Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I am talking about using AI, specifically Chat GPT to help you with do marketing better.
Today’s Quote: There is no doubt artificial intelligence is beginning to fundamentally transform the world of marketing. – John Ennew
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
It seems like Chat GPT is everywhere these days.
People are talking about it online – and because we spend so much of our time in various places online, we see it. Everywhere.
What is it, and why should we be using it for our VA businesses?
Simply, Chat GPT is a chat software that allows us to do research that gets more intelligent, or more specific, the more information we provide for it.
Think about Google for a second – our usual go-to for our research. At least it always has been for me!
With Google, we have to use certain, short, parameters, and in return, we will get a list of websites that contain the information that we are looking for.
In the past, we would have seen only those websites, and the ones that showed up in the top of the search were the ones with the best SEO.
It’s still like that, to a point. But now you will also see sponsored content at the top of the page, and video and image content as well. That is progress.
Also, instead of ‘page one’ consisting of 10 top results, it seems that the scroll never ends.
Google is still a great search engine to find what you are looking for – if you are looking for a source.
But Chat GPT is fast becoming a research tool that can give you great examples and even write content as well.
In today’s episode I want to talk about how to create better marketing content, more easily, and by using ChatGPT you can do that.
Chat GPT is an excellent tool when used correctly.
While I am no expert (yet), I can share a few tips that have helped me use it very efficiently.
A few caveats:
- check your sources – because ChatGPT sources its information from the Internet, it is possible that it is providing you with false or plagiarized information. Always check your results before publishing.
- don’t use the social media posts it pops out verbatim – a lot of people are ‘on to’ its social media style, and they can tell that you have created your content with AI. Always rewrite in your own words, and get rid of the rocket emojis.
- avoid going down a rabbit hole using it. Be clear on what your objective is and then use the tool to reach that objective – and close it back up again!
It sounds like I’m telling you not to use it, but I absolutely am not.
I love it, I use it every day. Seriously.
I use it for brainstorming, research, strategy.
I use it to flesh out ideas that I have.
I use it for SEO.
And I use it for creative suggestions. I am not creative so I need all the help I can get in that area!
The biggest difference I find between using Google and ChatGPT is that ChatGPT is like having a conversation with someone. It is much more interactive, and that’s why I think it’s easier for a lot of things.
I like that about it – if it doesn’t give me the right response, I can clarify my question, just as if I was talking to a real person. Imagine having a conversation with someone. If you don’t understand them, you don’t walk to another person (at least not right away). You ask another question.
That’s what ChatGPT is like. You can keep asking it more questions and it will refine the results it sends you.
Clarity is Important
The more specific you get, the better results you will get. And the more you work with it, the smarter it will get – as though it understands you better.
Here is an example:
Ask it how to find clients for your Virtual Assistant business.
You might get some crazy answers at first.
When I first typed in VA, I got answers about veterans. It wasn’t understanding that I meant virtual assistant.
So I started using the full term Virtual Assistant. Then I got responses that talked online virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant.
What I ended up doing was telling ChatGPT what I meant by virtual assistant – just as though I would in a conversation – and now my ChatGPT only talks about VAs the way I know them. And it gets it right every time.
See what I mean, that it gets smarter the more you work with it.
You do too – in the way that you ask questions.
So we have asked ChatGPT how to find clients for our Virtual Assistant business.
You probably got some very broad answers, or maybe some generic suggestions that you can follow: networking, local events, social media, etc.
And that’s good information – if you ask me where to find clients for your VA business, that’s probably where I’ll start too.
But the fun thing about ChatGPT is that you can continue to ask it questions and your answers and advice will get more specific – you can, in effect, drill down, which you can’t really do (easily) with Google or other search engines.
Talk to It
How to get better answers? Have a conversation with it.
Tell it what you do – I am a Virtual Assistant who offers social media services to course creators. Provide as much detail as you need to, so that it can help you in the best way.
Also, tell it who it is – Act as though you are a successful business coach with 10 years of experience helping your clients break through the income ceiling, by helping them create attractive and profitable packages. Then ask it your question: what would you recommend as a strategy to package my services to make them attractive and profitable for my target client who are course creators?
When ChatGPT knows who it is ‘being’ in order to provide you with advice, it will provide you with better answers.
It’s a very cool concept and it really does work – when you specify whose ‘advice’ you are looking for, it helps your results.
Like most tools, the way you use it makes a difference.
Don’t Waste Time
One of the things I caution you against is going down the ChatGPT rabbit hole.
It can be very easy to do, and I have definitely done it too. But I try not to.
That’s why the objective is so important. And just like any research you will do, you want to limit your responses or information that you will gather.
For instance, if you are looking for a great CRM, make a point of finding the top 3 and then compare them. Don’t try to compare 12. It’s time consuming and it isn’t going to serve you in the end. It’s just going to take more time than it needs to.
Same goes for ChatGPT – decide how much data you want it to return for you.
Give me 3 places that I should market my VA business where I can get in front of clients in the entertainment .industry.
Show me a 5 step strategy that will help me create daily content for Instagram
Create 10 captions for Facebook (under 50 words) that will help me promote my general admin services for real estate agents.
You will play around with the requests that make sense for you, but the idea is to be clear and concise – and tell ChatGPT what you want in return.
If you are doing research with it, start general and get more specific.
What kinds of services does a podcast use a Virtual Assistant for?
Then…Why is it important for a podcaster to use a VA to assist with the production of their podcast?
Then…What are three benefits that a podcaster can get by working with a VA to produce their podcast?
Then… What are some objections that could come up in a discussion with a podcaster about getting help producing their podcast?
And Then –
Here are the services I provide for podcasters: editing their podcast audio, publishing their podcast to their platform, creating show notes, creating social media posts, helping them find guests for their show, coordinating their guests.
Write 7 social media captions for Instagram (under 75 words) that will showcase my services for podcasters., highlighting the benefits the podcaster will get by outsourcing these tasks.
Voila – it will take 30 seconds to write your captions and there you go.
Check the captions to make sure they aren’t plagiarized, and rewrite them in your voice if necessary.
But don’t spend a crazy amount of time doing this.
The reason you are using AI to help you is to get this stuff done more quickly.
What to Do Next
We have just created 7 posts for Instagram that we can easily post – now we need images. If you’re anything like me, this is the place where I can spend wayyyyy too much time.
So ask ChatGPT to describe images that will complement the captions it just wrote.
Using these 7 captions, describe a complementary image I can create in Canva to post with each of these captions.
Guess what? It will!
Then you just need to go to Canva and create those images.
Stop spending hours and hours trying to come up with genius marketing stuff – that might not even work.
In just a few moments, you can create 7 captions and 7 images and your content is done for the week.
Tell ChatGPT what you need – 7 captions, 5 hashtags, 6 benefits, whatever.
Be very clear on what you want, and that’s what it will spit back out for you.
Implement Time Limits
You also need to manage your time while creating your content.
You need to do that whether you are using AI or not.
But it’s really easy to get lost in the research with a chat software.
So set yourself a time limit to use it and then take the information you have collected and go and use it.
I truly recommend setting your objective before you ever open ChatGPT, and then taking 15 minutes or less to get it to write what you need.
Then grab that info and use it wherever you need to.
Drop the captions into your social media scheduler right away. If you have to go and create images, then set yourself a time limit for that as well.
I always suggest using a few different templates that are branded for your business. Then creating images is super fast. I can create 7 images in 20 minutes or less using ChatGPT’s description and my existing brand templates.
So that’s a total of 30 minutes or less to create 7 Instagram posts for the week. I bet you have been spending 30 minutes on just one caption.
I know you have. I see you. You tell me you are spending hours doing this stuff.
You can stop, with a little bit of planning and some focus, and get it done much more quickly.
Here is an example of what ChatGPT gave me from our queries above:
Instagram Caption: “Elevate your podcast game! 🚀 Let us handle the audio editing, publishing, and show notes. Focus on what you love – creating killer content! 🎙️ #PodcastServices #ContentCreators #PodcastEditing”
Image: Design a split-screen graphic. On one side, depict a podcaster deeply engrossed in creating content. On the other side, show headphones, a microphone, and a laptop with editing software, symbolizing your services. Use vibrant colors to convey energy and creativity.
It’s simple, and that’s all an image needs to be.
Stop overthinking your marketing content.
It needs to be engaging and get the message across that you want.
ChatGPT can help you do that.
Marketing Should Not Take All Your Time
Stop spending so much time creating your marketing content.
You don’t need to be a professional marketer to run your business.
You just need to get the word out about who you help and how you help them.
ChatGPT can help you do that much more efficiently.
I also suggest that you use my Content Matrix to prompt ChatGPT. Do the Content Matrix four main topics and angles, and then ask ChatGPT to create great blog post titles for your matrix.
Then you can ask it to create a blog post draft or framework with your blog post title that will give you a huge jump on a structured blog post. Yes, you will still have to write a little bit of content, but you will be well on your way with the draft.
Remember we are talking about ways to use ChatGPT to increase your efficiency and get more great marketing content created in a shorter period of time.
We aren’t asking it to do our work, at least we shouldn’t be – but it can really help us to a better job of what we are putting out there. Of course in a lot less time.
Okay, let’s circle back to this week’s quote: There is no doubt artificial intelligence is beginning to fundamentally transform the world of marketing. – John Ennew
I love it when we find a new tool that can help us do something more efficiently.
Like scheduling software – how many hours is something like Calendly saving business owners every single day? Crazy. It’s awesome.
There are things that come along and really help us.
Does using ChatGPT mean that Google is dead? Not at all.
In fact, ChatGPT doesn’t give sources for most of the information that it provides for you (it can if you ask it). Google definitely does.
Google also can show you the experts that you want to follow – and so many other great things.
ChatGPT also can not give you real time information like current events, so Google still has many merits in that regard.
I definitely don’t use ChatGPT for everything. But for marketing help, uh. Yeah. It’s a no brainer.
And I really think you should too.
You can use it to brainstorm ideas, to find strategies and action steps for those strategies. It can define clear language to use in all situations, and so much more.
As long as you use it wisely. And use your time wisely too.
Here’s How I Use It
I create a new chat for each thing I am working on , and I continue asking ChatGPT questions in that same chat to keep everything in one place.
I have done countless searches since I started using it, and I continue to use the original chat for that topic when I need more info (or when I want to create more content).
If you are going to use it, I definitely recommend signing up for a free account so you don’t lose all your work.
And copy and paste your results into your project management system. I use Trello and it makes it easy to use the information I have used ChatGPT for.
And that’s the key – to use it to collect the information you want, and then to use that information right away. It’s the smart way to use it.
There you go. That’s how you can easily use ChatGPT to streamline your marketing and get better results too.
If you need help creating or implementing your marketing plan for your VA business, be sure to get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. To help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving. I’d love to do the same for you.
We can work together privately, or in The Virtual Circle, my monthly mastermind group, or in my Plan to Profit group coaching program, or you can enroll in some of my self study trainings. I have lots of options to move your forward. Check them out in the show notes below for this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
What You Need to Do Next:
Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It’s a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Click here for more tips to help you with your productivity and time management in your Virtual Assistant business.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.