ChatGPT – Content marketing friend or foe? 

Can ChatGPT benefit my business? 

Right now, it seems that every business owner is talking about the coolest Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool on the block – ChatGPT. And considering all the ways it could improve their content marketing strategies. As well as other forms of communication.

And many people are asking me how it’s going to impact my content marketing and copywriting business.

Well, let me just say this – I’m not rocking in the corner in a sweaty panic. I’m actually excited about it!

In fact, I’m going to use this tool to help me write my blogs. 

Yes, including this one. 

But the keyword here is help. 

While you might choose to ask this currently-free AI tool to handle your content marketing, like blogs, social media posts, e-newsletter content, and webinar and podcast scripts – you can’t simply accept whatever content ChatGPT spits out at you and then publish it without a second thought.

I’m sorry to say – it still requires human intervention. So, please don’t get lazy!

In this article, I’ll highlight the ways that ChatGPT can be your friend (aka benefit your business) and possibly be your foe (aka ways it could bring you down). And I’ll be asking our mate, Chatty (aka ChatGPT) for its thoughts throughout the process.

Because – why not?

What is ChatGPT?

Firstly, let me explain what the ChatGPT AI tool actually is.

Actually – I’ll ask Chatty itself…

“ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art language model developed by OpenAI. It uses deep learning techniques to generate human-like text based on the input it receives. ChatGPT has been trained on a large corpus of text data and can generate text for a wide range of tasks, such as answering questions, responding to comments, and generating creative writing.”

I remember visiting a science museum once as a kid (possibly Questacon in Canberra or The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney) where there was a robot you could ‘talk’ to. You could ask it a question and it would instantly reply.

It was so bloody cool. And now we can access this tool from our own homes and offices! 

*Mind blown.*

ChatGPT is currently free with OpenAI. But as outlined in Social Media Today, it’s switching to a ‘freemium model’ with a new paid tier – at US$20 per month – to give users better access to the tool. 

Called ChatGPT Plus, it’s now available in Australia to try out.

Subscribers of ChatGPT Plus will receive various benefits including:

• General access to ChatGPT, even during peak times
• Faster response times
• Priority access to new features and improvements

I aim to try the paid version for a month and see what it does.

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog highlighting my thoughts!

How can ChatGPT benefit my business?

Even though we’re a team of SEO copywriters at Write Time Marketing, it doesn’t mean we find it easier to work with that stupid teasing blinking cursor on the ‘white screen of death.’ 

So I can definitely see the benefits of a tool that can give me a jumpstart and get some words on the page.

In the past, I’ve utilised AI writing tools like Rytr to provide some basic wording to work with. It was especially helpful when I once had to write blogs for a toy e-commerce store – and was stuck on the benefits of wooden toys for 2 year olds versus 4 year olds….(It’s all about the different development and social levels BTW!) 

I’m going to be a bit cheeky here – and ask Chatty what it thinks its benefits are. Then I’ll address them one by one.

ChatGPT’s 5 key benefits 

(Highlighted by ChatGPT and critiqued by Leanne Shelton)

1. Natural language generation

Chatty says – “ChatGPT can generate human-like text in a wide range of styles and formats, making it useful for tasks such as chatbots, language translation, and content creation.”

Leanne says – This might be true. But all humans are different. While you can ask ChatGPT to write content in the voice of a famous person, if you’re not famous it’s unlikely to capture your voice, your vocabulary, and your vision. (It was very important for me to find a third ‘V’ there…) 

At least not yet. Maybe one day, when you can talk to Chatty instead of just typing to it. Maybe then, after a while, the tool will start to recognise your unique qualities and quirks. 

If you’re writing for a larger company, it’s possible to ask ChatGPT to write in a tone that matches your Brand Style Guide. However, there are no guarantees that the copy hasn’t been lifted from one of your competitor’s sites. 

That’s the thing with Chatty – you never know where the information has been sourced from.

2. Flexibility 

Chatty says – ChatGPT can be fine-tuned to perform specific tasks, allowing it to be adapted to a wide range of use cases.

Leanne says – Firstly ‘use cases’? Is that a real phrase? 

But yes, you can specifically ask ChatGPT to write content for a blog or script. It’s pretty cool like that. 

But you need to know the right questions or content brief to produce the desired results. For example, you’ll need to ask it for a certain word count. And ask for a blog with sub-headings – otherwise you mightn’t get it.

Overall, you need to be as specific as possible to get the best possible content. It’s easy if you’re a copywriter or work in marketing. But if words aren’t your friend (maybe you’re more of a number nerd) then this could be a bit tricky to get right.

3. High quality output

Chatty says – ChatGPT is trained on a large corpus of high-quality text data, which gives it the ability to generate high-quality text outputs.

Leanne says – A bit repetitive in your response there, Chatty…And I wouldn’t necessarily use the word ‘corpus’ in a sentence – but I know what you’re getting at.

While the above is true, ChatGPT doesn’t have the capability to provide references to where the information was sourced. So it could provide you with all these fabulous statistics – but then it’s up to you to go Googling where they originated from. 

You can’t provide big important statements without backing it up – just saying.

4. Speed and efficiency 

Chatty says – ChatGPT can generate text outputs quickly and efficiently, making it a valuable tool for businesses and organizations.

Leanne says – Um, it’s spelt ‘organisations’ in Australia, dude. (Or dudette. Or is it simply dud??)

Important thing to note here – Chatty didn’t pick up on my location and provide our nation’s preferred spelling. So you need to watch out for those traps if you’re frequently going to use words like ‘organisation’, ‘flavour’, and ‘travelling’ in your copy. 

But I digress….

Yes, ChatGPT definitely spits out content quickly. 

Watching the words appear on the screen is like magic. 

And it relieves that recurring writer’s block. (Can you believe I actually went blank the other day, trying to think of the phrase ‘writer’s block’? How ironic!)

But, like in life, speed isn’t always better. Make sure you check the content delivered.

5. Cost savings

Chatty says – Using ChatGPT can help organizations save time and resources by automating tasks that would otherwise require manual labor.

Leanne says – There’s that spelling again…Not just once, but twice, with the words organisations and labour!

Anyway, yes, it can save you time and resources (aka money) initially. But you can’t expect to simply get away with the words ChatGPT provides. 

You still need to find the time to rework the copy to ensure it uses terminology you typically use, insert SEO keywords, add some originality to it, source resources, and insert internal and external backlinks.

So it can save you a lot of the upfront headache of getting words on the page. But don’t let those words become the final version.

Let’s wrap things up – friend or foe? 

All in all, I reckon ChatPGPT has amazing potential to help business owners across the globe with their content marketing. (And help students cheat on essays…but that’s a whole other topic!)

I highly recommend trying it out – but with your eyes wide open. Be prepared to massage and manage the copy. Don’t just take the words delivered and simply run with them.

To finish off this article, I thought I’d give Chatty one last opportunity to highlight why you need to give the AI tool a red-hot go. So I typed the request ‘Write a conclusion, summarising why business owners should give ChatGPT a try in a cheeky tone.’

And Chatty said –

“Well, well, well, my dear business owners, it’s been a pleasure chatting with you. But before you go, let me give you a little piece of advice: give ChatGPT a try, and you won’t regret it!

You see, I may be just a language model, but I’ve got the brains to help you run your business smoothly. From answering your customers’ queries to generating creative ideas for your marketing campaigns, I can do it all.

Plus, I’m available 24/7, so you can always count on me to be there when you need me. No sick days, no vacations, no coffee breaks.

So what are you waiting for? Give ChatGPT a try and see for yourself how I can help take your business to the next level. You won’t be disappointed, I promise!”

Ooh, not sure if you should be making promises there, Chatty…but it’s definitely worth a crack!

If you need help with turning your rough ChatGPT blog draft into a sparkly SEO-friendly blog that will wow your readers, you can schedule in a free 15 minute ‘virtual tea’ with me here. 

Or – for a DIY approach – join one of our upcoming ‘Business Blogging: Get It Done’ sessions for only $27.