9 Ways AI Can Help Your Small Business
Ready to dive into the world of AI? :-) Nope, AI is not just for tech giants and other-worldly sci-fi movies - small businesses and nonprofits can seriously benefit from sprinkling a little AI into their operations in 2024 as we look towards a more automated future. I’ve been dabbling deeper in this exciting world over the past few months to discover nine awesome ways AI can help your small business and can’t wait to share how I (and my clients) have been using this amazing tool in ours.
9 Ways AI Can Help Your Small Business
Social media caption writing
After a long day of writing captions, do you ever feel like you’ve spent half your life thinking up catchy things to share!? Tools like ChatGPT can quickly help you write captions beyond your own personal creativity boundaries and tailor the tone and voice to your target audience personas. Just fill in ChatGPT at the start of your work together and you’ll have a business BFF for life! If you work with a pro copywriter, AI can help them brainstorm super on-brand ideas.
Blog post copywriting
Just like social media posts, tools like ChatGPT can also help you shorten the time you spend brainstorming blog topics that will resonate with your audience, and can also help you outline and flesh out a concept. It is important to note that you should never (in my opinion) copy + paste a blog post or social media caption that ChatGPT has written, and some would argue that Google experts would agree with that for SEO purposes. While AI is incredibly helpful, you still need the human element!
Email marketing copywriting
Imagine sending emails that your people actually WANT to open! AI can help you craft super personalized messages that speak to your audience’s pain points, based on their past preferences and/or behaviors. What a neat mind-reader to have in your back pocket!
Video editing
I’ve been OBSESSED with tools like Descript for streamlining my video editing process and will never edit videos the same again… trust. With Descript, you can transcribe your videos, cut out all the “um”s and “uh”s, take long episodes (like from a podcast, for example) and create bite-sized social media clips, and so much more. When you already have a long list for marketing to-do’s, cutting your video production time in half is a life saver.
Analytics assessment
If you lack fancy Excel (or math) skills like me, AI tools can sift through mountains of data to find the golden insights you’re looking for to make better, more informed decisions about your marketing efforts or other business operations.
Creating presentations
If you have an upcoming presentation and need a slide deck, AI’s got a knack for making slides that communicate messages effectively and are tailored to your people. I’ve had clients say that they had to change very little to their slides and AI simply nailed their lesson in a much better, more effective style.
Streamline systems
AI can also help you streamline your systems, whether you need help crafting customer / client questionnaires or creating helpful welcome packets. It eliminates the grunt work and allows you to get back to the important ins and outs of running your business smoothly!
Designing visuals
Need graphics that impress but don’t have an on-call designer? Tools like Canva’s “Magic Design” allow you to create gorgeous visuals in a snap that speak to your brand aesthetics and wow your audience. Simply tell Magic Design to build you a specific graphic and it’ll do the foundational work for you.
Automated customer service
Free up your team’s time by utilizing AI chatbots that can handle everyday questions from your audience base. Faster, easily accessible responses mean happier customers, and this also frees up your human employees’ precious time!
If you weren’t quite sure how AI could improve your regular business operations when you started reading this post, I hope you have some newfound clarity and there’s something in here that excites you! While there will never be a full human replacement and I have faith I’ll always be in business in some capacity, the best move you can make for your business in this day and age is to begin experimenting with AI and reducing some of the tedious tasks that overwhelm your plate. Those who enthusiastically embrace (or perhaps cautiously embrace - it’s okay if you’re only so far with your AI acceptance!) the new technology will stay afloat in their work in our reimagined world. Cheers to having a ton of fun on this new journey!
