I understand that you may be tired of reading these types of headlines all over social media. Trust me I feel the same way.
However, I want to assure you that the purpose of my writing is different. I'm not here to make outrageous predictions or claims.
In fact, after our initial blog post where we delved into what it is a social media manager and how can you become one in 2023, something sparked my interest.
I recently received a message that posed a common question: "Why bother learning social media management if AI will replace us".
So, in response to this query, I felt inspired to address the concern and share my thoughts on the matter.
NOTE: The aim of this blog is not to either provide comfort or instill fear, but rather to examine some facts that may be uncomfortable.
Artificial Intelligence Hype
Before going straight to the point and seeing if you and I will be jobless because of this ‘AI’ thing, let’s talk a little bit about where this all started and why all this hype about this subject.
Contrary to popular belief, the term AI is not something new. In fact, the first time this term came into existence was in 1956.
The current hype around AI began on November 30, 2022, when OpenAI launched ChatGPT. Since then, people have not only been discussing AI more frequently, but they have also been paying closer attention to the potential threat of being replaced by AI in their jobs, especially when they see public figures like Elon Musk repeat again and again that AI may horribly change humanity.
Should we be afraid of AI? Can it take our jobs?
First things first, it's important to understand that human beings have a tendency to bubble things up, especially when there's a possibility of making money.
We've seen this happen with Crypto, MetaVerse, Clubhouse… (Wait, did I forget to mention NFTs? Yes, NFTs too)
Will AI be a temporary trend like the examples mentioned above? Absolutely not. Should we be afraid of it? Absolutely yes.
As I mentioned before the purpose of this blog is not to make you feel better about AI. As Mike Thomas mentioned, “AI has been hailed as revolutionary and world-changing, but it’s not without drawbacks”.
According to him here are 8 risks and dangers of AI
- Automation-spurred job loss
- Privacy violations
- Deepfakes
- Algorithmic bias caused by bad data
- Socioeconomic inequality
- Market volatility
- Weapons automatization
So, the question we all seek the answer to is:
Will AI replace social media managers?
No, AI will not completely replace social media managers; it can only replace the need for social media managers in certain specific tasks, particularly repetitive ones.
Why AI Cannot Completely Replace Social Media Managers
We all know that social media management is an important part of digital marketing, right? Good!
Now, why do you think businesses are willing to invest significant sums of money in hiring individuals with top-notch marketing skills?
Yes, because they help them sell.
The purpose of any business is to sell its deliverables to clients and customers and make a profit in exchange.
Listen carefully: Unless businesses are selling to beings other than humans they need to include other humans in the equation.
Because smart marketers and businesses know this: People make purchasing decisions based on emotions rather than logic. AI can understand and mimic human emotions but it cannot dive deeply into them.
Without any doubts or questions, AI, especially in the long term, will replace countless jobs but most of them are repetitive jobs
Repetitive jobs*: Repetitive jobs are tasks that are performed repeatedly and require little or no variation in the work performed.
But As with any technology, AI has its limitations. The big one is the lack of human touch, here is a list of examples of things that need human touch:
- Understanding of Context
- Crisis Management
- Creativity
- Personalization
- Ethical decisions
Here are some simple tricks to set yourself apart from AI and demonstrate to your audience that there's a human being behind the brand, not just a low-cost AI tool.
- Use humor and personality in your posts
- Respond to comments and messages in a conversational tone
- Share behind-the-scenes photos and videos of your team
The future of AI and social media management:
I hope you realized that the AI revolution is not just a passing wave; it will make massive changes in the near future (5-10 years)
So, Instead of being scared and anxious, be prepared and adapt.
Adaptation remains one of the most essential human skills of all time.
To thrive as a social media manager, it's important to shift your focus from the fear of being replaced by AI to exploring how you can leverage AI to your advantage.
The best way to do that is to learn how to incorporate AI tools into your tasks and responsibilities, making them easier and more efficient in a shorter time frame.
How social media managers can incorporate AI tools into their workflows to save time and increase efficiency
“If you can’t beat them. Join them”
Are you familiar with this saying? This is the most applicable saying these days. I'm not suggesting you become an AI. Absolutely not!
Here's my suggestion: Instead of worrying about something you can't control, why not leverage something you can? No matter what your job is, you can use AI tools to your advantage. As a social media manager, there are many different ways you can do this. Briefly, here are 4 different ways you can do that:
- Content creation and curation
This is the part when most social media managers and content creators feel stuck over time. writing and creating content requires more effort and skill than it may appear. Here AI tools can be a real saver.
With the ability to:
- Generate new ideas.
- Correct grammatical errors
- Offers synonyms
- Improve readability
- Provide recommendations for better user experience
And many other abilities, you can think of AI tools like your very own writing assistant.
You can check our blog post here that provides +100 ChatGPT prompts for social media and content creation.
- Automating & Scheduling
To optimize your social media posts for maximum reach and engagement, it's important to consider each platform's unique algorithms and identify the best times to post based on your target audience's demographics and time zone.
So in this case, how can you manage to consistently publish content in this manner? By being awake 24/7?
Well, you can do that if you want, but there is a better way.
With social media management tools like Nuelink, SocialPilot, and Hootsuite, you can schedule a month's worth of content in advance and let the tools take care of publishing your content at the optimal times for each social media platform. This means you can significantly reduce the amount of time you spend in front of screens publishing each post.
- Data Analytics
Brands need to be strategic in their social media approach. It's no longer enough to post whatever you want and hope it resonates with your audience.
Every post or even interaction should have one singular purpose: building trust between the brand and the customer. Failing to do so could result in the loss of customers forever.
The only way to find what will resonate with your audience is by testing and then analyzing engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares.
AI tools can automate this process and quickly identify patterns and trends in social media data. Additionally, AI tools can help with:
- Analyzing audience demographics
- Sentiment analysis
- Influencer identification
- Competitive analysis
Hope this blog changes the way you view this whole AI thing and encourages you to start looking for tools that will make your job easier and faster. Contrary to popular belief, good tools for social media management are not, (and should not be), super expensive.
For example, you can try Nuelink, which provides countless automation features at a reasonable price. If you are not satisfied within 30 days, you can get your money back with no questions asked.
