Around this time last year, you couldn’t scroll down your feed without seeing a ChatGPT post. It was EVERYWHERE.
And normally with these huge hypes, it blows up for a couple of days (weeks if you’re lucky) but inevitably ends up in the graveyard of hypes that lost their buzz – Threads anyone?
But ChatGPT was different.
‘AI’ has been a term bandied around for years. We’ve been shouting at Alexa to turn up the music and switch on the lights for almost a decade.
But when ChatGPT hit our feeds, it took everything we knew about AI capabilities to another level. Now AI could teach us things, and go beyond just taking trivial demands.
One year on, the marketing uses for ChatGPT have been endless. Luckily ChatGPT saves your old questions, so I’ll let you into my brain and share some of the things I’ve been asking ChatGPT and how I use it to change the way I work.
Top 5 marketing uses for ChatGPT
Finding solutions
Before ChatGPT if I needed the answer to something I’d Google it. The problem with a traditional Google search is that I still need to go and find the answer I’m looking for. That might mean that I land on 3 or 4 websites that don’t have what I’m looking for before I find the one that does.
Enter ChatGPT.
Now I type whatever it is I’m looking for and within seconds, my answer is there. Even better, if I don’t understand the answer I’ve been given, I can ask for it to be simplified.
Here are some of the real marketing use cases for ChatGPT I’ve searched this year:
- How do I set up the insight tag on my WordPress website?
- How can I find UTM links in GA4?
- How many people use their phones for work in the UK? (it didn’t quite get this one right)
- I have three series of data that I want to compare, which type of graph should I use?
DISCLAIMER…
ChatGPT is still in its infancy remember. It has limitations – here’s a great article by Forbes that talks through some of them. My advice is don’t always take everything ChatGPT throws at you as absolute truth or fact. It could unintentionally be outdated or biased because after all, it’s a machine and it’s still learning.
Making something that's complicated, simple
I work with a lot of tech brands. And if you’ve ever worked in tech, you’ll know about the endless acronyms and complex service offerings that exist. But I always want to understand the thing I’m going to be marketing and will spend hours learning how something works or what the benefits are so I can better understand how the service benefits customers.
So next on my list of marketing uses for ChatGPT, making complicated things simple.
Examples:
- Explain simply the four dimensions of Tone of Voice
- Explain how end-to-end encryption works
- Explain the concept of digital twins
- What are some examples of Zero Risk bias?
Turning me into an Excel wizard
This one might be one of my favourite marketing uses for ChatGPT. It isn’t just for marketers, this is for anyone who uses Excel and has ever experienced spreadsheet envy. Now, ChatGPT can make you look like an Excel pro without the need for a degree in Excel wizardry.
I also absolutely love analysing marketing data, so this is the one I nerd out about a lot.
Examples:
- How do I cross-reference email addresses from one Excel sheet to another?
- Write me a formula so that if the values in columns K, L, M, N and O are above a set threshold, a pre-determined score out of 10 will be given in column P
- Write me a formula to help me show the total impressions (column K) for culture posts (some of column C)
Becoming my personal editor
Paragraph too long? Over the editorial word count? Social post too many characters?
ChatGPT will help me cut the copy down. I like to think of it as my own personal editor.
I won’t go on to give you examples of this one, because it’s just a lot of me typing “take out 15 characters from this post” or “make these two sentences shorter”. You get the idea.
Getting my brain fired up on the tricky days
Creative slumps. We all have them.
Finding ways to get over them is important, especially when you have clients and looming deadlines.
I don’t think ChatGPT is a sufficient replacement for creative minds (but I guess I would say that wouldn’t I…). But what I do think it can help with is getting you started with ideas on the days when it feels like nothing is coming naturally.
And so the final of my marketing uses for ChatGPT – getting my brain fired up on the tricky days.
9/10 times I won’t use anything from the examples it throws up. But the point is, it gives me an idea to put pen to paper and get started, a creative push shall we say.
Here are some of my personal examples:
- Give me some blog title ideas for a blog about customer touchpoints
- Give me some social post ideas for this blog…
- What are some other words for energetic
- Write me a speaker session title based on this headline…
But it doesn't always get it right...
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve typed “make it less cheesy” when ChatGPT throws up a response like “Howdy Folks” or “Hey there IT guys and gals”.
As far as using it for all your copywriting needs, I’d warn you to approach it with caution. Because as the fictional character Dr. Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum in the movie Jurassic Park once said*… “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”.
*This fact was sourced from ChatGPT, do not come for me if it’s wrong, please.
Meet the writer
Beth’s our big-thinking, brilliantly creative problem solver. Her love for marketing and big, boundless energy make a pretty perfect recipe for a Campaign Manager. She won’t rest until you get the results you want.
Beth’s easy to chat to and has a natural way of helping people understand their customers and their market better. This helps her create meaningful marketing campaigns that don’t just look good, they hit the spot.
