Will ChatGPT Take All Of Our Jobs?

Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI innovation, where human interaction and technology seamlessly converge to shape the fascinating trajectory of ChatGPT's future. As we stand at the crossroads of artificial intelligence and natural language understanding, the potential of ChatGPT to revolutionize communication, problem-solving, and creativity appears boundless.

The above paragraph was written by ChatGPT itself (surprise) when I asked it to “write an introduction for a blog on the future of ChatGPT!” - I was going to ask it if it was going to come after all of our jobs but got a bit paranoid and felt this softer approach was the safer option. Much like Covid19, ChatGPT seemed to come out of nowhere and spread just as quick! It now has people in marketing, publishing, education and wider professions rushing to use it while claiming that our world as we know it is about to change!

But should we be worried? Is this just the latest internet tool to make our lives that little bit easier? Or will it eliminate the need to employ talented humans when there is a free ready-made consultant, resident expert on *insert topic* and strategist only a few clicks away? With similar ArtAI, VideoAI and PhotoAI platforms now being rolled out, it’s clear that AI will be a flashpoint in the coming years with huge implications for creativity, intellectual property and copyright laws also.

As we’re still in the infancy of a potential AI Era, here’s my own personal experience and thoughts on ChatGPT through my use of it in my marketing role. There’s already hundreds of so called ChatGPT gurus on social media already, so I’ll also draw on some of their observations to see if we really are heading to a Terminator style apocalypse.

What is ChatGPT?

According to the OpenAI website, they introduce the tool as a “model which interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit it’s mistakes, challenge incorrect premises and reject inappropriate requests”. What this translates to for marketeers in particular, is a tool that can crawl the web to deliver copywriting, blogs, ad copy, strategy, market research and more.

As a marketeer with over 8 years’ experience, I’m always cynical of the latest tool, software or magic pill that will automate X, result in Y and essentially streamline both my own role and wider business operations. These tools usually come attached to a sales company, a friendly account manager and multiple demos before a long training induction and internal roadmap.

What makes ChatGPT and similar OpenAI platforms different, is that they’ve come out of nowhere and are free to use (for now) in the same way that Google is. When I say free I mean you still have to at least sign up with your email and register before agreeing to their terms. There’s also an option to buy the premium version (naturally) which is $20p/m and includes a more powerful version with even faster response times.

It's Very Impressive

So what is it like to use? Well after playing around with the tool, you can’t help but be impressed. It’s the speed at which it delivers on your requests that makes it hard to fathom just how it works. It’s simple and dynamic in the way that you can ask it to delve deeper into certain elements of its answer, rewrite parts more succinctly or even take a different approach to your current problem.

Parts of its responses sometimes come across as robotic or don’t flow in the way something that’s generated by a human would, but the quality of these responses usually give a good basis for whatever it is you need to produce. Having worked in many social media focused roles, a simple example of a test request I gave the tool was to “Devise a Social Media Strategy for a Luxury Jewellery Brand”

The above image shows just the first three steps of a twelve step strategy that does cover all of the key best practices that social media managers would use. It also uses data to suggest the most effective platforms to leverage (in this case Pinterest). It then notes the key considerations like luxury being tied into exclusivity, the need for educational content on product features and the importance of community management and reviews.

This is all great information, but in reality this would just work as a roadmap or reference point for a social media manager or team to execute. It’s like researching the latest studies or receiving the latest best practices/algorithm update from a Facebook Business Newsletter. The data itself is useless, if you don’t have the humans to deliver on it.

It’s All In The Prompts

Questions are one thing, but where things start to get really interesting with ChatGPT is when you learn how to give the tool better “prompts”. More specific prompts will start to deliver you more specific and niche outcomes. There are already AI Gurus online who will give you the ultimate template or tricks or tips to get the best from this new technology. So lets put these to the test.

To take my earlier question, if I was to elaborate on this and give it the following prompt - “create a content strategy to promote luxury lab-grown diamond jewellery to a millennial audience”, ChatGPT will deliver an answer that focuses more on transparency, lab-grown technology, environmental impacts, personalisation and other content that aligns with millennial specific values. You can then ask the tool to explain the positives associated with lab-grown jewelry (American spelling is needed here) to this specific audience in a short way. What you’ll receive is something like the below…

So really when asking the tool for what you want, your prompt needs to give it the context, as much accurate information as you can, what this information will be used for and the level of detail you want. Once you begin to consider these before asking the questions, you start to see the potential power of it. Still not happy with the result? Then ask it follow up questions. You’ll then start to build out the use case for it in your own company, career or profession.

The Verdict

Above are just simple examples of how it can be used effectively in marketing. My own verdict is that I imagine every large and small tech company in the world is either already using the tool or is considering using it in the future. Once they do I think that for now at least, it will be something that people keep available in the background as an additional resource. It reminds me of a friend of mine who knew a lad who bought a tazer gun and when asked why he said “because it’s better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it”

Initial usage will be more to support teams and be another “brain” in the strategy meeting. So far, it also seems to be devoid of any real humour or personality and when you prompt it for anything too creative, it will fire back something that just doesn’t seem right. So for the true creative genius’ out there, you’ll be safe for now.

Ironically, I can see companies spending the next few years actually hiring AI experts and consultants to review the ways in which this new technology can streamline their operations. Before these “experts” will be no longer needed once the tool has had enough effective prompts to do it all independently.

I might be romantic and so like to think that human creativity, interaction and productivity will always be valued over the technological tools that aim to mimic this. However, the landscape of work has changed a lot since 2020. With many people now working partly or completely remotely, the face to face element of work and the value placed on these personal interactions and collaborations have diminished in my opinion.

This provides the perfect backdrop for these tools to be welcomed with open arms by many. Companies looking to save costs, will use them to inform their activities instead of bringing in new hires. Businesses outsourcing work to agencies will have this work sub-outsourced to AI-gencies (think I should trademark that) and few will even notice. There is hope though as there’s already reports of ChatGPT itself experiencing fatigue due to its workload. So maybe it’s already a lot more human than we think…

The Art Of Writing The Perfect Social Media Caption

Ever sat over a picture, video or something you have to publicly post to the internet and been gripped by fear? You hesitate with the caption, re-write it or end up scrapping it altogether only to start over again. “Caption anxiety” is a term you sometimes hear people utter when it comes to attaching that line of text to your ad, story, picture, video, blog etc. What many social media users and marketers forget to remember is exactly what a caption is used for. Whenever I struggle with it, I revert back to this simple definition:

“A good caption informs us about the things we cannot see and encourages us to look at an image more closely.”

In the ultra competitive world of social media however, captions have become almost as important as the image they accompany. Despite this, 90% of captions we see online include “living my best life” as a caption for literally anything that could be perceived as a good time. Couples photos are also invariably captioned with the words “partner in crime,” “best friend” or even “this one.”

Originality is something we don’t see a huge amount of on social media but for those who are able to offer it, the likes and engagement will come. You may think that when it comes to writing good captions or ad copy, you either have it or you dont. Well that’s where you’re wrong and in this blog I’m going to show you some simple steps on how to create better social media captions;

What’s the message:

Firstly, think to yourself what the basic message of the post will be. If you’re sharing a photo of a product or something highly visual, then maybe you want the photo to speak for itself? In this case keep your caption snappy and eye catching. Many people make the mistake of explaining exactly what their picture says. For example: if you’re posting a picture that has “50% off our new sports line” written in the picture, you don’t need to repeat this word for word in the caption also.

If the goal of your post is to have people share it or direct people to click a link, then a strong opening line and a clear call to action at the end is essential. This was done brilliantly by Iceland for their Christmas ad that was posted to social media. The initial line is eye catching and entices you to watch the video and the call to action is simple and clear.

Length:

The perfect length of social post captions are between 50 and 80 characters. The sentence you have just read was 75 characters and so you should aim for something similar. You can read the limits of various social post captions here but between 10 and 15 words in my opinion is optimal regardless of the platform that you’re posting to.

If you’re writing a caption with much more detail and those reading it will need to click the “See more” button to finish it… then it’s too long! Most people on social media will simply scroll by posts like this. If you do need to put a lot of text in a post i.e. for the T’s and C’s of a competition, then post these T’s and C’s on a landing page you can link off to, or just post them in the first comment.

#Hashtags

On social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, using hashtags properly can be the difference between your post being seen or not. For example: the next time you’re sharing an Instagram post, if you put #travel in your caption, Instagram will straight away tell you that there are say 54,000,000 posts with the same caption. By combining both popular hashtags and more niche hashtags that are relevant to your photo, your posts will appear on more discover and home pages.

If you’re working for a brand, then keep an eye on relevant hashtags that your brand might be able to post about. This is an authentic way to get discovered and add to a conversation among your audience. Don’t post too many hashtags either as posts with over 20 just look spammy and desperate.

To Emoji or not to Emoji?

Back in 2016 when I worked as a full time meme maker, emojis were the name of the game. Nothing got posted without an appropriately relevant emoji. In 2017 alone, emoji usage on social media increased by 766%. I’ve even recently noticed them making their way onto LinkedIn posts since it began altering it’s newsfeeds to look more like Facebook. My advice on emojis would be to use them sparingly but they definitely do make posts more attractive and engaging especially on more visual platforms like Instagram.

Humour:

One thing that I believe is key to social media posts is that they have a conversational or humorous tone. Although this may not work for every brand or individual on social media, keeping your captions and messages as informal and fun as possible should be a general rule. I’ve written before about how Conor McGregor’s ridiculous Instagram captions are part of the reason why he is so popular and the same goes for lots of well known brands online.

Proof-read it:

If there’s one thing that social media has taught us, it’s that the range of grammar and spelling levels in comment sections and captions is something that I could write a whole other blog on. However, it’s a lot easier to make spelling or grammar errors than you might think. Whether you’re posting a holiday snap or writing ad captions for a campaign, have a read over them or get someone else to review it before you post.

If your branded posts don’t normally get a big reaction, try post something with visible errors and within seconds there’ll be a flood of comments from people correcting you. That wasn’t a sideways tip for getting more engagement on posts but it will happen. I’ve mocked up the below to include some of the most popular grammar and spelling errors that I regularly see online. Grammar Nazis look away now.

If you didn’t see much wrong with the above, then seek some help immediately! If you’re still struggling with your brands’ captions or written content however, then get in touch with me. You can also scrutinise any and all of my future social media captions by following me on Instagram and Facebook.

The Global Social Media "Ginspiracy"

My uncle Chris has been drinking gin and tonic for the last 30 years with his wife Helen. In the last few years however, he’s found that ordering a simple gin and tonic isn’t really an option anymore. He has to specify to the bar staff that he doesn’t want some new flavoured gin, he’s not interested in cucumber or a grapefruit garnish and “for the love of jaysus dont put it in one of those giant fish bowls”. Sadly for Chris, the drink he has grown to love has been forever changed by a younger generation moving in. It appears that Chris has been the first victim of a phenomenon that I’m going to call “Gintrification”.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last 3 years and didn’t notice, gin is in. It’s absolutely everywhere, from Christmas tree “gin baubles” to gin flavoured tea. The popularity of the “Boomerang” feature on Instagram would have no doubt worn off by now if it wasn’t for giant gin bowls being clinked each weekend. The Irish Spirits association released a study earlier this year detailing that gin sales had increased by 44% in 2017 alone! With recent wider studies revealing a worldwide boom in the spirit, it’s clear that this isn’t just impacting the Irish market.

Some people would dismiss this as just a trend like any other. Like an alcoholic version of those black “Vans” shoes with the white stripes that appear to be compulsory among the youth of today… Or maybe it’s just a shift in the drinks market towards lighter spirits or new exciting novelty products and experiences around gin. There’s even a place in Dublin that now serves you your gin cocktail in a miniature bathtub complete with a rubber duck! (Jesus wept). Fish bowls, flower pots, bathtubs and other novelties aside, it’s clear that there’s more to the gin rush than anything thats come before.

Ever asked someone who loves gin how long they’ve been drinking it for? Many won’t have even heard of gin before 2015 and if they had, they’d of dismissed it as an old woman’s drink (sorry mam). The reason everyone loves it so much is because they’ve been caught up in what I believe to be a social media conspiracy - a “Ginspiracy”. When it comes to strictly building a buzz of awareness around a product or brand, I believe social media is the best way to do it. Gin producers and related companies have managed to harness the power of social media to create a sort of gin fever that has most of us hooked.

Gin producers use the perfect mix of influencer marketing, sponsored content with huge online publishers and novelty viral recipe/product videos to put gin front and centre of our newsfeeds. This content usually get a massive amount of engagement (likes, comments, shares) and once you engage with these kind of videos, you’ll only be shown more by the platforms algorithms. People see their friends commenting on gin related posts or sharing their own gin pictures and FOMO will push them to at least try the drink. Repeat these steps day in day out and suddenly Christmas trees around the world have a new kind of bauble! 

In my current job, I manage the Facebook and Twitter pages for multiple brands related to themes such as home, travel, gadgets etc. The audiences of these would vary the ages of 20-40 and so to test out just how effective gin content is on social, I began sharing some of the viral gin videos on our own pages. For example, I shared a video about a “gin spa” in Scotland to our travel page and within seconds the likes and comments were flooding in - “Ah @Paul there’s me Christmas present sorted wink wink haha :P” you get the idea.

I do realise that it would be foolish of me to present you with these theories while not allowing some of the more informed people in the drinks industry to comment on the phenomenon. When I did contact some experts however, I was met by a deafening wall of silence. A growing Irish gin brand and an "Irish gin expert" didn’t reply to my questions about the phenomenon. It seems that the Illuminati, or "ginuminati" don't take too kindly to outsiders with questions.

When will it all stop though I hear you ask? Like most crazes, I think gin will retreat back into the darker corners of bars at some stage in the future. I also suspect we’re on the cusp of a new age - The Aperol Sprits era. The pink drink had appeared on a lot of peoples social feeds this past summer and I believe it could have the potential to "shake up" the drinks industry again. For now however, gin will continue to win.

If you’re looking to make sense of social for your own brand or business, then give me a shout. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook where I promise I’ll keep the conspiracies to a minimum. Think I’m completely wrong about gin? Comment below 5 reasons why you love the taste of it that don’t include “cos it’s lovely”.

What The Ads You See On Social Media Say About You

At the beginning of this year, Facebook was in the news for all the wrong reasons. The media spotlight was on the company’s perceived misuse of our data and how much of this was for monetary gain. This pressure was then compounded by the Cambridge Analytica scandal that gave us the impression that democratic elections could be swayed with the right combination of cleverly targeted social media ads and messages. Although I do think that influencing an election may be a bit of a stretch, social media no doubt has the power to build awareness among us and influence our consumer decisions both consciously and subconsciously.

These controversies were all happening at a time when GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) was on the horizon meaning that online advertising was about to change. As I spend a large part of my day job setting up social media ad campaigns, I thought it would be interesting to study the types of ads I’m targeted with every day and if these ads would be relevant to me and my interests? I decided to screenshot every ad that appeared on my phone for a week to find out. I also hoped I’d be able to determine the types of companies that are spending big on social media advertising while I was at it.

Firstly, I set out some simple parameters for the test and would base my results strictly off mobile ads I was shown on my personal Facebook and Instagram (also owned by Facebook) accounts. I disregarded my work accounts on these platforms and Snapchat entirely because it’s 97% “HiSmile” teeth whitening ads anyway. The period of this study was from the 26th of March until the 1st of April 2018 and I found that on average I was spending 1.5 hours a day across both apps. That makes up roughly 16 hours worth of social media during the week in question which is not something I’m proud of. Much of this time is actually spent watching random videos, browsing comment sections, reading in app articles and using the messenger app. When I focused solely on newsfeed scrolling, I was seeing roughly one ad every 5 posts on Facebook and one ad every 4 posts on Instagram.

As you may be aware, Facebook advertising allows businesses and brands to show targeted ads to Facebook and Instagram users based off certain factors i.e. interests/friends interests, history on the app, history on other linked apps and search history online. From what I’ve given over to Facebook in this regard, I imagine it’s aware that I'm a 26 year old male, I enjoy content related to sports, travel, memes, tech and video products and I use social media and other office applications every day. The types of pages I follow and engage with on social media include clothing brands, travel pages, publishers, sports teams, influencers etc.

If Facebook (and the marketeers setting up their ads) got their targeting right, then these are primarily the types of ads that I would have seen. By the end of my week I had seen a total of 290 ads across both apps. If you don’t believe that I actually recorded all of these, well I really am that sad and I’ve compiled them in a short video complete with some jazzy music! Enjoy

If you sat through all of the above, then fair play to you because I wouldn’t. When lined up in the order in which they were screenshot, it’s hard to see any sort of trend or pattern to these ads. If you start to categorise them however, you get an idea of which industries are spending the most money on social media advertising and which ones Facebook identifies I am most likely to engage with. Using every ounce of Excel skills I have (not much), I put together a pie chart to represent how many of the 290 ads fell into each category;

You can see from the chart that the big spenders on social media ads are tech companies, travel companies, recruiters (all in this case were linked to my field of work), educational institutions and online retailers. The ad frequency was highest for shopping related websites that I had visited online with one particular H&M sale ad popping up five times before the week was done. The types of ads that fell under “other” were one for hair transplant clinics, some government initiatives and charity fundraisers/events. The real advantage of Facebook over traditional advertising is that if you were to do the same experiment with your own newsfeed, the ads could be almost completely different and tailored specifically to you.

Having spent my life convinced that I’m my own unique person, it turns out that Zuckerberg’s machine was able to build a pretty accurate profile of me as a user and more importantly a potential consumer. So what have I learned from a week spent screenshotting ads other than that I need to put the phone down and get out more? The main thing I have taken away from this is just how powerful social advertising can be at getting a relevant message out to your audience. I was also reminded of the importance of proofreading and spellchecking your ads after this shocker from a company who’s identity I will protect;

Are you looking to set up your social media ads and don’t know where to start? Get in touch with me for a free social media ad campaign proposal that will help you get your message in front of the right people. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook.