How AI Can Shape Your Brand Voice in Marketing: A Balanced Approach
While working with a client, we attempted eagerly to create a true and authentic voice for their organization. We just could never quiet get their true voice and it always felt robotic, inauthentic, and forced… not to mention overly wordy. We were utilizing AI and ChatGPT to create their voice and realized that was the problem. Their voice was so unique, we couldn’t generate it, we had to go back to the basics and by using our own every day language, we nailed it! The key was the HUMAN touch versus the ROBOT touch. We still utilize AI to help us create topics, outlines, foundational content, but we always go in behind it and add the human voice to each piece.
AI tools like ChatGPT have revolutionized the way brand can create, shape, and refine their messaging, helping to streamline the creative process in marketing. While AI offers several advantages, it’s crucial to maintain a balance, understanding its limitations and knowing when the human touch is needed.
The Positives of Using AI in Marketing
- Idea Generation & Brainstorming: AI provides an excellent starting point when you need fresh ideas fast. It can generate numerous suggestions, acting as a creative sounding board to kickstart campaigns or initiatives. This can be a huge time-saver when you’re staring at a blank canvas, needing a creative spark.
- Structure & Organization: AI can help in creating outlines, suggesting structures for blog posts, social media content, or even video scripts. By doing the groundwork, AI gives you a framework that you can build on, making the entire content creation process more streamlined.
- Quick Information Retrieval: Sometimes, you need information quickly. Whether it’s finding insights on industry trends, retrieving data, or learning about a topic in a matter of seconds, AI is fantastic for delivering fast, accurate information, saving hours of research.
- Storytelling: While AI can outline and generate general ideas for storytelling, it can provide helpful plot points and connections. However, it’s important to remember that stories need human elements—emotions, unique experiences, and subtle nuances—which AI struggles to fully capture.
The Limits: Why AI Shouldn’t Replace Human Voice
As much as AI is a helpful tool, it lacks the empathy, nuance, and emotional depth that only a human voice can provide. While it’s great for brainstorming and providing a roadmap, it’s important to know when AI’s contributions should end and human depth should take over.
- Emotionally Driven Content: When discussing deeply emotional or sensitive subjects, such as mental health, drug use, or grief, AI tends to fall short. Human experiences and emotions need human expression to ensure authenticity and compassion.
- Trends and Out of the Box Humor: When trying to connect with a quirky, out the box, and unique audience, AI doesn’t quite understand humor or fun trending concepts. Humans evolve in their language and what’s funny that only humans can really relay humor in a fun way.
- Appealing to Human Empathy: Humans connect with humans. Marketing strategies that aim to connect on an emotional level need a personal, empathetic touch. AI simply can’t replicate the warmth or the human connection that comes through in content created from lived experiences.
- Sensitive Topics: Topics like death, trauma, and addiction demand care and consideration. AI-generated content, while efficient, lacks the emotional intelligence to navigate these conversations with the delicacy required.
When to Use AI—and When Not To
In summary, AI is an excellent tool for:
- Brainstorming and generating ideas
- Creating content structure
- Retrieving quick, useful insights
However, AI should be avoided when:
- You’re creating emotionally resonant content
- Sensitive topics like death or addiction are being discussed
- Human empathy and authenticity are paramount to the message
- Trends and out of the box humor
Remember, AI is a fantastic tool, but it’s not a replacement for human creativity and emotion. At the end of the day, your audience craves human connection—something AI, as brilliant as it is, can’t fully replicate.
If you’re having trouble finding your “authentic brand voice” send us an email, we can help you walk through what that sounds like!
Contact us
kkk