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Throughout this series of articles, I have looked at the capabilities of generative artificial intelligence (AI) while offering some overall guidance for how to use it. Now it’s time to put the technology to work on a hypothetical project and see how it performs.
I am going to make a social media campaign for a bookshop called Bookworm’s Bounty. (Yes, I also used AI to invent the name.) The shop has a physical premises but wants to build an online mail-order business to reach beyond its local area. The owner knows social media plays an important role in making this work but has no tech expertise. Let’s see if generative AI can help.
Brainstorming the campaign
For this project, we’ll be using ChatGPT, though if you use a different platform, your process will be similar. I start by giving the AI a role to play: “You are a social media consultant, an expert in helping businesses to expand their reach and connect with customers on all platforms.” Then I add the paragraph from the previous section, explaining the business, and say we will begin by brainstorming the campaign.
That was a broad prompt, and ChatGPT responds with a broad answer. It explains that we need to define our goals and audience, then choose the right platforms and strategy. Some of its suggestions focus on the content of our posts - make them visual, with consistent branding and good keywords - and others emphasize engagement, both with our audience and with publishers, influencers, and others. Finally, there’s a reminder to monitor analytics.
I tell ChatGPT the goal is to increase online sales and that, since we sell all kinds of books, our target audience is anyone interested in reading. Based on that, what platform should we use? Again, the broad question yields a broad answer. ChatGPT suggests Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (it doesn’t know the platform is now X), Pinterest, Goodreads, and YouTube.
That’s a lot to manage so I ask for two to start with. ChatGPT suggests Instagram and Facebook. It likes Instagram’s visual nature, range of posting formats and younger demographic. Facebook gets the nod because of its diverse user base and robust advertising capabilities. Of course, at this point, we are hoping to boost our reach organically, without paying for ads, so this is a useful reminder that ChatGPT’s advice can often be generic.
Content types
We’re now ready to generate some content ideas. I start by telling ChatGPT we are going to recap; these tools will remember a decent chunk of the previous conversation but it’s worth repeating key points to ensure our priorities don’t get forgotten. I repeat the initial prompt but add information about our goal and target audience, plus the fact that we will be targeting Instagram and Facebook. Based on that, what kind of posts should we prioritize? Here’s what ChatGPT suggests:
Instagram: Visual showcases to highlight the ambiance of the store; features on individual books, such as new arrivals and staff picks; behind-the-scenes, including unpacking and sneak peaks of events; customer engagement posts that ask followers for their favorites; and interactive features, such as polls and quizzes.
Facebook: promote discounts and special offers; create Facebook Events for virtual book launches and online workshops; educational content and recommendations; customer testimonials; and engagement posts that encourage discussions.
What’s good is that there’s little overlap, other than in “engagement posts” but that is to be expected since we are talking about social media. The best case here is that ChatGPT has prioritized different post types to match the strength of each platform. Even if it hasn’t, it’s given me several different types of post to experiment with.
Creating a calendar
Next, we’ll get more specific and ask ChatGPT to create a content calendar, so we know what posts we are going to publish and when. This also allows us to plan; if we are going to publish a weekly staff recommendation featuring a picture of one of our staff with a favorite book, for example, then it might be easier to take several of these photos every couple of months and save them.
ChatGPT gives us a four-week plan, although each week is only five days long. It might have intended us to post only on Monday-to-Friday, but it clearly confused itself because week two begins on Saturday. I ask it to reformat the list for seven-day weeks, which it does, but now we only have three weeks of posts.
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, generative AI is a developing technology, so some patience and willingness to experiment is required. In situations like this, I could ask for another few days of posts or try refining my prompt. I opt for a more specific prompt, asking for “30 days” of posts instead of “a month”. It gives me 28 days; sometimes you need to know when to move on.
Drafting posts
What I like about what we have so far, is that ChatGPT has generated loads of ideas with which to experiment. As the bookshop manager with no social media knowledge, I can use common sense to determine that nothing it has suggested is harmful or nonsensical. Even if a professional social media guru might offer better advice than my AI, I’ve got lots of material with which to experiment.
If I want to know more about a particular type of post, then I can ask. Highlighting text in ChatGPT brings up a quotation mark icon, which I can click on to reply to the highlighted text. For example, I can highlight ‘Staff picks’ in the calendar and ask why that type of post is effective. ChatGPT says it’s because “by sharing book recommendations from your knowledgeable staff, you're showcasing your bookstore's credibility and helping followers discover new books”.
I can dig deeper and ask what makes a good ‘Staff picks’ post. ChatGPT gives me nine tips, including choosing a diverse range of books, making the recommendations personal, and including a call-to-action. One other tip is important for all posts: maintain a consistent schedule. ChatGPT says “consistency helps build anticipation among your audience”, which seems like a good reason to follow the calendar.
Finally, I ask ChatGPT to draft a ‘Staff picks’ post for my staff member Emily, who likes One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez. The result is a pretty sound post. It opens with a question to get the reader’s attention, shares Emily’s recommendation, gives an idea of the theme and style, then finishes with a call-to-action. It also reminds me to include relevant hashtags.
Of course, as I’ve written in previous articles, it’s worth quickly checking ChatGPT’s facts - is it right about the book’s setting and characters, for example. And, obviously, I should treat the post as a draft and edit any text that I think will improve it. I can repeat this process for every post for the first month and quickly have a whole host of content ready to go.
Evaluating the campaign
Once the campaign has been running for a few weeks, ChatGPT can also help determine whether it has been a success. How? Again, I can ask the AI. It says I should gather data “including metrics such as likes, comments, shares, saves, and any other relevant insights” and tells me where to find them. Then it suggests putting them into a spreadsheet and sharing that with the AI.
Eample Engagement Data:
| Post Date | Post Time | Content Type | Likes | Comments | Shares | Saves | Hashtags Used |
| 2024-04-01 | 10:00 AM | Staff Picks | 150 | 25 | 10 | 30 | #StaffPicks #BookRecommendation |
| 2024-04-02 | 11:30 AM | New Arrivals | 200 | 30 | 15 | 40 | #NewArrivals #Books |
| 2024-04-03 | 12:00 PM | Behind the Scenes | 120 | 20 | 5 | 25 | #BehindTheScenes #Bookstore |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
It gives me an example of what that data might look like and explains how it might analyze that. For example, the data might show that it is better to post at certain times of day or using particular hashtags. Throughout, it’s important to keep in mind that I can ask the AI to clarify terms, explain its recommendations and make specific suggestions. Perhaps I want to prioritize comments, rather than likes, for example. ChatGPT can tell me if there is anything in the data that might help to achieve that.
Indeed, asking for clarification is one of the key lessons to take away from this experiment. If something isn’t clear, ask ChatGPT to explain. But don’t switch off your common sense; it is prone to inventing facts, so do double check. Finally, I think the examples above show the value of specific prompts. It is sometimes necessary to begin with a general prompt and drill down, but ChatGPT gives better results to specific questions.
Overall, ChatGPT is probably not going to replace professional social media consultants. Its advice tended towards the general, even when my prompts were specific. However, it’s likely to be notably more useful than the average staff member at Bookworm’s Bounty - and easier than scouring the internet for reliable advice. If you run a small or medium business and don’t have the budget for professional help with your social media campaign, ChatGPT is likely to be a solid alternative.
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