How AI can help Australian SMEs to transform their social media strategy

Marketing thought leaders Jeff Bullas and Pam Didner share their insights on how GenAI is transforming content creation to maximise the impact of social media campaigns and save valuable time for marketing teams in Australia.

The future of AI in social media looks incredibly promising. A recent Capterra survey of 197 social media marketers in Australia found that 78% plan to increase spending on generative AI tools over the next 18 months.* Yet, many leaders need help to integrate AI in a way that maximizes time-saving benefits while minimising brand reputation risks.

To help social media marketers experience the benefits of this emerging technology, B2B marketing thought leaders Jeff Bullas [1] and Pam Didner [2] lend their knowledge to refresh your social strategy, software, and skill sets to take full advantage of it.

1. Identify social media shortcomings to guide strategic tech choices

“GenAI can look impressive at first glance as it can quickly create content that a lazy marketer will just “cut and paste,” explains Bullas. “But the reality is that a hybrid approach is needed and often the output depends on the input. In chatbot language, that is called a ‘prompt.’”

Didner adds, “I always tell marketing professionals to dissect their jobs to determine what can be done by AI and what requires their expertise.” 

Before diving into a software stack reassessment, it's crucial to reflect on where AI can make the most significant impact in your social media program. Take a moment to analyse how much time your team currently spends on different tasks—whether it's drafting content, producing images, or optimising post timing. By identifying the areas that consume the most resources and aligning on which of these would benefit most from AI assistance, you can approach technology selection with a clear purpose.

Here’s how other marketers are strategically leveraging AI to streamline various content creation tasks.

“Determine what AI features are built into the existing platform that you are using,” says Didner. “Try that first.” 

So, what does that look like? Survey your team to identify the most used features in your current social media tools and pinpoint any gaps, or do asimple software ROI assessment. Then, meet with software vendors to explore underutilised or new AI features that could enhance your strategy. This could include paid and unpaid tools for features such as AI-assisted post writing, image creation, and optimising post time. 

As Didner advises, “Test it. Start somewhere. Take the baby steps.” Doing this work will save you time in the long run, especially since 35% of marketers in Australia report significant time savings from using generative AI in social media marketing, with another 56% seeing moderate time savings.

Once you know what aspects of your program you want to simplify with genAI, you can see whether you need to make any new tech investments to support it. Look at your entire marketing tech stack, not just social media-specific tools. GenAI tools are now integrated into CRM systems, email marketing platforms, content management systems, and digital asset management (DAM) systems, many of which could support a social program.

Didner believes DAMs are essential for nearly everyone, explaining, "You need collateral, assets, images, and branded materials stored in one centralised place everyone can access. A solid digital asset management tool is almost a must."

A DAM system supports AI capabilities by drawing from your existing library of assets to create new content. When choosing a digital asset management vendor, Gartner suggests selecting a DAM system that accommodates the deployment of generative AI, which can draw from your existing library of assets to create new content. [3] Leveraging these technologies effectively can be a huge time saver.

2. Adopt AI strategies and best practices to uphold social media standards

“The three key elements of responsible, high-quality AI-driven marketing are human oversight, ethical usage, and” explains Bullas. “These elements help safeguard the brand’s reputation, protect against biases, and ensure that AI is used as a valuable tool rather than just a crutch.”

“The key is to train everyone on how to not put our company at risk, or expose us to potential liability,” adds Didner.

Both Bullas and Didner warn of so-called AI slop, where over-reliance on AI degrades content quality, and could put your business at risk. “AI slop is low-quality, poorly produced content, generated by artificial intelligence,” explains Bullas. “The content feels rushed, unpolished, or not properly vetted, which diminishes its value and credibility.” 

To avoid sloppy AI-generated content, Bullas and Didner advise business leaders to:

• Avoid rigid content schedules: If there’s nothing substantial to post, avoid sticking to a strict content schedule. This prevents the risk of publishing low-quality or irrelevant content.
• A/B test AI-generated content: Regularly conduct A/B tests on AI-generated content to monitor and compare engagement rates. This helps determine which versions resonate more with your audience and allows for data-driven decisions.
• Implement a “human in the loop” strategy: Build a process where a human creativity and “point of view” is applied to AI outputs. “Get an editor to look at whether it has coherence and clarity,” says Bullas. This ensures that content aligns with your brand’s voice and standards, adding a layer of quality control.

These policies and processes are not just “nice to have.” They provide important guidance for employees to get the most out of these tools and mitigate risk. A Capterra survey found that almost all (95%) of respondents in Australia are concerned that GenAI-generated social media content might spread misinformation that could harm the company, and 22% of respondents reported that their company does not have a GenAI policy in place.

“The biggest challenge of including GenAI in your social strategy is how to scale. It’s OK for individuals like us to optimise our workflows and choose the AI tools we want to use because it only impacts us, but what if we need to build AI into the team’s workflows? Suddenly, we need to take into account how others will use AI tools,” says Didner.

The increasing use of GenAI tools introduces new complexities, but creating thoughtful AI policies, processes, and training will help your team see the benefits these tools can provide.

Didner highlights the importance of having structured workflows to maintain high standards. Workflow management software streamlines tasks to ensure business activities are executed effectively. It is essential for creating processes that ensure content integrity and quality through necessary review steps. This tool can help you:

• Enhance operational efficiency and safeguard content integrity: Features such as workflow configuration support operational efficiency and help maintain content integrity. This capability allows for easier setup of workflow templates for different kinds of social posts. Read more in Capterra's guide here.

• Support high-quality content production: Didner emphasises the importance of human review and creativity in these processes. Individuals can bring a unique and important point of view when evaluating AI-generated content to ensure it aligns with campaign goals and adheres to brand guidelines.

3. Prioritise AI expertise when assessing potential hires and agencies

Didner notes, “Eventually, your ability to use AI will be a given. People will just basically say, 'You need to have that skill set, no matter what.'” As the role of social marketers evolves, AI proficiency becomes increasingly important to help drive business performance.

Capterra found that 71% of marketers in Australia believe GenAI tools can replace humans for advanced tasks in marketing departments.* Bullas doesn’t believe that will be the case. He explains it all depends on how you look at the role of AI: “You shouldn’t think about AI as a tool that will replace humans, but rather as an enhancement that amplifies your creativity. Then, you will be surprised by your emerging creative superpowers.”

Future hires or agencies should not only have traditional marketing skills but also the ability to leverage AI tools effectively. Bullas considers these to be crucial AI skill sets:

• AI-powered content creation.
• Personalisation and AI-targeting.
• Using chatbots for automated customer engagement. 
• Using AI for video and editing. 
• Using AI-powered predictive analytics.
• Using AI-powered SEO tools.

“But the most important are not your skills but your attitude,” says Bullas.  and the right mindset to learn. To be curious and passionate about AI and the social media landscape.”

Beyond the hands-on skills, transparency and ethics in AI usage are equally crucial. Capterra found that companies that primarily employ in-house staff to produce social media content are significantly more likely to always label their AI-generated content versus those whose content is produced primarily by external agencies or freelancers.

When content creation is outsourced, businesses might be unaware that AI was used, and are at risk of spreading inaccurate information about their products or services that could be harmful to consumers and their brand's reputation. Some companies have started to label content as AI-generated to maintain trust, and Meta, Google, and TikTok have implemented AI-generated content labels on their platforms.

Whether your company decides to label all AI-generated content or not, it's important to ensure transparency from employees and agencies. If your team members and agency relationships are open about AI usage it will help maintain brand integrity and trust with your audience.

A recent Gartner report found that the majority of CMOs are planning to increase spending on agencies in the next year, and could be motivated by a desire to use GenAI in new ways and ahead of the competition. [4] When you hire asocial media marketing agency, they must meet your standards regarding their use of AI. Here are some actionable tips:

• Assess transparency in AI usage: Verify that the agency communicates to you when AI is used in content creation. This transparency helps prevent the spread of misinformation and maintains brand integrity.
• Align with your AI policies: Ensure the agency’s practices align with your company’s AI policies and ethical guidelines. This will likely become the norm for agency agreements in the future. Gartner predicts that “most brands will require vendors and agency partners to have clear policies around the use of GenAI to ensure partners meet responsible use standards.” [4]

Boost your social media strategy with the power of GenAI

Integrating generative AI into your social media marketing strategy can significantly enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Here’s how you can ensure success:

• Use the AI tech you have or find new tools: Focus on AI features and applications that offer the most significant benefits for your social media strategy.
• Develop robust AI policies: Establish clear guidelines to safeguard content quality and ensure the ethical use of AI.
• Ensure AI proficiency: Hire and train team members and agencies to effectively leverage AI tools.

Ready to make the most out of AI-driven marketing tools? Explore our directories of digital asset management, and workflow management systems. These tools can help you create, manage, and distribute high-quality, consistent content that resonates with your audience.