AI, creators, and social media... A match made in heaven?
This time, we've got lots of questions about how creators and social media managers are using artificial intelligence.
CONVERSATION STARTERS THIS WEEK:
🧠 Is AI for you?
Well, artificial intelligence and generative AI do not seem to be for everybody… Especially for Substackers. This is where, this past week, we first started our quest for answers around this very topic.
We went on Reddit and asked this same question, “Is AI for you?” … and we’ve got some interesting comments:
“Substack is for writers, and writers almost universally hate gen AI,” somebody said. “I don’t think creators are mixed at all on the subject. AI generated content is seen as low-quality at best, spam at worst.”
Another comment: “Let’s say you have a beautiful garden space in front of your house. Would you rather plant 🪴 something yourself, water it, look at it and watch it grow or go to a dollar store, buy 50 plastic roses and stick them into the ground?”
One asked: “What do you think is the future for social media in a new world of AI and increasing social pressure on the platform giants?”
And here’s another: “No. Stimulus response bots are not good at writing. That's not what they're used for. That's not what they're programmed for. That's not their function.”
Here something interesting that popped up on Substack Notes:
- of the Substack wrote: “AI isn’t just bad for creators; it’s bad for the environment.” She was commenting a Note from of expalining that “Writing a single 100-word email with ChatGPT consumes 519 mL of water—roughly one water bottle—and 0.14 kWh of electricity, enough to power 14 LED bulbs for an hour.”
And here is a great reading on this very topic by Substack co-founder and Chief Writing Officer
in :“Many writers are anxious about how their lives and work will be affected as artificial intelligence becomes more powerful.”
“Whether you’re for or against this development ultimately doesn’t matter. It’s happening. The AI hype cycle may go through some ups and downs, but the new epoch has unquestionably begun. These technologies are already real, effective, and proven, which makes this particular technomania different from other hype cycles.”
“The cost of ‘content creation’ will be driven to almost zero. But content isn’t culture. This same surge in AI-led content production will simultaneously fuel a tremendous need for cultural connection: real humans in communion with one another. These relationships help us make sense of the world, and to know where to direct our attention. Their value will dramatically increase. Culture will become the most important and fastest-growing slice of our global domestic product.”
For those who “feel worried and perhaps even a little pissed” — as McZenzie writes — we get it, we really do: Substack is for writers… But aren’t writers also content creators. And, as such, shouldn’t writers look at AI as a potential tool?
What is sure is that the line between writers and creators is very thin… And we at We Are Digital Diplomacy, are not the only ones asking ourselves the question, “Are we writers or content creators?”
This is the exact topic of a fellow Substacker,
of . She writes: “When I launched my first newsletter nearly 2 years ago, Substack was “just” a newsletter platform. […] You probably already know how much Substack has changed in the past two years. It’s evolved from a newsletter platform into a full-blown “new media ecosystem” and the pace in which they've released new features have been impressively dizzying. Even if we keep our blinders on and just write, as I plan to do, it can be hard to ignore all the other features because our notifications light up with promises of more engagement and reach. Host a chat! Try going live! Connect on Notes!”
💃🕺 AI for content creators and influencers?
“Creators and influencers are also looking at new ways to utilize AI, with both Meta and TikTok now offering creators the opportunity to create AI depictions of themselves, which can stream on their behalf.
Is that a good thing? Does that enhance of undermine the foundations of what social platforms have been built on?”
— Andrew Hutchinson, Head of Content and Social Media at SocialMediaToday
The following are the findings of a recent study by HypeAuditor focused on Instagram creators:
Widespread AI adoption: 83% of Instagram influencers have used AI tools for content creation, with 76% using them specifically for generating images, videos, and captions.
Frequent AI usage: A significant portion of creators – 23.9% always and 38.5% often – are integrating AI into their regular workflow, suggesting that AI tools are becoming indispensable in content creation.
Quality concerns: While AI usage is rising, 31% of respondents expressed concerns about the quality of AI-generated content, with 45% believing that AI-generated content could make it harder for human influencers to stand out.
Content overload: 64% of respondents fear that AI-generated content may contribute to content overload on social media platforms.
Digital clone hesitations: Only 13% of respondents feel "very comfortable" with the idea of creating a digital clone of themselves for brand promotions, while 26% are "somewhat comfortable."
Loss of control: 33% of influencers are most worried about losing control over how their digital clone is used, with 30% willing to share their clone with multiple brands simultaneously.
But, since we’re talking about AI, we also decided to ask ChatGPT how creators use AI:
Content Creation and Writing Assistance:
Text Generation: AI tools like OpenAI's GPT-4 can generate written content such as blog posts, articles, product descriptions, and even entire stories. This can help creators produce content quickly or serve as a foundation that they can build upon.
Idea Generation: AI tools can brainstorm new content ideas, provide outlines, or suggest different angles to approach a topic. This helps overcome creative blocks.
Copywriting and Ad Creation: AI-generated copy can be used for marketing, social media posts, and advertisements, saving time on repetitive tasks.
Visual Content Creation:
AI-Generated Art and Graphics: Tools like DALL·E and MidJourney generate visuals, from concept art to social media graphics, based on text prompts. This is especially useful for those who don’t have graphic design skills or who need quick visual content.
Image Editing and Enhancement: AI-powered tools, like Adobe Sensei, simplify tasks such as photo editing, retouching, color correction, and background removal, automating time-consuming processes.
Video Production:
Automated Video Editing: AI can cut, splice, and enhance videos automatically, making the process faster. Tools like Descript allow creators to edit videos through text-based scripts.
Generative Video Content: AI can generate video animations, deepfakes, or synthetic actors. This is useful in creating dynamic video content, animation, or simulations.
Subtitles and Translations: AI tools like Trint or Rev provide real-time transcription, translation, and even automated captions, helping content creators make their videos accessible globally.
Music and Sound Design:
AI-Generated Music: Tools like AIVA or Amper Music create music scores based on specific inputs, making it easy for creators to add unique, royalty-free music to their videos, podcasts, or projects.
Sound Effects and Audio Editing: AI-powered audio tools can enhance voice quality, remove background noise, and even generate custom sound effects for projects.
Social Media Management:
Content Scheduling and Optimization: AI tools like Buffer or Hootsuite use AI to predict the best times to post content, automate the scheduling process, and analyze engagement metrics.
Engagement Automation: AI chatbots and auto-responder tools can help creators engage with their audience 24/7 by answering common questions or providing personalized recommendations.
Personalization and Targeting:
Tailored Content Recommendations: AI algorithms analyze user behavior to recommend personalized content. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram rely on these algorithms to drive engagement, helping creators reach the right audience.
Customized Content Creation: AI can help creators develop personalized content based on user preferences, making newsletters, product suggestions, or marketing campaigns more relevant to the audience.
Voice and Character Creation:
Voice Cloning and Synthesis: Tools like Respeecher or ElevenLabs can clone voices or generate entirely synthetic voices, allowing creators to voice characters or narrate content without hiring voice actors.
AI-Driven Characters: Generative AI can be used to create interactive characters for games or storytelling that can adapt to user inputs, making content more engaging and interactive.
Content Curation and Summarization:
Summarizing Long Content: AI tools can condense long-form content into digestible summaries, making it easier to repurpose existing content or provide quick overviews for social media.
Automated Research: AI-driven research tools scan and summarize relevant information or data, helping creators gather insights or stay updated on trends quickly.
Interactivity and Audience Engagement:
AI Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: AI chatbots can engage with the audience in real-time on websites or social media platforms, providing a more interactive experience.
Generative AI in Interactive Content: Creators can use AI to create quizzes, polls, or interactive stories that adapt to user choices or preferences in real-time.
Creative Experimentation:
Exploration of New Formats: AI gives creators the ability to experiment with new types of media, formats, and content, from algorithmically generated art to collaborative AI-generated stories or music.
Augmenting Creativity: Generative AI tools enable creators to break traditional creative boundaries by suggesting unexpected combinations of ideas, visuals, or concepts.
🤠 AI for social media managers?
Just last Saturday, our favorite social media manager in Italy,
of wrote a very interesting Substack about using AI as a social media manager.
She listed a few common scenarios:
Check and correct the documents
Refine the editorial plan
Analyze the context and trends for a social strategy
What Valentina also points out in here post is that, as a social media manager, the learning curve never stops and there’s always a need to educate ourselves about new tools, new features… and that includes new ways of using AI in the creative process.
🧐 What about comms and PR firms?
Back in August, PR News wrote that comms firm “Gregory FCA opened the curtains on its use of AI and released a detailed report showcasing the return on investment when using the digital tools. Gregory FCA is one of the first agencies to release this type of data, which shows the impact AI has made on its work products, employee career growth, and client satisfaction.”
Findings include:
More than a 10% increase in productivity, driving in $2M in additional revenue
3.75X ROI
31% reduction in client churn
54% reduction in employee attrition
And
wrote this past summer in :“It’s too early to predict the long-term impact of AI on corporate communications and public relations roles.”
“We’d also caution against the view that AI will replace tactical roles before it impacts management. It is arguably already much better at some management tasks such as abstraction, decision-making, modelling and research.”
Wadds Inc also published a new management paper, The Use of AI in Corporate Communications and Public Relations: The Story So Far, telling “the story of a community of practice challenged with mapping skills and workflow onto AI tools, addressing significant governance challenges and figuring out how to deploy the technology to deliver the promise of efficiency and effectiveness.”