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AI and Social Media: How to Use AI in Social Media Management
Irina Oczko1/29/2024
Our guest author Irina Oczko explains how you can use AI in social media management.
Table of contents
- How does AI influence social media?
- How can AI be useful in social media marketing?
- There's no doubt that AI is a good support in the social media area! After all, the usage of AI in companies has risen from 9% to 15% and 68% of companies see AI as an opportunity (source: Bitkom:
- You want to know how you can use AI in your day-to-day social media work? With these 4 examples, you're well prepared!
- AI remains a tool that is constantly evolving. It's not omniscient and makes mistakes or sees aspects differently than you would approach them in your daily business. This can be traced back to the segmented perception of AI, which is also in a bubble. The more often users take over the content generated by AI unfiltered without questioning it or interacting with the AI, the more the AI is reinforced in the assumption that its information and solutions are error-free. Therefore, all content, regardless of the stage of social media management AI is used, should be reviewed by a social media expert.
- One thing is certain: AI is not just a new hype, but is already securing a firm place in social media marketing. What else awaits us is a good question and partly hard to grasp. Because if we're honest, we couldn't imagine the effects of ChatGPT just over a year ago!
- The number of tools on the market is large and finding the right one for you is not always easy. That's why I created this table for you, which shows you the most common tools in an overview, including a check with regard to the most important functions.
- Social Media AI is not just a trend, but, used correctly, a valuable instrument that makes our lives easier in social media management. Annoying routine tasks can be easily outsourced. This allows social media managers to focus on creative and strategic aspects of work.
I do a bit of social media in my spare time... I really don't know ANYONE in the industry for whom this is true! The reality is often like this: tasks pile up and there's no end in sight. But since the introduction of ChatGPT, social media AI is here and makes your daily business easier.
By using artificial intelligence in social media, you can automate, simplify and outsource some of the tasks. In this post, I'll show you how AI can be integrated sensibly into social media marketing, what risks there are and what the future of AI in social media marketing looks like. Answers to these questions, including useful tool tips, are now awaiting you.
How does AI influence social media?
Long before artificial intelligence became a real hype, it was the secret director behind the scenes of social media. The algorithm, controlled by an AI, has been determining which content is served to you on social media for years. It knows your preferences and shows you posts that get your pulse racing. It's no wonder marketers try to crack the algorithm, which seemingly always changes, in order to achieve the best possible performance.
Since the big ChatGPT boom in November 2022, the topic has continuously dominated the trends. Since then, AI has actively integrated into social media marketing. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that AI plays a major role in the Social Media Trends 2024 and dominates the trends.
But what influence does artificial intelligence have on social media? It's best to think of AI as your digital assistant, who gladly takes on tedious and time-consuming tasks. This includes, for example, creating reports, researching topics, supporting community management, and much more.
How can AI be useful in social media marketing?
AI and social media are the perfect match and when used skillfully, artificial intelligence can simplify marketing at every stage - from strategy development to implementation and reporting. The following steps in social media management should not be overlooked:
- Social media strategy development
- Content planning and creation
- Content distribution
- Engagement and community management
- Monitoring and analysis
- Deriving and optimization
You will then find out how artificial intelligence can be used sensibly in each phase.
Social media strategy development
A well-thought-out social media strategy forms the centerpiece for effective social media marketing:
- What measurable goals are we pursuing?
- Who is our target group?
- What topics does our target group love?
- On which networks is it active?
- Which formats does it particularly like?
During strategy development, artificial intelligence becomes your sparring partner. Use tools like ChatGPT to analyze large amounts of user data, recognize certain target group patterns and describe them more precisely. Ask the tool what problems your target group has and what solutions would help it. This gives you a deep understanding of your target group, including the right topics for your strategy.
Content planning and creation
During the conception, the editorial plan is created in accordance with the social media strategy. It's worth involving ChatGPT in the topic research right from the start. For example, you can use AI for social media to:
- Generate content suggestions based on trends and user interests
- Create scripts and concepts for planned videos
- make text creation easier(headlines,
copies, CTAs)Generate images or videos for the posts. - So, AI for social media posts can be a useful help in every phase of content planning and creation.
Content Distribution
Do you use several networks in your content marketing mix? Then it's worth using social media tools when posting. With tools like
Hootsuite, Later or Emplifi you can plan posts to be published automatically. Some of the tools are now so "intelligent" that they optimize publishing times themselves and publish content when most people use the network. And if your posts get an additional boost through paid ads, then the AI for social commerce issues can be a helpful support.Engagement and Community Management
Whether in reactive or proactive community management - using AI can make interacting with your community easier and more structured. But what exactly is the difference?
With
proactive community management you actively participate in the
comments of other brands and thus specifically draw attention to your own brand. This is how large companies such as Ford, Obi, and Deutsche Telekom successfully attach themselves to the TikToks of others, primarily using provocative and eye-catching comments to make their own company stand out from the crowd. And this is where AI helps you. It analyzes discussions and identifies trends, which helps you quickly identify relevant topics to proactively promote interaction there. I speak from experience when I say: Manual searching is tedious and difficult!Source: TikTok @ProSieben
comments of other brands and thus specifically draw attention to your own brand. This is how large companies such as Ford, Obi, and Deutsche Telekom successfully attach themselves to the TikToks of others, primarily using provocative and eye-catching comments to make their own company stand out from the crowd. And this is where AI helps you. It analyzes discussions and identifies trends, which helps you quickly identify relevant topics to proactively promote interaction there. I speak from experience when I say: Manual searching is tedious and difficult!Source: TikTok @ProSieben
The
reactive community management encompasses all activities that occur on your own channel. Whether it's support requests, feedback, open questions, or comments. Here it's important to respond quickly to solve the community's concerns and problems and to strengthen trust simultaneously. Depending on how large the account is and how often support needs to be contacted (because the train has failed, the roll is no longer fresh, or the internet connection is lagging again), the effort can quickly become overwhelming. Using AI tools here is a game-changer! Frequently asked questions can be answered using automation or response texts can be generated.Social Media Monitoring
Social media monitoring is often underestimated, even though it is an important step in social media marketing to gain insights into customer opinions, monitor your own market development and measure the effectiveness of your own marketing strategy. As the field is very broad, it's worth using social media AI here as well. Real-time monitoring can be set up, which continuously screens all channels to identify relevant conversations and trends. In addition, AI determines sentiments based on posts and comments on a brand, reflecting important insights into customer opinions. It is also advisable to set up alerts to be informed first when sudden changes occur.
Reporting and Recommendations for action
Social media reporting is important and often treated as a stepchild. Admittedly: The effort is significant, especially when multiple channels are used in the company and the raw numbers don't really say much, so a deeper look is necessary.
The good news: With AI, you can perform data analysis and thus faster and more accurately evaluate large amounts of data. In addition, patterns and trends can be recognized that are helpful for deriving important learnings. With some tools, you can even build dashboards that create new reports for the stored accounts in the selected period, so you only have to analyze and evaluate the data. If you don't have time for that yourself, AI can also derive specific recommendations for action.
But caution is advised here. I recommend you critically review the results with an independent eye. Because the evaluation of the reporting takes place against the background of the defined strategy: Do the measures contribute to the set goals? Which formats perform particularly well? Which less so? Are there certain topics that the target group particularly likes to see? Here you are needed as an expert!
What are the risks of AI in social media marketing?
There's no doubt that AI is a good support in the social media area! After all, the usage of AI in companies has risen from 9% to 15% and 68% of companies see AI as an opportunity (source: Bitkom:
German economy steps on the gas with artificial intelligence). A minority of 20% view AI as a risk. But what risks and effects does it have on social media?Job loss due to AI
It is often stated that AI will replace our jobs. But it's not that simple, because a social media manager is a multitasking person who masters different tasks at different levels. What is certain is that AI can take over annoying routine work. But what AI can't replace is expertise, as well as the creative flair to master the social media game.
Loss of trust due to AI
We all know the typical ChatGPT phrases like “Dear LinkedIn community”, “Together we can ...”, “Let's make the world a better place ...” - the list could be filled with further examples. What I want to get at: Use AI as inspiration and brainstorming. But don't lose the personal touch through excessive use of AI. Your community will notice sooner or later and the price you pay is a loss of trust.
Loss of quality through AI
Even if ChatGPT now has access to the internet, it can still be that the provided information and texts either are not truthful or do not meet the quality standard with regard to other criteria. Why is this? On the one hand, due to the possibly not optimal use of the tools. Because they can only work as well as the prompts or chosen settings are. That's why it's important to deal with the topic of prompting and write down fixed prompts that are used again and again for routine tasks. Because: The better the "briefing", the better the output. This applies to both teamwork and input from the AI.
On the other hand, AI algorithms can be biased by unintended prejudices, leading to distortions that are reflected in the quality of output produced. Therefore, you should always independently check all content created by AI for sense and understanding.
4 examples of AI in social media marketing
You want to know how you can use AI in your day-to-day social media work? With these 4 examples, you're well prepared!
1. Social Media AI for topic finding
How do we fill the next month with content? If your strategy is in place, you know your target group, including the topics your target group is passionate about, then AI can simply support you in concrete topic research. It's important that you
ChatGPT with all necessary information, so that the tool can support you in a targeted way.And if the right result doesn't come out right away: Ask questions anew, ask what additional information is needed to achieve better results, and just have a conversation like with a human being. Sounds crazy, but it helps. Even for some results, I need 2-3 attempts, but in this case, the result fits and offers a range of topics that can be turned into good social media posts.
Source: ChatGPT
You have established a fixed format and need concrete examples for implementation? That's also possible, with the right commands:
Source: ChatGPT
Of course, not all examples are always usable. But they are helpful for first inspiration.
2. Social Media AI for Text Creation
Once the topic for the post is set, it goes into the creation of the assets. In addition to visuals (image or video), post text is needed. One thing upfront: I'm not a fan of having the texts written completely via
ChatGPT or other tools. But I like to get a first draft and adjust it accordingly. Prompts that make my life easier:Write like a human
- Write simple texts that small ten-year-old children understand
- Write easy-to-read texts with short and snappy sentences
- Trim the text down to the essentials
- I need a text that has a maximum of 150 characters
- The texts should address the following target group and pursue goal XY
- Use the following example as a template
- The list could go on indefinitely. Everything is better than “ChatGPT, write a LinkedIn post on the topic “What is Social Media” - unless you feel like getting to know the AI detectors more closely.
3. Social Media AI for creating images
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Creating AI images doesn't necessarily mean that the AI creates the images 100%. Here are several options:
Images are edited by the AI
- Images are generated 100% from text-based prompts
- Style transfer based on existing images
- The most popular
tools for AI images are Dall-E-2, Midjourney,
Canva and Neuroflash.Admittedly, creating images with AI is a bit trickier than for example text creation. But even here the saying goes: Practice makes perfect.
Canva and Neuroflash.Admittedly, creating images with AI is a bit trickier than for example text creation. But even here the saying goes: Practice makes perfect.
I believe that the results can now be seen and they can already partly replace stock photography. The result is from Dall-E-2, the prompt is: baby lying in a bassinet and sleeping.
Source: Dall-E-2
4. Social Media AI for Video Editing and Subtitles
If you regularly integrate TikToks and Reels into your content mix, you certainly know the effort behind cutting and subtitling these videos. But here's good news: With innovative tools like Capptions.ai and Opus Clip, this process is now much easier and more efficient.
Captions.ai
on the other hand, is a virtual cutter that fully exploits the potential of your video sequences. The software analyzes your video clips and identifies the best scenes for a strong cut. This intelligent analysis ensures that your videos show exactly the right highlights and captivate the audience. Of course, you need to put the final touches on yourself at the end. But the tool already does most of the work for you.What should be additionally considered when using AI in social media marketing?
AI remains a tool that is constantly evolving. It's not omniscient and makes mistakes or sees aspects differently than you would approach them in your daily business. This can be traced back to the segmented perception of AI, which is also in a bubble. The more often users take over the content generated by AI unfiltered without questioning it or interacting with the AI, the more the AI is reinforced in the assumption that its information and solutions are error-free. Therefore, all content, regardless of the stage of social media management AI is used, should be reviewed by a social media expert.
What does the future of AI in social media marketing look like?
One thing is certain: AI is not just a new hype, but is already securing a firm place in social media marketing. What else awaits us is a good question and partly hard to grasp. Because if we're honest, we couldn't imagine the effects of ChatGPT just over a year ago!
If I ask the AI itself, then the following aspects are on the plan:
More accurate personalization
- : AI will better recognize individual user interests and adjust content accordingly.More precise engagement monitoring
- : Refined analysis of moods and trends through AI.Autonomous Content Creation
- : AI creates high-quality content, barely distinguishable from human-made.Smoother community management
- : Advanced AI chatbots improve user interaction.Improved data analysis
- : Deeper insights through AI support strategic marketing decisions.I'm sure: That's just the beginning of a long journey, in which artificial intelligence will be a constant companion!
These tools with AI integration help you for your social media management
The number of tools on the market is large and finding the right one for you is not always easy. That's why I created this table for you, which shows you the most common tools in an overview, including a check with regard to the most important functions.
Planning & Publishing
Reporting | Community Management | Monitoring | Miscellaneous | Swat.io | |
✔(Paid) | ✔(Paid) | ✔(Paid) | Creating content (with AI) |
| |
✔(Paid) | ✔(Paid) | ✔(Paid) | Social Ads |
| |
✔(Paid) | ✔(Paid) | ✔(Paid) | Hashtag Generator |
| |
✔ (Free & Paid) | x | x | Influencer Marketing |
| |
✔(Paid) | ✔(Paid) | ✔(Paid) | Release process for content Coordination |
|
Test the tools and their functions and pay attention to the following aspects:
Is the operation intuitive?
- How quickly do you get support in case of problems?
- How easy is the setup?
- How often are there technical problems?
- Are the providers open to innovations?
- How quickly do they integrate new features?
- This helps you find the right tool for your needs and your budget.
Conclusion
Social Media AI is not just a trend, but, used correctly, a valuable instrument that makes our lives easier in social media management. Annoying routine tasks can be easily outsourced. This allows social media managers to focus on creative and strategic aspects of work.
Despite its potential, we must be aware of the challenges and limits of AI. The future promises exciting developments, with a balanced combination of human creativity and AI support being the key to success.
Trotz ihrer Potenziale müssen wir uns den Herausforderungen und Grenzen von KI bewusst sein. Die Zukunft verspricht spannende Entwicklungen, wobei eine ausgewogene Kombination aus menschlicher Kreativität und KI-Unterstützung der Schlüssel zum Erfolg sein wird.
Author
Irina Oczko
Author
Irina Oczko
Irina Oczko ist eine selbstständige Beraterin für Social Media, Content-Marketing und SEO und bringt mehr als acht Jahre wertvolle Branchenerfahrung mit. Sie ist bekannt für ihre tiefgehende Leidenschaft für Online-Marketing und ihre Liebe für neueste Branchentrends. Irina kombiniert professionelle Expertise mit dem herzlichen Engagement einer Mutter von zwei Jungs, was ihr eine einzigartige Perspektive verleiht.
