MARKETING
How To Write an Exceptional White Paper for Your B2B Brand
Every step of a white paper needs to help your reader to make an informed decision.
It must match your marketing challenges, be structured to generate leads, address your target audience, define the scope, present evidence, offer a conclusion, and contain an effective call to action. Then it needs a proven argument and a logical structure to hold together.
Too many marketers skip some – or all – of these steps. How can you make sure your white paper is one that your prospects will turn to time and time again?
Here are seven steps to creating a white paper that attracts attention and influences readers.
1. Pick the right type
Choosing the type based on your target audience is the best way to match your white paper with your marketing goals. Gordon Graham, author of White Papers for Dummies, has written over 300 white papers for companies like Google and Verizon.
Choose the most suitable white paper type based on your target audience, says @WhitePaperGuy via @SarahLParkerUK @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
He says that, fundamentally, there are three types of white papers:
- Problem-solution
- Numbered list or listicle
- Product backgrounder
Let’s look at how each of these types works:
Problem-solution white papers generate leads
“(These white papers are) the most powerful for generating fresh leads at the start of the customer journey because prospects will Google their problem, not your product name,” Gordon says.
The problem-solution type allows you to walk through the drawbacks, limitations, unintended consequences, and tradeoffs of traditional solutions. For example, consider this white paper from Kinaxis, How CIOs Can Improve Supply Chain Management. It details four limitations of legacy planning, such as unsophisticated forecasts.
Kinaxis focuses on business and technical limitations to show it understands the industry. This helps buyers compare and contrast alternatives.
Numbered lists or listicles get attention and nurture prospects
Numbered lists present a set of issues, points, questions, or tips. “The listicle is best for engaging or re-engaging a prospect in the middle of their customer journey,” Gordon explains.
For example, this white paper from officemorph, 13 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Out Your Next Office, runs through common mistakes to cast doubt on alternative solutions and specify the ideal selection criteria. For example, mistake one is bidding out the project.
Product backgrounders support a product launch or evaluation
“This type goes into the features and benefits of a specific offering, and that’s fine as long as you don’t put it in front of prospects too early in their journey before they want it. Then, it’s just a sales pitch,” Gordon says.
This example from Explorance, Analyzing Student Comments in Online Course Evaluations with Blue Text Analytics, details the problem and technical advantages of a specific production solution to help the reader. In this excerpt, the company addresses the challenge of inputting open-ended comments by defining them, explaining how it’s gathered, and detailing the benefits it provides.
In this type of white paper, you design it to match your goals. “See how that works? And why you have to use the right type at the right point in the customer journey?” Gordon says.
“So when you find a product-focused white paper, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They’re easier to do. But they will flop at lead-gen or engagement if that’s the only type a company ever does.”
2. Structure it to generate leads
A good white paper follows a structure. Brian Boys, author of How to Write a White Paper in One Day, has more than 25 years of experience writing white papers.
“It’s not just having a detailed outline before you start writing – that’s important. But it’s knowing exactly how each part of the white paper functions in sequence,” he says. “The job of each section is to convince the reader on a particular point and then compel them to read the next section.”
The job of each section in a white paper is to convince the reader on a particular point and then compel them to read the next section, says @BrianBoys via @SarahLParkerUK @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
Kinaxis follows a fairly typical white paper structure for How CIOs Can Improve Supply Chain Management. Look closely and notice it:
- Covers market drivers contributing to the reader’s problem
- Scopes a problem occurring when the solution is not used
- Provides a historical overview reviewing traditional solutions
- Identifies a recommended solution but never mentions a company or product name
- Includes the benefits relevant to the reader’s problem
- Creates a checklist of what to look for in the new solution
- Introduces a call to action to move the reader to the next step
Though Kinaxis chose not to write about its solution, Citrix does this well in Think Beyond File Storage to Accelerate Business Efficiency. It explains how its ShareFile and Right Signature products give access to all files through a single, secure portal, give control over data sprawl, automate workflows, boost productivity, take advantage of flexible storage, and gather accurate document feedback and approvals.
You can also use a generic example or case study to illustrate real scenarios, as Shopkick does in its white paper, What Top CPG Brands Have To Teach Us About Successful Product Launches. For example, part of the white paper includes a case study about rethinking traditional store positioning, detailing the topic, going behind the scenes, and describing related roadblocks.
“You must have a clear foundation and canvas to paint on,” says Sarah Greesonbach, founder of the B2B Writing Institute.
“With a standard structure doing 60% of the work for you – organizing your notes, outlining your thoughts, providing a persuasive argument – then you can roll back on your heels and study the topic, crafting content that is the product of deep thought.”
With a standard white paper structure doing 60% of the work, you can roll back on your heels and study the topic, says @B2BWritingInst via @SarahLParkerUK @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
3. Craft an attention-grabbing title
If choosing the most relevant white paper type is the best way to persuade readers, then crafting a powerful title is how you compel them to read it.
This is a point that Robert Bly, author of The Copywriter’s Handbook, has been writing about for four decades. “Strong titles can help you gain the reader’s attention, select the audience, communicate an important message, and draw the prospect into your white paper,” he says.
Strong titles can help you gain the reader’s attention, select the audience, communicate an important message, and draw the prospect into your white paper, says @Robertbly via @SarahLParkerUK @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
For example, Gartner crafted a highly specific headline for its white paper (gated), What Midsize Enterprise CIOs Need to Know About Composable ERP:
It identifies the ideal reader (CIOs), the target market (midsize enterprise), and the subject (composable ERP). Then the audience is propelled into a sense of urgency by a call to action that sits in the present tense (need to know).
Although Gartner’s title doesn’t flag benefits or outcomes, it creates curiosity to pull the reader into the content. CIOs will want to find out what it is that they “need to know” to support their business. They are drawn to the content to satisfy their curiosity.
If your target reader doesn’t find any relevance in your title after a few seconds, they will move on, no matter how valuable your white paper.
4. Write a persuasive executive summary
Once you have your reader’s attention, an executive summary is how you help them to recognize their problem so that they can solve it.
Rachel Foster, CEO of Fresh Perspective Copywriting, has spent years writing white papers to help B2B technology marketers generate high-quality leads. She says, “The two most common executive summaries used in white papers are the preview and the synopsis.”
Provide a teaser preview
“It often discusses the market drivers and challenges that make the topic relevant,” Rachel says. “Then, it hints at what the reader will learn without giving away the bulk of the content.”
For example, consider this preview executive summary in Simply NUC’s white paper (not available online), Will a Mini PC Give You the Power You Need to Run Your Organization? It walks top-of-the-funnel readers through the market context (need to increase productivity), the problem (inefficient computers), its implications for businesses (energy-wasting), and promises a solution (mini PCs).
Publish a synopsis
“A synopsis provides an overview of the white paper’s content, including the recommended solution,” Rachel explains. This works better for bottom-of-the-funnel audiences because they are ready to buy.
This example from another Simply NUC white paper, Mini PCs Offer Business Big Benefits (not available online), details the argument – from market context to the solution and results.
Take the time to frame your choice of executive summary within your audience’s context, especially given the pace of change in marketing.
“I used to prefer preview summaries, as I didn’t want to give everything away,” Rachel says. “I now feel that the summary should provide key information upfront. If you withhold the most important information for later in the white paper, a large percentage of your audience may not read it.”
It’s a mistake to withhold the most important information until later in the white paper, a large percentage of your audience may not read it, says @B2BTechCopy via @SarahLParkerUK @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
5. Present facts and evidence
A strong white paper convinces your audience with facts and evidence drawn from credible sources. Susan LaPoint, founder of Focal Point Content, has spent decades as a writer, editor, and content marketer. “When collecting evidence for a white paper, I find it useful to think like a journalist,” she says. “This means doing the research first to get a big picture view of the facts. Then I see how it relates to the story I’m telling.”
Find evidence for your white paper that reinforces the story you’re telling, says @SusanLaPoint via @SarahLParkerUK @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
To persuade your reader, make sure the evidence is compelling. “Citing credible sources is key. I start by looking for original research – meaning from well-known research firms and publications,” Susan says. “You establish trust by including reliable data, as well as case studies and quotes from industry experts.”
Consider this white paper, Unlock the Agile Workspace from Six Degrees, which highlights key statistics and leverages industry sources and analysts such as the TUC, Gartner, PWC, and Deloitte. This image details the references used in the white paper with titles and links.
You can find trustworthy sources by:
- Using industry journals, leading analysts, and research reports
- Searching authoritative industry sites for your topic keywords
- Creating a list of sources that provide the best data that you refer to each time you write a white paper
- Using research brand names as keywords such as “Gartner” or “IDC” to a Google search for your topic to quickly locate gated data in press releases
White papers are created to educate readers, so building trust by using recent research is best. Within the past two years is a good benchmark for fast-paced industries. “Trust is how you build your case and influence your reader to act,” Susan says.
6. Offer a conclusion
Once you have made your argument, think about what your key message is.
Sarah Mitchell, co-founder at Typeset, is an experienced white paper writer and content marketer. She says the goal of a white paper is to help your readers make an informed decision.
“If you’ve written persuasively throughout your white paper, the logical conclusion for the reader will be the exact product or service you offer,” Sarah says.
For example, Acquire’s white paper How Geoscience Data Can Shape the Future of Mining (gated) puts forward a conclusion that places its solution at the heart of the reader’s success. It explains how early adopters are well-placed for the future of mining and concludes by inviting the reader to send an email for more information and to schedule a meeting to discuss their data collection environment and how they can benefit from this solution.
This conclusion speaks to the reader’s pain point – keeping pace with market change – and offers a fundamental business case for the shift to integrated data capture.
Writing a conclusion that speaks directly to your target reader’s needs and motivations increases your chances of influencing them. “This is your opportunity to explicitly show your readers why your company is the smart choice by tying your offering back to the business case you’ve made,” Sarah says.
Use your white paper’s conclusion to explicitly show your readers why your company is the smart choice by tying your offering back to the business case you’ve made, says @SarahMitchellOz via @SarahLParkerUK @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
7. Include a call to action
To give your white paper the best chance of moving the reader to the next step in the sales cycle, include a CTA.
Barry Feldman, founder of Feldman Creative, has 25 years of experience writing powerful lead magnets. “Put some thought into offering a clear and practical CTA at the conclusion of your white paper – or even within its pages,” he says.
“Often, a white paper is going to be a top-of-the-funnel piece,” Barry explains. “And, though it’s probably crafted to position your organization as an expert in its field, it’s also likely it was created to put readers on the path to resolving a specific challenge.”
Here are a few examples of CTAs that make it easy for the reader to take the next step:
- Connect with an expert
- Complete an application
- Watch a video
- Read a research report
You need to base your CTA on the readers’ needs and motivations. What action do they need to take to achieve their goal? What is the benefit to them? How do they get started?
Look at this CTA from Leadsquared (gated):
It identifies an action (schedule a free demo), a solution (patient-first platform), and the product or company (LeadSquared). Disclosing the demo is free and reduces friction.
The secret to a successful white paper CTA is to put the customer first. “As with all content, don’t be pushy. Be eager to address your reader’s pain point and be generous with your advice,” Barry says.
The secret to a successful white paper CTA is to not be pushy. Instead, address your reader’s pain point and be generous with your advice, says @FeldmanCreative via @SarahLParkerUK @CMIContent. Click To Tweet
Will your white paper succeed?
Not only can a white paper help you to add value to your reader – and subtly identify solutions that won’t – it also is a powerful addition to your content marketing strategy. A white paper can become the single resource that has the biggest impact on an organization’s buying decision as it is forwarded from stakeholder to stakeholder.
For marketers who want to establish meaningful thought leadership that generates leads, a white paper is the best way to attract and influence an audience.
Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
MARKETING
Effective Communication in Business as a Crisis Management Strategy
Everyday business life is full of challenges. These include data breaches, product recalls, market downturns and public relations conflicts that can erupt at any moment. Such situations pose a significant threat to a company’s financial health, brand image, or even its further existence. However, only 49% of businesses in the US have a crisis communications plan. It is a big mistake, as such a strategy can build trust, minimize damage, and even strengthen the company after it survives the crisis. Let’s discover how communication can transform your crisis and weather the chaos.
The ruining impact of the crisis on business
A crisis can ruin a company. Naturally, it brings losses. But the actual consequences are far worse than lost profits. It is about people behind the business – they feel the weight of uncertainty and fear. Employees start worrying about their jobs, customers might lose faith in the brand they once trusted, and investors could start looking elsewhere. It can affect the brand image and everything you build from the branding, business logo, social media can be ruined. Even after the crisis recovery, the company’s reputation can suffer, and costly efforts might be needed to rebuild trust and regain momentum. So, any sign of a coming crisis should be immediately addressed. Communication is one of the crisis management strategies that can exacerbate the situation.
The power of effective communication
Even a short-term crisis may have irreversible consequences – a damaged reputation, high employee turnover, and loss of investors. Communication becomes a tool that can efficiently navigate many crisis-caused challenges:
- Improved trust. Crisis is a synonym for uncertainty. Leaders may communicate trust within the company when the situation gets out of control. Employees feel valued when they get clear responses. The same applies to the customers – they also appreciate transparency and are more likely to continue cooperation when they understand what’s happening. In these times, documenting these moments through event photographers can visually reinforce the company’s messages and enhance trust by showing real, transparent actions.
- Reputation protection. Crises immediately spiral into gossip and PR nightmares. However, effective communication allows you to proactively address concerns and disseminate true information through the right channels. It minimizes speculation and negative media coverage.
- Saved business relationships. A crisis can cause unbelievable damage to relationships with employees, customers, and investors. Transparent communication shows the company’s efforts to find solutions and keeps stakeholders informed and engaged, preventing misunderstandings and painful outcomes.
- Faster recovery. With the help of communication, the company is more likely to receive support and cooperation. This collaborative approach allows you to focus on solutions and resume normal operations as quickly as possible.
It is impossible to predict when a crisis will come. So, a crisis management strategy mitigates potential problems long before they arise.
Tips on crafting an effective crisis communication plan.
To effectively deal with unforeseen critical situations in business, you must have a clear-cut communication action plan. This involves things like messages, FAQs, media posts, and awareness of everyone in the company. This approach saves precious time when the crisis actually hits. It allows you to focus on solving the problem instead of intensifying uncertainty and panic. Here is a step-by-step guide.
Identify your crisis scenarios.
Being caught off guard is the worst thing. So, do not let it happen. Conduct a risk assessment to pinpoint potential crises specific to your business niche. Consider both internal and external factors that could disrupt normal operations or damage the online reputation of your company. Study industry-specific issues, past incidents, and current trends. How will you communicate in each situation? Knowing your risks helps you prepare targeted communication strategies in advance. Of course, it is impossible to create a perfectly polished strategy, but at least you will build a strong foundation for it.
Form a crisis response team.
The next step is assembling a core team. It will manage communication during a crisis and should include top executives like the CEO, CFO, and CMO, and representatives from key departments like public relations and marketing. Select a confident spokesperson who will be the face of your company during the crisis. Define roles and responsibilities for each team member and establish communication channels they will work with, such as email, telephone, and live chat. Remember, everyone in your crisis response team must be media-savvy and know how to deliver difficult messages to the stakeholders.
Prepare communication templates.
When a crisis hits, things happen fast. That means communication needs to be quick, too. That’s why it is wise to have ready-to-go messages prepared for different types of crises your company may face. These messages can be adjusted to a particular situation when needed and shared on the company’s social media, website, and other platforms right away. These templates should include frequently asked questions and outline the company’s general responses. Make sure to approve these messages with your legal team for accuracy and compliance.
Establish communication protocols.
A crisis is always chaotic, so clear communication protocols are a must-have. Define trigger points – specific events that would launch the crisis communication plan. Establish a clear hierarchy for messages to avoid conflicting information. Determine the most suitable forms and channels, like press releases or social media, to reach different audiences. Here is an example of how you can structure a communication protocol:
- Immediate alert. A company crisis response team is notified about a problem.
- Internal briefing. The crisis team discusses the situation and decides on the next steps.
- External communication. A spokesperson reaches the media, customers, and suppliers.
- Social media updates. A trained social media team outlines the situation to the company audience and monitors these channels for misinformation or negative comments.
- Stakeholder notification. The crisis team reaches out to customers and partners to inform them of the incident and its risks. They also provide details on the company’s response efforts and measures.
- Ongoing updates. Regular updates guarantee transparency and trust and let stakeholders see the crisis development and its recovery.
Practice and improve.
Do not wait for the real crisis to test your plan. Conduct regular crisis communication drills to allow your team to use theoretical protocols in practice. Simulate different crisis scenarios and see how your people respond to these. It will immediately demonstrate the strong and weak points of your strategy. Remember, your crisis communication plan is not a static document. New technologies and evolving media platforms necessitate regular adjustments. So, you must continuously review and update it to reflect changes in your business and industry.
Wrapping up
The ability to handle communication well during tough times gives companies a chance to really connect with the people who matter most—stakeholders. And that connection is a foundation for long-term success. Trust is key, and it grows when companies speak honestly, openly, and clearly. When customers and investors trust the company, they are more likely to stay with it and even support it. So, when a crisis hits, smart communication not only helps overcome it but also allows you to do it with minimal losses to your reputation and profits.
MARKETING
Should Your Brand Shout Its AI and Marketing Plan to the World?
To use AI or not to use AI, that is the question.
Let’s hope things work out better for you than they did for Shakespeare’s mad Danish prince with daddy issues.
But let’s add a twist to that existential question.
CMI’s chief strategy officer, Robert Rose, shares what marketers should really contemplate. Watch the video or read on to discover what he says:
Should you not use AI and be proud of not using it? Dove Beauty did that last week.
Should you use it but keep it a secret? Sports Illustrated did that last year.
Should you use AI and be vocal about using it? Agency giant Brandtech Group picked up the all-in vibe.
Should you not use it but tell everybody you are? The new term “AI washing” is hitting everywhere.
What’s the best option? Let’s explore.
Dove tells all it won’t use AI
Last week, Dove, the beauty brand celebrating 20 years of its Campaign for Real Beauty, pledged it would NEVER use AI in visual communication to portray real people.
In the announcement, they said they will create “Real Beauty Prompt Guidelines” that people can use to create images representing all types of physical beauty through popular generative AI programs. The prompt they picked for the launch video? “The most beautiful woman in the world, according to Dove.”
I applaud them for the powerful ad. But I’m perplexed by Dove issuing a statement saying it won’t use AI for images of real beauty and then sharing a branded prompt for doing exactly that. Isn’t it like me saying, “Don’t think of a parrot eating pizza. Don’t think about a parrot eating pizza,” and you can’t help but think about a parrot eating pizza right now?
Brandtech Group says it’s all in on AI
Now, Brandtech Group, a conglomerate ad agency, is going the other way. It’s going all-in on AI and telling everybody.
This week, Ad Age featured a press release — oops, I mean an article (subscription required) — with the details of how Brandtech is leaning into the takeaway from OpenAI’s Sam Altman, who says 95% of marketing work today can be done by AI.
A Brandtech representative talked about how they pitch big brands with two people instead of 20. They boast about how proud they are that its lean 7,000 staffers compete with 100,000-person teams. (To be clear, showing up to a pitch with 20 people has never been a good thing, but I digress.)
OK, that’s a differentiated approach. They’re all in. Ad Age certainly seemed to like it enough to promote it. Oops, I mean report about it.
False claims of using AI and not using AI
Offshoots of the all-in and never-will approaches also exist.
The term “AI washing” is de rigueur to describe companies claiming to use AI for something that really isn’t AI. The US Securities and Exchange Commission just fined two companies for using misleading statements about their use of AI in their business model. I know one startup technology organization faced so much pressure from their board and investors to “do something with AI” that they put a simple chatbot on their website — a glorified search engine — while they figured out what they wanted to do.
Lastly and perhaps most interestingly, companies have and will use AI for much of what they create but remain quiet about it or desire to keep it a secret. A recent notable example is the deepfake ad of a woman in a car professing the need for people to use a particular body wipe to get rid of body odor. It was purported to be real, but sharp-eyed viewers suspected the fake and called out the company, which then admitted it. Or was that the brand’s intent all along — the AI-use outrage would bring more attention?
This is an AI generated influencer video.
Looks 100% real. Even the interior car detailing.
UGC content for your brand is about to get really cheap. ☠️ pic.twitter.com/2m10RqoOW3
— Jon Elder | Amazon Growth | Private Label (@BlackLabelAdvsr) March 26, 2024
To yell or not to yell about your brand’s AI decision
Should a brand yell from a mountaintop that they use AI to differentiate themselves a la Brandtech? Or should a brand yell they’re never going to use AI to differentiate themselves a la Dove? Or should a brand use it and not yell anything? (I think it’s clear that a brand should not use AI and lie and say it is. That’s the worst of all choices.)
I lean far into not-yelling-from-mountaintop camp.
When I see a CEO proudly exclaim that they laid off 90% of their support workforce because of AI, I’m not surprised a little later when the value of their service is reduced, and the business is failing.
I’m not surprised when I hear “AI made us do it” to rationalize the latest big tech company latest rounds of layoffs. Or when a big consulting firm announces it’s going all-in on using AI to replace its creative and strategic resources.
I see all those things as desperate attempts for short-term attention or a distraction from the real challenge. They may get responses like, “Of course, you had to lay all those people off; AI is so disruptive,” or “Amazing. You’re so out in front of the rest of the pack by leveraging AI to create efficiency, let me cover your story.” Perhaps they get this response, “Your company deserves a bump in stock price because you’re already using this fancy new technology.”
But what happens if the AI doesn’t deliver as promoted? What happens the next time you need to lay off people? What happens the next time you need to prove your technologically forward-leaning?
Yelling out that you’re all in on a disruptive innovation, especially one the public doesn’t yet trust a lot is (at best) a business sugar high. That short-term burst of attention may or may not foul your long-term brand value.
Interestingly, the same scenarios can manifest when your brand proclaims loudly it is all out of AI, as Dove did. The sugar high may not last and now Dove has itself into a messaging box. One slip could cause distrust among its customers. And what if AI gets good at demonstrating diversity in beauty?
I tried Dove’s instructions and prompted ChatGPT for a picture of “the most beautiful woman in the world according to the Dove Real Beauty ad.”
It gave me this. Then this. And this. And finally, this.
She’s absolutely beautiful, but she doesn’t capture the many facets of diversity Dove has demonstrated in its Real Beauty campaigns. To be clear, Dove doesn’t have any control over generating the image. Maybe the prompt worked well for Dove, but it didn’t for me. Neither Dove nor you can know how the AI tool will behave.
To use AI or not to use AI?
When brands grab a microphone to answer that question, they work from an existential fear about the disruption’s meaning. They do not exhibit the confidence in their actions to deal with it.
Let’s return to Hamlet’s soliloquy:
Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.
In other words, Hamlet says everybody is afraid to take real action because they fear the unknown outcome. You could act to mitigate or solve some challenges, but you don’t because you don’t trust yourself.
If I’m a brand marketer for any business (and I am), I’m going to take action on AI for my business. But until I see how I’m going to generate value with AI, I’m going to be circumspect about yelling or proselytizing how my business’ future is better.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
MARKETING
How to Use AI For a More Effective Social Media Strategy, According to Ross Simmonds
Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.
It’s the age of AI, and our job as marketers is to keep up.
My team at Foundation Marketing recently conducted an AI Marketing study surveying hundreds of marketers, and more than 84% of all leaders, managers, SEO experts, and specialists confirmed that they used AI in the workplace.
If you can overlook the fear-inducing headlines, this technology is making social media marketers more efficient and effective than ever. Translation: AI is good news for social media marketers.
![Download Now: The 2024 State of Social Media Trends [Free Report]](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/How-to-Use-AI-For-a-More-Effective-Social-Media.png "How to Use AI For a More Effective Social Media Strategy, According to Ross Simmonds")
In fact, I predict that the marketers not using AI in their workplace will be using it before the end of this year, and that number will move closer and closer to 100%.
Social media and AI are two of the most revolutionizing technologies of the last few decades. Social media has changed the way we live, and AI is changing the way we work.
So, I’m going to condense and share the data, research, tools, and strategies that the Foundation Marketing Team and I have been working on over the last year to help you better wield the collective power of AI and social media.
Let’s jump into it.
What’s the role of AI in social marketing strategy?
In a recent episode of my podcast, Create Like The Greats, we dove into some fascinating findings about the impact of AI on marketers and social media professionals. Take a listen here:
Let’s dive a bit deeper into the benefits of this technology:
Benefits of AI in Social Media Strategy
AI is to social media what a conductor is to an orchestra — it brings everything together with precision and purpose. The applications of AI in a social media strategy are vast, but the virtuosos are few who can wield its potential to its fullest.
AI to Conduct Customer Research
Imagine you’re a modern-day Indiana Jones, not dodging boulders or battling snakes, but rather navigating the vast, wild terrain of consumer preferences, trends, and feedback.
This is where AI thrives.
Using social media data, from posts on X to comments and shares, AI can take this information and turn it into insights surrounding your business and industry. Let’s say for example you’re a business that has 2,000 customer reviews on Google, Yelp, or a software review site like Capterra.
Leveraging AI you can now have all 2,000 of these customer reviews analyzed and summarized into an insightful report in a matter of minutes. You simply need to download all of them into a doc and then upload them to your favorite Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) to get the insights and data you need.
But that’s not all.
You can become a Prompt Engineer and write ChatGPT asking it to help you better understand your audience. For example, if you’re trying to come up with a persona for people who enjoy marathons but also love kombucha you could write a prompt like this to ChatGPT:
The response that ChatGPT provided back is quite good:
Below this it went even deeper by including a lot of valuable customer research data:
- Demographics
- Psychographics
- Consumer behaviors
- Needs and preferences
And best of all…
It also included marketing recommendations.
The power of AI is unbelievable.
Social Media Content Using AI
AI’s helping hand can be unburdening for the creative spirit.
Instead of marketers having to come up with new copy every single month for posts, AI Social Caption generators are making it easier than ever to craft catchy status updates in the matter of seconds.
Tools like HubSpot make it as easy as clicking a button and telling the AI tool what you’re looking to create a post about:
The best part of these AI tools is that they’re not limited to one channel.
Your AI social media content assistant can help you with LinkedIn content, X content, Facebook content, and even the captions that support your post on Instagram.
It can also help you navigate hashtags:
With AI social media tools that generate content ideas or even write posts, it’s not about robots replacing humans. It’s about making sure that the human creators on your team are focused on what really matters — adding that irreplaceable human touch.
Enhanced Personalization
You know that feeling when a brand gets you, like, really gets you?
AI makes that possible through targeted content that’s tailored with a level of personalization you’d think was fortune-telling if the data didn’t paint a starker, more rational picture.
What do I mean?
Brands can engage more quickly with AI than ever before. In the early 2000s, a lot of brands spent millions of dollars to create social media listening rooms where they would hire social media managers to find and engage with any conversation happening online.
Thanks to AI, brands now have the ability to do this at scale with much fewer people all while still delivering quality engagement with the recipient.
Analytics and Insights
Tapping into AI to dissect the data gives you a CSI-like precision to figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what makes your audience tick. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing.
The best part about AI is that it can give you almost any expert at your fingertips.
If you run a report surrounding the results of your social media content strategy directly from a site like LinkedIn, AI can review the top posts you’ve shared and give you clear feedback on what type of content is performing, why you should create more of it, and what days of the week your content is performing best.
This type of insight that would typically take hours to understand.
Now …
Thanks to the power of AI you can upload a spreadsheet filled with rows and columns of data just to be met with a handful of valuable insights a few minutes later.
Improved Customer Service
Want 24/7 support for your customers?
It’s now possible without human touch.
Chatbots powered by AI are taking the lead on direct messaging experiences for brands on Facebook and other Meta properties to offer round-the-clock assistance.
The fact that AI can be trained on past customer queries and data to inform future queries and problems is a powerful development for social media managers.
Advertising on Social Media with AI
The majority of ad networks have used some variation of AI to manage their bidding system for years. Now, thanks to AI and its ability to be incorporated in more tools, brands are now able to use AI to create better and more interesting ad campaigns than ever before.
Brands can use AI to create images using tools like Midjourney and DALL-E in seconds.
Brands can use AI to create better copy for their social media ads.
Brands can use AI tools to support their bidding strategies.
The power of AI and social media is continuing to evolve daily and it’s not exclusively found in the organic side of the coin. Paid media on social media is being shaken up due to AI just the same.
How to Implement AI into Your Social Media Strategy
Ready to hit “Go” on your AI-powered social media revolution?
Don’t just start the engine and hope for the best. Remember the importance of building a strategy first. In this video, you can learn some of the most important factors ranging from (but not limited to) SMART goals and leveraging influencers in your day-to-day work:
The following seven steps are crucial to building a social media strategy:
- Identify Your AI and Social Media Goals
- Validate Your AI-Related Assumptions
- Conduct Persona and Audience Research
- Select the Right Social Channels
- Identify Key Metrics and KPIs
- Choose the Right AI Tools
- Evaluate and Refine Your Social Media and AI Strategy
Keep reading, roll up your sleeves, and follow this roadmap:
1. Identify Your AI and Social Media Goals
If you’re just dipping your toes into the AI sea, start by defining clear objectives.
Is it to boost engagement? Streamline your content creation? Or simply understand your audience better? It’s important that you spend time understanding what you want to achieve.
For example, say you’re a content marketing agency like Foundation and you’re trying to increase your presence on LinkedIn. The specificity of this goal will help you understand the initiatives you want to achieve and determine which AI tools could help you make that happen.
Are there AI tools that will help you create content more efficiently? Are there AI tools that will help you optimize LinkedIn Ads? Are there AI tools that can help with content repurposing? All of these things are possible and having a goal clearly identified will help maximize the impact. Learn more in this Foundation Marketing piece on incorporating AI into your content workflow.
Once you have identified your goals, it’s time to get your team on board and assess what tools are available in the market.
Recommended Resources:
2. Validate Your AI-Related Assumptions
Assumptions are dangerous — especially when it comes to implementing new tech.
Don’t assume AI is going to fix all your problems.
Instead, start with small experiments and track their progress carefully.
3. Conduct Persona and Audience Research
Social media isn’t something that you can just jump into.
You need to understand your audience and ideal customers. AI can help with this, but you’ll need to be familiar with best practices. If you need a primer, this will help:
Once you understand the basics, consider ways in which AI can augment your approach.
4. Select the Right Social Channels
Not every social media channel is the same.
It’s important that you understand what channel is right for you and embrace it.
The way you use AI for X is going to be different from the way you use AI for LinkedIn. On X, you might use AI to help you develop a long-form thread that is filled with facts and figures. On LinkedIn however, you might use AI to repurpose a blog post and turn it into a carousel PDF. The content that works on X and that AI can facilitate creating is different from the content that you can create and use on LinkedIn.
The audiences are different.
The content formats are different.
So operate and create a plan accordingly.
Recommended Tools and Resources:
5. Identify Key Metrics and KPIs
What metrics are you trying to influence the most?
Spend time understanding the social media metrics that matter to your business and make sure that they’re prioritized as you think about the ways in which you use AI.
These are a few that matter most:
- Reach: Post reach signifies the count of unique users who viewed your post. How much of your content truly makes its way to users’ feeds?
- Clicks: This refers to the number of clicks on your content or account. Monitoring clicks per campaign is crucial for grasping what sparks curiosity or motivates people to make a purchase.
- Engagement: The total social interactions divided by the number of impressions. This metric reveals how effectively your audience perceives you and their readiness to engage.
Of course, it’s going to depend greatly on your business.
But with this information, you can ensure that your AI social media strategy is rooted in goals.
6. Choose the Right AI Tools
The AI landscape is filled with trash and treasure.
Pick AI tools that are most likely to align with your needs and your level of tech-savviness.
For example, if you’re a blogger creating content about pizza recipes, you can use HubSpot’s AI social caption generator to write the message on your behalf:
The benefit of an AI tool like HubSpot and the caption generator is that what at one point took 30-40 minutes to come up with — you can now have it at your fingertips in seconds. The HubSpot AI caption generator is trained on tons of data around social media content and makes it easy for you to get inspiration or final drafts on what can be used to create great content.
Consider your budget, the learning curve, and what kind of support the tool offers.
7. Evaluate and Refine Your Social Media and AI Strategy
AI isn’t a magic wand; it’s a set of complex tools and technology.
You need to be willing to pivot as things come to fruition.
If you notice that a certain activity is falling flat, consider how AI can support that process.
Did you notice that your engagement isn’t where you want it to be? Consider using an AI tool to assist with crafting more engaging social media posts.
Make AI Work for You — Now and in the Future
AI has the power to revolutionize your social media strategy in ways you may have never thought possible. With its ability to conduct customer research, create personalized content, and so much more, thinking about the future of social media is fascinating.
We’re going through one of the most interesting times in history.
Stay equipped to ride the way of AI and ensure that you’re embracing the best practices outlined in this piece to get the most out of the technology.
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