As AI tools become more widespread and inexpensive, you may wonder whether your business should use them for content production. Let’s look at where AI can add value to your small business marketing strategy and how to implement it responsibly.

What AI is best at in marketing (and what it’s not) 

AI tools can be incredibly helpful at the beginning of the content creation process when you’re staring at a blank page. For example, you can use these tools to generate topic ideas or suggest new angles for blog posts and social media updates.

It’s also very effective at repurposing content you’ve already created, like turning one long-form article into multiple social media posts. And because AI tools are trained to recognize patterns in language, they can suggest keywords that may improve your search visibility.

There are many business benefits of AI, but it can’t replace human judgment. It doesn’t understand your brand voice or the nuances that distinguish your business from its competitors. It also can’t replace the strategic thinking behind your positioning, and it often falls short when it comes to understanding and adhering to rules and standards mandated for specific industries.

That’s why human review is nonnegotiable. Every piece of AI-assisted content should be evaluated for accuracy and consistency. It’s important to fact-check statistics and confirm that any claims made are supported. If you work in a heavily regulated industry, like healthcare or insurance, your content should undergo a compliance or legal review before it's published.

The 5 most valuable marketing workflows to start using AI with 

If you’re wondering how to begin using AI in your marketing, here are five easy and low-risk places to start:

  1. Social media post creation. Use AI to explore different hooks or angles for your content, or to adjust the tone and length for different platforms.
  2. Ad copy variations for A/B testing. Use AI to generate several headlines and calls to action to test different approaches. Testing multiple options can improve your click-through rates and help you identify what resonates with your audience.
  3. Email newsletter drafts and subject lines. AI tools can help you brainstorm different subject line angles to improve open rates and draft a basic structure for the body of the email.
  4. Content briefs and outlines. Use AI to organize blog post structures and suggest subtopics based on common customer questions. This can speed up the planning process and help your team determine the scope before a writer begins the first draft.
  5. Landing page and FAQ development. Use AI to draft a basic version of your product or service page, including a short description, a list of benefits, and a call to action. You can also ask it to suggest common questions customers might have about your product or service.
Every piece of AI-assisted content should be evaluated for accuracy and consistency. It’s important to fact-check statistics and confirm that any claims made are supported.

How to implement AI in your small business marketing

The simplest way to implement AI in your marketing is to start small and choose one use case rather than overhauling your entire content strategy. For example, you could use AI to generate email subject lines or draft social media captions.

Once you’ve selected a use case, experiment by using AI for a limited number of content pieces and track the results. You can measure how long it takes to produce the content compared to your usual workflow and track your performance metrics. This testing phase lets you evaluate your results before committing to wider use.

If you’re happy with the results, build a simple, repeatable workflow that includes any successful prompts and basic templates you used. Establish internal checklists to confirm that each piece aligns with your brand voice. You should also appoint certain employees to review and approve all AI-assisted content.

KPIs to track

As you add AI to your marketing process, it’s important to measure whether it’s actually improving your results. For example, if you’re using AI to assist you on your email campaigns, track your open and click-through rates. On social media, track your engagement metrics like comments and shares.

Finally, keep an eye on error rates, how many revisions are necessary, or compliance flags. Ultimately, the goal isn’t to produce more content, but to produce content that drives measurable outcomes for your business.

CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.

CO—is committed to helping you start, run and grow your small business. Learn more about the benefits of small business membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here.

Published