Using ChatGPT frequently will reveal exactly how useful it can be for your small business. It can supplement your marketing team with useful suggestions on how to create content. Users can prompt it to produce project outlines, article layouts, and step-by-step instructions. These are all time-consuming tasks that ChatGPT can do in a few minutes.
More advanced use cases for ChatGPT include connecting it to your website for customer service chats and producing emails for customer marketing campaigns. Content management systems like WordPress have plugins for implementing these functions. Research these before taking this step so you understand the full capabilities and limitations of ChatGPT.
How can I use ChatGPT in marketing?
There are several ways ChatGPT can help your company with marketing. Some of the more common functions are listed below, but extended use of the product should give you additional ideas that are specific to your business. Start out with the following:
Content marketing
ChatGPT can be used to come up with topics for blog posts, create outlines or drafts for blogs, and research which keywords to target. It should not be used for creating the final version of public website or blog content. The stylometry of ChatGPT, though advanced, is still distinguishable from human-generated content and could have an adverse effect on search engine results pages (SERPs). They’re also a competitor to Google, which controls over 90% of search traffic. Instead, use the tool to help you get started with content, and then you or your team can take it past the finish line.
Email marketing
Crafting the right subject lines and headlines for emails is an ideal task for an AI application. It’s also an area where human beings often get burnt out, leading to repetition in your email campaigns. ChatGPT can be used to help keep email marketing fresh.
Social media marketing
Social media posting is necessary to keep your small business relevant with online shoppers. A mix of organic and paid social can establish an effective acquisition channel for your brand. Use ChatGPT to craft posts and short-form ads, especially when you or your creative team starts to run out of steam.
Presentations
Organizing the flow of information in a go-to-market deck is one task that AI might be able to do better than you. Humans get caught up in aesthetics and imagery. ChatGPT can create flows based on the relevance and importance of the information being disseminated, making it more easily digestible for cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
How to integrate ChatGPT into your marketing strategy
ChatGPT can increase productivity and efficiency, but it does not replace the need for a full marketing team, including writers. Someone needs to take what ChatGPT outputs and add the human touch, plus verify that the output is accurate. Also, as we mentioned earlier, you need someone who can write effective prompts to take full advantage of the AI’s benefits.
Think of ChatGPT as a tool to enhance what your team does, not a replacement for them. Make this clear when you introduce the tool to your marketing team.
5 tips for writing effective ChatGPT prompts
The prompt function of ChatGPT operates differently than the search prompts we’ve become accustomed to. Google’s algorithm displays websites that are relevant to the keywords entered into the prompt box. ChatGPT uses natural language processing (NLP) to produce a result that displays a direct answer to the prompt.
Here are five ways to get the most out of that.
1. Be specific with your language.
ChatGPT is designed to respond to specific instructions. Using broad or ambiguous prompts will not get you the results that you’re looking for. Be direct and include as many details as possible.
2. Keep it short, simple, and conversational.
There’s no need for special language when communicating with ChatGPT. Use the same conversational language you would if you were talking with a friend.
3. Clearly define the tone you’re looking for.
ChatGPT is intelligent enough to distinguish tone. Are you looking for something serious, funny, persuasive, empathetic? Give directions that would help a copywriter nail the tone.
4. Give examples for clarity.
Provide examples if you’re working with a complex topic or concept. ChatGPT works best with more information. Add it to the chat even if it’s incomplete. ChatGPT can help develop it.
5. Provide concrete feedback.
Improve the AI’s responses by giving clear, specific feedback. If you’re looking for something different, explain exactly what’s off and how to get it closer to where you want it.
