AI in Social Media: How to Use it Wisely

AI in social media goes beyond predicting trends, personalizing content and automating posting. Today, AI enables creative thinking and storytelling in a way the average human mind cannot comprehend. 

Have you ever just scrolled through your social feed and come across the coolest, most creative brand content? Believe it or not, all that eye-catching creativity is often powered by AI. Yes, you heard that right!  

Today, smart brands are using artificial intelligence to revolutionize their social media, transforming how they connect with audiences. You’ve probably heard a lot about AI this, AI that — but when it comes to social media, AI isn’t just crunching numbers anymore. It’s unleashing creativity and telling compelling stories. 

Take Heinz’s “Draw Ketchup” campaign from 2023, for example. In partnership with branding agency Rethink Ideas, Heinz decided to launch the first-ever social media and print ad campaign with visuals generated entirely by the AI image generator DALL-E 2. Heinz asked the tool to generate the first picture it associated with the prompt “ketchup.” Astonishingly, the tool drew images that looked just like Heinz bottles! This happened not once, but every time it was fed ketchup-based prompts like “ketchup in outer space” and “ketchup scuba diving.”

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The best creations were featured in social media posts, proving that just like humans, AI prefers Heinz. This AI-driven approach not only showcased Heinz's iconic brand but also drove massive social media engagement, resulting in over 850 million impressions worldwide.   

This is just one of the examples of AI turning a simple idea into a viral social media sensation. And we believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. The best of AI is yet to come. 

Well, if you’re still using AI as just an automation assistant, this blog will be an eye-opener for you. Read on to unpack innovative, game-changing ways to use AI in social media.  

Role of AI in transforming social media 

Social media can be a total rollercoaster, right? One minute you're raking in the likes, the next you're scratching your head wondering why your content is falling flat. Well, the secret to sustained social media success might just lie in the power of AI. 

According to The State of Social Media 2024 report, 63% of US B2B marketers in 2023 credited AI with boosting their revenue and lead generation and 75% of marketers are planning to use AI to enhance customer experiences on social media. These numbers speak for themselves — AI-driven strategies are making waves. 

So, how does AI work its magic? By diving deep into audience behavior and preferences, AI helps you craft content that truly resonates. Plus, it takes the hassle out of your marketing campaigns, by simplifying everything from content creation to scheduling. 

Recent surveys show that brands using AI for social media management cut content creation time by 50% and 54% of organizations are seeing cost savings using AI. This means more time for your team to focus on the big picture and boost that social media ROI. 

But wait, there’s more! 

Now, with generative AI entering the fray, the possibilities are endless. GenAI-powered social media marketing has the human touch that plain AI lacks. Content moderation and response personalization have become a breeze with GenAI doing the heavy lifting for marketers, freeing their bandwidth for strategic thinking. 

It goes without saying that if you want to stay ahead of the curve and keep your social media game strong, it's time to embrace the power of AI. Trust us, your followers (and your bottom line) will thank you.

Impact of Social Media Marketing on Businesses

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10 Ways to use AI in social media 

Let’s look at the many ways marketers and creators can use AI in social media to improve productivity from tactical and operational standpoints. 

1. Content generation 

It’s no secret that content creation is one of the cornerstones of social media and one of the most complex, time-consuming parts of the marketing process. But today, there are AI-powered content creation tools (like Canva and Lumen5 along with generative AI tools like ChatGPT) that can simplify and optimize the end-to-end content lifecycle for us.  

How so? 

AI tools help generate ideas for social media posts, suggesting variants for different objectives, audiences and channels. They generate a steady stream of high-quality content, captions, templates, grids and even filters tailored to embody your social media persona. What's more, these AI algorithms analyze user data, such as engagement patterns and content preferences to create content that strikes the chord with your target audience.  

As an AI-first brand, we love to use generative AI for social media content creation. Its user friendliness, scalability and efficiency are matchless. Take ChatGPT, for instance, that we used to create a catchy social media caption. 👇  

Prompt: “Chat, could you help me come up with an Instagram caption for my latest post on mental health awareness?” 

Response: 

Voila! There we have it, a caption with relevant hashtags, emoticons and a social-savvy tone in under 1 minute! 

👉 Bonus Read: ChatGPT for Social Media: 7 Best Use Cases 

But AI doesn’t stop there. It can also curate content from across the web, saving you time and ensuring your feed stays fresh and exciting. Take The Washington Post, for example. Its Heliograf AI system automates data-led news reports on sports and election results, freeing up its reporters to dive into more complex stories. This not only saves time and cuts costs but also keeps its news coverage comprehensive and timely. 

AI does all of this faster and better than any traditional method, automating the tedious work and offering insights that help you connect with your audience. This means more time for you to focus on big-picture strategies and creative brainstorming.  

🧩 Generate 10x Content with Sprinklr AI+  

If you’re keen to try an advanced social media management platform infused with GenAI capabilities, look no further than Sprinklr AI+. Apart from ChatGPT, it integrates with 4 prevalent GenAI models, giving you uninhibited access to human-like social content, comments, visuals and more.  

Click here to book a demo and see the magic happen! 🌟 

 2. Social listening 

Staying on top of what people are saying about your brand on social media can be overwhelming. Luckily, AI-powered social listening can make this task much easier and more effective.  

While social listening has been around for a while now, AI has made it razor-sharp. It can parse conversations more accurately, using natural language processing (NLP) to overcome inhibitions like regional dialects and grammatical flaws that would previously distort insights. 

Let’s discuss some more refinements AI lends to social listening:   

• Monitor brand mentions: AI can track brand mentions across multiple social media platforms in real time, focusing on relevant conversations and giving you a crystal-clear picture of your brand’s perception and share of voice. 
• Analyze competitor activity: AI keeps tabs on your competitors too by analyzing their activity and shedding light on their strategies, strengths and weaknesses. Simply use the AI insights to adjust your approach and stay ahead of the pack. 
• Social media sentiment analysis: Understanding the sentiment behind social media conversations is crucial. AI analyzes your brand mentions and categorizes them as positive, negative or neutral, enabling you to address issues promptly before they snowball into full-blown PR crises or follower churn. 

3. Predictive analytics for targeted marketing 

Predicting your audience’s needs and preferences can feel impossible, but AI makes it achievable. AI-powered predictive analytics uses historical social media data to forecast products, features or content that will resonate with your target audience. By identifying users most likely to be interested in your offerings, you can remove the guesswork from social media advertising, target your ad better and boost your ROI. 

Let’s imagine you run a travel company. If you want to promote a new package deal for a beach vacation, AI can identify users who have recently searched for beach vacations, engaged with your brand on social media and have a high likelihood of converting. Armed with this information, you can create targeted ads. 

Wait, there’s more. 

AI excels at identifying patterns and trends in large datasets that human analysts might miss. It can quickly find hidden correlations and insights in a dataset with millions of data points. It also allows for real-time analysis and adjustments. If you're running a social media campaign, AI can monitor campaign performance and make instant adjustments to your strategy, ensuring you don’t lose money or goodwill.

The Human Touch: How personalised experiences can drive business growth

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4. Influencer identification 

If live influencers are beyond your budget, AI can conjure virtual influencers in a jiffy. Influencers like Lil Miquela are entirely AI-generated and trump many human influencers in terms of followership on social media. These CGI influencers are managed by AI, allowing brands to have complete control over their imagery and messaging. They engage with followers just like human influencers, promoting products, participating in trends and truly representing your brand to amplify your social media presence. 

However, if human influencers are more your thing, AI can be your trusty sidekick. It can identify potential influencers for your brand by analyzing tons of variables and weeding out the fakes.  

Here's how AI simplifies influencer discovery: 

• AI tools efficiently analyze influencers' engagement rates and follower counts, ensuring you select influencers who genuinely connect with their audience. 
• AI detects fake followers by analyzing patterns in follower activity and engagement rates. This ensures you partner with genuine influencers who have a real, engaged audience. 
• AI evaluates the brand affinities, expertise and core values of influencers on your radar, shortlisting the ones who align with your brand value. 

Interesting Read: The State of AI in Influencer Marketing [Released for 2024] 

5. Real-time trend monitoring   

Keeping up with the fast-paced world of social media trends can be overwhelming – especially if you’re manually tracking and analyzing them across multiple platforms. It’s not only time-consuming but also prone to delays and inaccuracies. This is where AI steps in, transforming trend monitoring into a painless, automated process. 

AI constantly scans social media for trending topics, keywords and hashtags, providing up-to-date insights on what’s gaining traction. You can react to trends as they happen, creating timely content and engaging with your audience in real time. The best part? AI translates raw data into actionable, digestible visual insights that can be used by all stakeholders with ease. 

👉 Free Resource: Top 10 Social Media Monitoring Tools in 2024 

One brand that leverages AI for trendspotting like a pro is McDonald’s. When the “Grimace shake” trend went viral on TikTok, McDonald’s quickly jumped onto the bandwagon with a witty Grimace meme in its Grimace’s Birthday campaign, showcasing its ability to stay on top of trends and connect with its audience.

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Spotify is another brand that uses AI to analyze vast amounts of data from user listening habits, social media and other sources to predict and identify emerging music trends. This allows it to create personalized playlists and recommendations for users in real-time. For instance, its “Discover Weekly” and “Release Radar” playlists are curated using AI algorithms that monitor and predict trends based on user behavior and preferences. 

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6. Ad budgeting, bidding and testing 

Social media ad management requires continuous monitoring and adjustment to ensure ads reach the right audience at the right cost. Traditional tools often fall short in optimizing these processes, leading to inefficient spending and suboptimal ad performance. This is where AI steps in. 

Without AI, managing these tasks manually can be overwhelming and error prone. You need to continuously monitor performance, tweak settings and balance your budget. One mistake and you could be wasting money or missing out on potential customers. 

But how is AI making this better? 

• Setting the right budget for your social media ad campaigns can be hard, especially when you're dealing with limited resources and a constantly changing landscape. AI analyzes data from past ad campaigns, audience behavior and market trends to distribute your budget effectively, ensuring every dollar counts. 
• AI sets competitive bids by analyzing your target audience, competition and objectives, maximizing visibility without overspending. 
• Testing different ad creatives with so many variables to consider can be challenging, not knowing where to start. AI runs A/B tests, identifies top-performing ad creatives and strategies, and applies the best options in real-time. 

Consider Naomi Simson, an entrepreneur and host on Shark Tank Australia, who owns RedBalloon, an online gifts and experiences company. She was spending $45,000 per month on ad agencies, with a high customer acquisition cost. She turned to an AI tool called Albert, which managed targeting, testing and budgets. Albert tested thousands of ad variations daily and optimized performance, leading to a 3,000% ROAS and a 25% reduction in marketing costs. 

7. Customer service 

Providing efficient customer service on social media can be a daunting task owing to the volume of inquiries, the need for quick responses and the expectation of 24/7 availability. This is where AI-driven customer service solutions come into play. 

• AI chatbots offer round-the-clock support, answering FAQs, booking appointments, taking orders, addressing grievances and resolving issues at any time, which is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction. 
• AI can manage routine and repetitive inquiries efficiently, freeing human agents to focus on more complex and nuanced customer issues. 
• AI chatbots can provide personalized responses by analyzing customer data and previous interactions, enhancing the overall customer experience. 

Take a cue from Domino’s Pizza. It uses an AI chatbot named “Dom” on X and Facebook Messenger to take orders, track deliveries and answer customer queries. This ensures quick and efficient customer service, day or night. 

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❌ Don’t burn out your agents: Customers expect 24/7 and non-stop social customer service, but your support agents need their downtime. To address out-of-hours queries, take the help of generative AI chatbots that can mimic human agents and moderate their tone without missing a beat. Curious to learn more? Register for a free demo today.    

8. Image and video recognition 

AI empowers you to track visual mentions on social media and stay informed of potential crisis situations with AI-powered alerts. The diversity of content on social media presents a challenge for traditional social media management tools, as they struggle to process multimedia that abounds on social networks.  

AI-aided visual recognition also comes in handy during content curation. Manually categorizing and analyzing images and videos can be overwhelming and erroneous. AI helps by automating this process, making it faster and more accurate. 

AI, or computer vision, teaches machines to “see” images the same way people do. It can recognize objects, pinpoint their location and orientation and categorize them accurately. 

Moreover, AI can quickly analyze large volumes of images and videos, providing information on the number of objects, labeling them correctly and making comparisons with a vast library of images. 

Lastly, AI enhances visual search functions, such as facial recognition and QR code scanning, making it easier to find and categorize visual content. 

Pinterest’s “Lens” feature is a great example of AI being used for image recognition. When users take a photo, the AI analyzes the image to identify objects and patterns, then suggests visually similar pins. This helps users discover more content that matches their preferences, enhancing their overall experience.

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9. Post scheduling 

While posting content on social channels, figuring out the best times to post on social media and maintaining a consistent posting schedule for social media can be daunting, right? Posting at the wrong times can lead to low engagement and missed opportunities, while juggling a content calendar week after week is no easy task. 

Manually identifying the best posting times requires extensive analysis of user activity patterns, which can be time-consuming and prone to inaccuracies, especially for brands with a high volume of content. This is where an AI-powered social media management platform enters the picture. 

• AI continuously monitors user activity patterns, identifying peak times for engagement. 
• It automatically schedules posts at optimal times, freeing up time for social media teams to focus on content creation and strategy. 
• AI helps manage the content calendar, ensuring that posts are evenly distributed and aligned with campaign goals. 

Good to know: How to Schedule Social Media Posts in Bulk: 5 Easy Ways 

Did you know? 

You can supercharge your social media strategy with an advanced Scheduler with in-built GenAI!  

Here's how it spices up your content game: 

🚀 Quick scheduling: Schedule and publish your social posts in seconds. Zero wait time! 

🖥️ One dashboard for all channels: Manage 10+ social channels from a single place. Create, schedule and view all your posts at a glance. 

📅 AI-optimized timing: Let AI pick the perfect times for posting, boosting your engagement sky-high.

Ready to hand over control to GenAI?  

Grab your trial of Sprinklr Social Media Scheduler and Publisher, on the house for 30 days 🔽. 

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10. Analyze performance 

Tracking multiple social media metrics can get overwhelming but it’s vital for marketing success. Understanding user engagement, campaign effectiveness and ROI requires analyzing extensive datasets which is the forte of AI. 

AI analytics tools continuously monitor and analyze social media performance to deliver up-to-date insights about user engagement, content reach and campaign effectiveness, offering a holistic view of performance and allowing for on-the-fly adjustments. 

AI identifies trends and patterns that may not be immediately obvious but can have far-reaching implications on your performance. This enables precise, data-driven strategy adjustments to improve results. 

The 6 key advantages of AI in social media

AI is transforming the way we leverage social media, making everything more efficient, personalized and engaging. Here are some key benefits it brings to the table: 

Increased efficiency and accuracy 

AI-powered tools automate tasks like content generation and performance analysis, saving your team precious time and eliminating creative blocks. With over 55% of global influencers reporting that AI helps them work faster and more efficiently, it’s clear that your team can now focus on more important activities. 

Better audience targeting 

AI analyzes user behaviors as well as prevalent social media demographics to pinpoint the most relevant audience for your campaigns. Laser-sharp targeting helps accelerate your attainment of social media goals.  

Improved customer service 

AI-powered chatbots offer 24/7 social customer support delivering on the expectation of 55% of customers. 

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Cost reduction 

Automating tasks with AI reduces the need for manual labor, lowering overall marketing costs. AI tools can perform data analysis and generate insights much faster than human analysts, cutting down on time and expenses. Businesses using AI for marketing can see cost savings of up to 37%. 

Personalized content recommendations 

AI learns from user behavior to deliver personalized content and recommendations. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram use AI to suggest posts, pages and groups that interest users, keeping them engaged and increasing the time spent on the platform. These personalized recommendations can boost user engagement by up to 60%. 

Real-time performance tracking 

AI tools monitor campaign performance in real-time, offering insights into engagement and ROI. This data-driven approach can increase the effectiveness of your social media marketing and its returns. 

Ethical considerations of AI usage in social media 

AI in social media offers numerous benefits, but it also raises important ethical questions. Here are some key ethical considerations to keep in mind: 

Privacy concerns: Ever wonder how much of your personal data is being collected and used? AI algorithms analyze tons of user data to personalize content and ads. It's crucial that users are informed about these practices and have control over their data. No one likes feeling spied on! 

Bias and fairness: AI can unintentionally perpetuate biases in the data it learns from. This means some groups might be unfairly treated or represented. To combat this, AI models need to be trained on diverse datasets and checked regularly for bias.  

Transparency: Wouldn’t you like to know when you’re chatting with a bot or seeing AI-generated content? Transparency is key. Clear labeling and communication help maintain trust and prevent misunderstandings. After all, honesty is the best policy! 

Accountability: If an AI system makes a bad call, who’s responsible? Brands must establish clear accountability for their AI tools' actions and decisions, ensuring there's always human oversight.  

Manipulation and misinformation: AI can create persuasive content, which can be used to spread misinformation or propaganda. Social media platforms need robust policies and tools to detect and combat fake news.

Job displacement: Worried about AI taking over jobs? The automation of tasks by AI might lead to job displacement in many fields. While AI can enhance efficiency, it is essential to consider the social impact of reduced employment opportunities. Brands should think about the impact on their workforce and look into retraining and upskilling options. It’s all about adapting.

Ethical use of data: Using AI to enhance user experience is great, but it shouldn't exploit user data. Following ethical guidelines ensures data is used responsibly and for the benefit of users. Let’s play nice with data!

👉 Read Sprinklr’s continued commitment to responsible AI  

The future of AI in social media 

Imagine a world where your social media feed feels like it’s been handcrafted just for you, brands respond in seconds, ads are organic and your data is safe. This is the future of AI in social media, transforming our digital interactions in ways we never imagined. 

In today’s bustling digital landscape, AI has become the silent architect behind every scroll, click and share. Let’s turn the pages real quick to see what AI has in store for us: 

Chapter 1: The personal touch 

It’s 2024 and AI has taken personalization to new heights already. You log into your social media account and find a world crafted just for you. From personalized videos on TikTok to custom product recommendations on Instagram, AI is advancing to make this and beyond a reality – making the online experience more engaging and relevant. Think about never having to search for interesting, tailored posts again; AI will do it for you. 

👉 Recommended Read: Personalization Is the Cornerstone of Effective Marketing 

Chapter 2: The creative powerhouse – GenAI 

Generative AI in social media is already making waves by creating content from scratch. Think text-to-image, image-to-video and beyond. This technology will continue to evolve, helping marketers generate creative ideas, craft humanized content and manage social media tasks more efficiently. The future holds even more advanced AI tools that will make content creation a breeze. 

Chapter 3: The efficiency revolution 

Behind the scenes today, AI is the unsung hero, automating routine tasks such as content creation and scheduling. In the future, AI will take over even more tasks, freeing up marketers to focus on strategy and creativity. 

Chapter 4: The ethical path 

As AI continues to advance, ethical considerations will become more prominent. Concerns about data privacy, the authenticity of AI-generated content and the need for transparency will be at the forefront. Future AI developments will focus on balancing these issues, ensuring that technology enhances user trust and maintains a human touch. 

👉 Interesting Read: Harnessing AI Without Losing the Human Touch 

Chapter 5: The market boom  

The AI in social media market is booming, projected to hit USD 3481 million by 2032. This growth will drive continuous innovation, providing brands with tools to gain deeper insights and create more personalized interactions.  

As Marketing Guru, Ann Handley, rightly put it:

Chapter 6: New frontiers with emerging platforms 

Emerging platforms like Butterflies are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI and blockchain technology. These platforms aim to create more authentic, creative and user-empowered social media experiences.   

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Imagine a social media landscape where user contributions are valued and transparency is the norm. This is the future of social media innovation. 

Conclusion 

The future of social media is already here, and it’s AI-powered – content being crafted just for you, creative ideas flowing like magic and efficiency being taken to a whole new level. 

But this is just the beginning. As Ragy Thomas, CEO of Sprinklr, aptly states, "The future of social media is AI-powered and the brands that embrace this technology will be the ones that thrive in the years to come." By harnessing the transformative power of AI, social media platforms and brands can unlock unprecedented levels of engagement, efficiency and business impact. 

So, what are you waiting for? Embrace the AI revolution and watch your social media game soar. And with Sprinklr by your side, you're not just keeping up with trends — you’re setting them.

Try it out right here 👇