How ChatGPT Will (And Won't) Change Your Small Business Marketing
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There’s been so much chatter about AI recently – especially about ChatGPT, the Artificial Intelligence that has caused massive disruption to many industries, including marketing.
It might seem that somehow overnight, the marketing industry is dead, and everyone is suddenly an expert in a complex technology that I don’t think even many technology experts really comprehend (especially from an ethics point of view – if you haven’t seen the movie iRobot, now is the time).
We don’t know everything yet about the impact that this next generation of AI will have on our lives.
But I do know what there are some things it will, and won’t change, right now, for small and medium business marketing. What should you be using it for? And what shouldn’t you be using it for?
Let’s try and make some calm out of the chaos.
What is ChatGPT anyway?
Let’s get real for a minute. AI is not really new. It’s been around for a while (hey Siri).
So, what is ChatGPT?
I asked it, and this is what it told me –
ChatGPT is a language model developed by OpenAI. It is based on the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) architecture, specifically GPT-3.5, which is one of the iterations of the GPT series. GPT models are designed to generate human-like text based on the input they receive.
ChatGPT is trained on a diverse range of internet text and is capable of understanding and generating responses in natural language. It can be used for various tasks such as answering questions, engaging in conversations, providing explanations, offering suggestions, and more. ChatGPT is designed to assist users in generating coherent and contextually relevant responses based on the prompts or queries it receives.
So, if it’s not really new, why has it created such a stir?
Essentially, ChatGPT is capable of taking the knowledge it has access to, and answering any question you have, that its knowledge can answer – in seconds.
It gives us the ability to streamline tasks that used to take us ages. What used to take time and many Google searches to discover or research, can now be delivered to you in seconds.
ChatGPT can generate a framework for a strategy, find the name of the person who said a particular quote, tell you how other businesses solved a particular problem, or even write social media posts and blog articles for you, based on the prompts you give it.
It’s going to save you time.
It’s going to save you money.
But is it the answer to all your business and marketing challenges?
Here’s where I think it’s going to change things for your small or medium business – and what will stay the same.
Like all other tools available in the age of technology, it only works if you know how to use it right.
ChatGPT WILL solve the blank page problem
ChatGPT (or any of the other generative AI technologies like Jasper) is definitely a solution to the blank page problem.
I’m always telling my clients that they need to create their crappy first draft in order to move forward and it will 100% help with this, so you can get to a first draft of anything more quickly than you’ve ever been able to before.
How well will it solve the blank page problem? That depends on how good your prompts are. More on that further down in this article.
ChatGPT WILL streamline research projects
Need to create some counter arguments to a commonly held belief? Need a list of the top 10 businesses on the ASX500? Need to know who said a particular quote, or who made a particular claim?
Then ChatGPT is a great way to research.
Because you can ask it a specific question and it will summarise everything for you and you’ll save heaps of time trying to find that piece of specific information you need to flesh out an article or an argument.
ChatGPT WON’T be able to mimic your tone of voice
While it's great at creating content that mimics the tone of a bunch of famous people and characters (like Kramer & George Constanza for example), it's not likely to be able to write in the tone of voice of a smaller or medium brand because it doesn't have enough source material to draw on to do that with any skill.
Tone of voice is built in nuance. And ChatGPT isn’t human, so in my experience, it struggles with that element of content creation.
ChatGPT WON’T do your thought leadership for you.
If you’re writing an article or other piece of content where you need to establish an opinion, then ChatGPT isn’t where you should be going to create your first draft.
While it’s a great solution to the blank page problem, it cannot do your thinking for you. So, you shouldn’t be using it to create a draft article that’s driven by your own opinion or thoughts.
Content and storytelling legend Joe Lazaukas would also argue that it’s in the pain of creating the first draft that you’ll find your train of thought, debunk your own bad ideas, and even find new (and possibly better) ones that AI just won’t be able to deliver.
ChatGPT WON’T turn you into a skilled marketer
The reason that marketers are so excited about AI is that it’s going to give us an opportunity to supercharge our skill.
Instead of spending marketing time (and money) doing mundane (but essential) marketing tasks, we can put more hours and energy into things that ChatGPT can’t do - strategic and creative work.
But you really need to be a marketer to know how to create that balance.
ChatGPT isn’t going to replace ideas and creativity - you still need to know how to use the tool effectively, and only experienced marketers will be able to do that.
This doesn’t mean you can’t use it to create your marketing - it’s just not going to teach you how to be a good marketer, because it’s outputs are only as good as the inputs you use.
ChatGPT WON’T tell you if it’s wrong
It can’t tell you if the output it’s given you is terrible. And it definitely won’t fact check the information it gives you.
While it’s not currently connected to the internet (this is a misconception), and the information it gives is generated from an advanced dataset which includes information from the internet, books, journals and other sources, doesn’t mean it can’t make stuff up - just like humans sometimes do.
I’ve seen plenty of examples where ChatGPT has given an answer, but when it was fact checked by the user, it turned out to be completely made up.
You can’t trust ChatGPT to give you the right answer 100% of the time for several reasons:
While its goal is to supply only high-quality information, this is almost impossible to guarantee, because we’re relying on the datasets that have been loaded into it being right. And information is fluid – things are changing all the time.
Because it’s only accessing information from 2021 and earlier, it’s not going to be up to date with any events that have happened after that.
It’s translating the information based on how it’s understood the question you’ve asked. Part of the amazing thing about AI is that it has the ability to learn. And it does this in the same way humans do – by making mistakes.
ChatGPT isn’t going to tell you if it’s wrong. So, don’t skip the step where you check the facts.
ChatGPT is an amazing tool. But that’s what it is. A tool in your toolkit.
While some marketing might seem like magic, there is no magic marketing bullet. There hasn’t been one before, and ChatGPT isn’t the answer now.
Do I think it's a great piece of technology? Yes.
Am I worried about it replacing me as a writer or marketer? No.
Do I think it's the answer to all your marketing problems? Definitely not.
And it definitely won’t replace humans. It isn’t capable of critical, human oriented thinking. It can’t pivot like we can and it’s not capable of original thought – only of rapidly aggregating the data of the things the developers decide it should know.
ChatGPT is a tool. A very clever tool, but a tool nonetheless.
And it’s a tool you should definitely learn how to make it a part of your marketing mix to help speed up a whole host of tasks.
It would be crazy not to tap into the technology in the same way you use technology to streamline other parts of marketing in your business.
Remember what it will and won’t do, and you’ll be on your way to successfully using ChatGPT to supercharge your small business marketing.
