ChatGPT is one of the leading tools that can help you to supercharge your marketing, personal branding and content creation.
In my previous article, I explored 5 ways that your professional services firm could use ChatGPT to streamline content generation and enhance your LinkedIn presence – ensuring you get seen and heard by the right people. These were, drafting posts, strategy advice, content ideas, repurposing content, optimising your profile and crafting good headlines.
In this article, I’ll delve a bit deeper and provide 6 tips for generating more effective social media content using ChatGPT.
6 Tips for using ChatGPT – with examples
1. Be specific with prompts
ChatGPT works best when you give it as much detail as possible, and very precise prompts. This means you need to be clear about the content and your request. The more information AI has about your brand, objectives, audience, voice etc., the more specific and useful the results you will receive in return.
For example, you could ask ChatGPT: “what should I post on social media?” It’s likely to return some very generic results.
When I asked it this question, it said:
“When deciding what to post on social media, it’s important to consider your audience, your personal or professional brand, and the purpose of your post. Here are some ideas for different types of content you can share:
Personal updates: Share interesting moments from your daily life, such as a recent trip, a new hobby, or a milestone achievement.
Inspirational quotes: Post motivational or thought-provoking quotes that resonate with you and may inspire others.
Educational content: Share informative articles, videos, or infographics on a topic you’re knowledgeable about or passionate about. This could be related to your profession, a hobby, or a cause you care about.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses: Give your followers a peek into your work or creative process by sharing behind-the-scenes photos, videos, or stories.
Product or service highlights: If you have a business, use social media to showcase your products or services. Share high-quality images, videos, or customer testimonials.
Ask for opinions: Engage your audience by asking questions or seeking their opinions on specific topics or trends. This can spark meaningful conversations and encourage interaction.
Personal recommendations: Share your favourite books, movies, music, or any other products or experiences you’ve enjoyed. It can help your followers discover new things and also provide insight into your interests.
Seasonal or holiday-themed content: Create posts that align with upcoming holidays or events. It could be a festive photo, a recipe, or tips for celebrating.
Remember, it’s essential to maintain a balance between promotional content and authentic, engaging posts. Tailor your content to your specific audience and always keep their interests in mind.”
This answer was not completely unhelpful, but to ensure you are getting useful information for your professional services firm, it pays to be very specific.
Instead, you could ask: “what type of content should I post to increase my LinkedIn following and attract graduate applications to my mid-sized law firm based in Auckland CBD?”
ChatGPT generated the following ideas, which are likely to be more applicable for the context:
“To increase your LinkedIn following and attract graduate applications to your law firm, you can focus on posting content that showcases your firm’s expertise, highlights the benefits of working there, and provides valuable insights into the legal field. Here are some content ideas:
Thought leadership articles: Write and share articles that demonstrate your firm’s knowledge and expertise in specific areas of law. Provide insights, analysis, and practical tips that can benefit your target audience, such as recent law graduates or aspiring legal professionals.
Success stories: Share success stories of your firm’s clients or notable cases that your firm has handled. Highlight the positive outcomes achieved for clients and the impact your firm has made in the legal field.
Employee spotlights: Showcase the talented individuals working at your firm by featuring employee spotlights. Highlight their achievements, expertise, and the unique contributions they bring to the firm. This can give prospective applicants a glimpse into the firm’s culture and the type of professionals they would be working with.
Career advice and tips: Share useful tips and advice for aspiring legal professionals. Cover topics such as preparing for job interviews, building a successful legal career, or navigating the job market. This positions your firm as a valuable resource for career development.
Industry news and updates: Stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the legal industry and share relevant news articles, regulatory changes, or landmark cases. Provide your own insights and commentary to demonstrate your firm’s understanding of the current legal landscape.
Networking opportunities: Promote events, webinars, or seminars organized by your firm or industry associations where professionals, including law graduates, can connect and network. Highlight the benefits of attending these events and the opportunities they provide for career growth.
Testimonials and case studies: Share testimonials from satisfied clients or past employees who have had positive experiences working at your firm. Additionally, present case studies that demonstrate the firm’s capabilities and successful outcomes achieved for clients.
Community involvement and social impact: Showcase your firm’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and community involvement. Highlight any pro bono work, volunteer initiatives, or partnerships with charitable organizations. This can attract candidates who value firms with a strong sense of social responsibility.
Remember to engage with your audience by responding to comments and initiating conversations. Use relevant hashtags and tag relevant individuals, organizations, or institutions to expand the reach of your posts. By consistently sharing valuable and insightful content, you can attract a larger following on LinkedIn and generate interest from potential graduate applicants for your law firm.”
You could even go one step further, and ask for examples of the above ideas, which ChatGPT has no issue in generating. Don’t be afraid to go long when it comes to writing your prompts, as there’s no such thing as too much information when it comes to AI.
2. Fact-check your results
Conversations with AI bots are prone to error, particularly as there is a lot of false information existing on the internet. Therefore, as a professional services practitioner, it is imperative that you check your results before you use them. Firstly, to ensure they are accurate and secondly, to ensure they fit the tone and style of your brand.
We would advise against simply copying and pasting content that ChatGPT creates for you. Instead, treat it like Wikipedia, or like a first draft written by an assistant. You’ll need to ensure it’s correct, makes sense, and add your personal touch/expertise to make the content valuable.
There are a few risks with using purely AI generated content. Firstly, online algorithms can identify it very easily (i.e., Google, LinkedIn, etc.) and will penalise you for this content. Posts that don’t seem human or natural won’t travel very far in terms of impressions (views) and will generate very little engagement, as the algorithms will block your audience from seeing them. Secondly, you risk your audience losing trust in your brand and your content – particularly if it is factually incorrect, or obviously not written in your ‘voice.’
3. Don’t be afraid to revise and regenerate
When using ChatGPT, it’s likely the result won’t always be perfect, particularly the first time. In fact, you may find yourself asking it for revisions quite often.
Whilst it’s easy to just ask ChatGPT to try again or click “regenerate response” it’s best to be specific in your revision requests. If you dislike the tone, tell ChatGPT what you want to see. If you didn’t like the content structure, be more specific about what you want to see next.
Below are some example revision prompts, if you asked ChatGPT to promote your services:
“Can you please regenerate this response, avoid sales language, and use a more professional tone?”
“Please try again, writing in third person, and focusing on ways clients in the agriculture industry could benefit from this service?”
By providing ChatGPT with detailed revision requests, you’ll always get better results than simply requesting it to “try again.”
4. Provide examples to help it understand
ChatGPT is intelligent, but not (yet) perfect. If it’s having a hard time understanding what you want, try providing examples of what you’re looking for. You could do so by showing it some inspiration – content that already exists – which matches the tone and style of what you want to create.
You can also provide ChatGPT with a list of words or key phrases that should appear in the content (for example, sector or industry specific terms). This helps it to understand the language you are looking for, and gives it a better idea of the type of messaging you wish to convey.
5. Use chain prompting
One of the best methods to see high-quality content from ChatGPT is chain prompting. This involves breaking complex tasks into several smaller steps to develop a more concrete and better result overall.
For example, if you want to generate content about a new service launch, you could start by asking ChatGPT to generate a headline. Then, a service description, and finally, ask it to create content that promotes the launch in several social media posts.
By breaking the task into smaller steps, ChatGPT will have a better chance at understanding what content you’re looking for and provide more relevant results.
6. Roleplaying
ChatGPT is a surprisingly good actor. If you want your content to have a more human touch, try roleplaying.
For example, if you wanted to create a social media post about how to ace an interview for your firm’s graduate programme, you could ask ChatGPT to act as a hiring manager in a legal practice, and write the post in their voice. This will give the content a more personal and realistic feel.
You could start with these introductions…
“Act like a [insert customer persona]…”
“Pretend you are [insert industry expert]…”
“You are a [prospective employee for XYZ position]…”
Conclusion: Tips for using ChatGPT for social media
The main takeaway from this article is, the more specific you can be with ChatGPT, the more likely you will be to get a useful answer. ChatGPT can provide fantastic inspiration for your content creation, social media, and marketing needs.
However, just like there are tips to follow… there are also some things you should avoid. For example:
Sharing sensitive data: never use ChatGPT to generate content that may include sensitive or personal information, particularly as a professional services practitioner. This can put your firm and clients at risk of malicious activities.
Professional advice: remember, you are the professional with the true expert knowledge. AI is still a long way from providing accurate answers to complex legal, accounting, engineering etc., issues – so it’s best to trust your own expertise.
Forgetting human intervention: lastly, don’t rely solely on ChatGPT to generate all of your ideas and content. Instead, combine it’s creativity with your human touch to create content that truly engages and resonates with your audience.
By following this advice, you can make the most out of AI tools like ChatGPT, know how to use them wisely, and create fantastic content worth sharing with your audience.