Since social media has become a more prominent part of our society, influencer marketing has become an affordable yet powerful tool for brands and individuals to build awareness. As brands and marketers constantly seek innovative strategies to connect with audiences, the integration of generative AI tools offers unparalleled opportunities for creativity, personalisation and efficiency. But what are the drawbacks of using generative AI in influencer marketing?
This article explores how generative AI is being used in marketing, its recent controversies, and the effective ways you can utilise social media marketing.
How Generative AI is Being Used in Marketing
Before we can explore how generative AI is being used in marketing, what is it, and what is influencer marketing?
Generative AI refers to the tools and algorithms (such as ChatGPT) capable of generating content, such as audio, images, videos and simulations.
At its core, influencer marketing is a strategy used in digital marketing that involves partnering with social media personalities with a significant following and influence. The strategy hinges on the personal bond between influencers and their followers, which, thanks to AI technology, can now be enhanced.
So, how is generative AI being used in marketing, and how effective is influencer marketing?
Content creation
Influencers are increasingly using generative AI, especially for images and videos. Using generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT’s DALL-E, streamlines content production, making the process easier for influencers.
Enhancing fan interactions
There are generative AI tools available for influencers to create AI versions of themselves. By doing this and posting on social media, it increases their fan interactions and engagement.
Entire personalities
On the other end of the spectrum of creating AI versions of themselves, some influencers are creating entire AI-generated entities and personalities and creating entirely new social media accounts for that purpose. There is a growing number of ‘AI influencers’, especially on Instagram, which begs the question, how effective is influencer marketing when it comes to generative AI?
AI-Driven Influencer Marketing Ethical Considerations
The need for transparency
With more and more AI influencers popping up on social media, ethical concerns arise, one of them being the need for transparency. How are people supposed to distinguish between AI-generated content from human-generated content? And what does that mean for those who take the time and effort to create human-generated content?
The impact on fans’ mental health
Another factor to consider is the impact on fans’ mental health when forming attachments to AI personalities.
The risks of deepfakes
The advancement of AI brings the risk of more deepfake content, which is a video or image of a person whose face or body has been digitally altered so that they look like someone else. The risk of an increase in deepfakes also comes with the risk of false information and scams.
Recent Controversies With Generative AI Impacting Marketing
While generative AI is an innovative tool for content creation, on the other side of the coin, it can spread false information, cause legal issues, and have a detrimental impact on marketing.
Taylor Swift's deepfake images
For almost a full day at the end of January, deepfake pornographic images of Taylor Swift swept across the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
The social media platform was so slow to react to the content that it garnered over 47 million views before it was taken down. The reason the content finally got taken down was in large part because of the 24,000 reports it got, mostly from ‘Swifties’ (Taylor Swift fans).
The deepfake images caused so much public anger that even the White House commented on the issue, stating that it was “alarming” and that Congress “should take legislative action.”
This isn’t the first time deepfake images of famous people have created scandals and outrage.
Other examples include
- Former presidential candidate Ron DeSantis used deepfaked images of Donald Trump in campaign ads.
- A viral “deepfake” song that mimicked rapper Drake.
- A lawsuit from Universal Music Group against Anthropic for allegedly stealing copyrighted lyrics.
Strategies for Effective Social Media Marketing
While generative AI can have detrimental effects, if utilised properly, it can foster increased engagement, conversions and sales.
So, what are some strategies you can use for effective social media marketing?
Understand your target audience
How do you know what you want to create if you don’t know who you’re targeting? Knowing who you want to reach is the foundation of an effective social media strategy. Once you’ve done some research and know who you want to advertise to, then you can focus on creating content solely for that audience.
Choose the right platforms
The average person has eight different profiles across social media platforms. And with so many different social media platforms out there, it can take time to choose which ones will best suit your advertising goals.
Different social media platforms serve different purposes. For example, if someone is looking for creative inspiration, they might head to Pinterest or Instagram. Knowing what purpose your business serves and where your target audience is most active can help you choose the best platform for you to advertise on.
With three billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world, making it one of the best to market and advertise on.
Create engaging content
Have you ever scrolled through Instagram or Facebook and felt like you were looking at the same content over and over? One of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is to create unique and engaging content.
You can do this by
- Creating high-quality images and videos
- Having a hook that draws people in (you can use generative AI such as ChatGPT to create engaging captions or slogans)
- Jumping on a trend but adding your own unique twist to it
When you create content that gets people talking and engaged, that’s when your follower count, clicks, conversions and sales will skyrocket.
Track and analyse your social media metrics
By analysing your metrics, you know if your social media marketing and advertising efforts are working. When you post organic content on social media, you can track the analytics for that specific post to see how many people engaged, commented, saved and even clicked on the link to your product or service. When you post an ad on social media, you can track it just as you would an organic post but with a bit more information. You can see what works well and what doesn’t and alter your ads until you get the results you want.
Get Help with Effective Social Media Marketing with Anchor
Does your brand have a social media presence but isn’t doing as well as you’d like? Look no further than Anchor. Our social media gurus have years of experience in social media marketing and know what works to boost your engagement and conversion rate.
From Facebook marketing to organic social media posts, we offer effective social media marketing that will see your social media following, website conversions, and sales skyrocket.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you through social media marketing, drop us a line today.
