AI for business

I’m what people usually describe as a senior citizen, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve got a closed mind to the latest technology.  I’ve heard people much, much younger than me express doubt that AI is a good thing (and a few people say that they’re too old to get involved with all this AI stuff). 

I believe that age is a state of mind and that the day I stop being curious and willing to explore is when I’ll really get old!

With that in mind, I’ve been playing with a whole host of different AI tools. 

Content creation

These days most people have discovered ChatGPT, but it’s not the answer to everything and there are others that do as well – or better – depending on the task.  Claude works well for long content and there’s Microsoft Co-Pilot, not to mention Perplexity and, of course, the latest offering from China, DeepSeek.

Check out NotebookLM too, it can create summaries, lead magnets, checklists, surveys and much more.

My advice is to check whatever is produced, as there have been instances where the AI has invented information and references.

Top tip:  If you’re asking the AI to write marketing copy, include in your brief ‘write in the style of a professional copywriter’.

To be honest the content I’ve had from some of these has been pretty bland and expanding a 350 word article to 700 words has resulted in a generous sprinkling of adjectives, rather than more meat!  However, if you’re not a professional writer you can get plenty of content using AI.  Bear in mind that, if you want the AI to develop to write in your style, you’ll need to invest time and effort in training it.

I don’t use it to write for my clients as I prefer to create original content in their voice, but it’s been useful to generate ideas and a lot of ideas for headlines.

Handy tools to save time

I love Founderpal!  This is a marketing AI assistant.  The best tool of all is the User Persona Generator.  You put in your industry and your ideal client and the persona generator produces a profile showing their problems, pains, goals, benefits, triggers and barriers.  While it may need a bit of tweaking, it’s a huge leap from that blank piece of paper you’re starting with.

Gamma is invaluable if you’re creating lots of slide decks.  Slide decks take time, but give Gamma short brief and it will create a complete deck for you.  Again, you may need to do some judicious editing, but it saves hours.

If you want video content check out invideo. It has the tools for you to create your own videos, adding voice and music – or give it a text brief and it will create your video for you.  Other useful tools for videos are GetMunch, Opus and Alphana – all of which will take a longer video and clip it intelligently into short clips for social media.

Make your content work harder – use Voicepen to turn your videos into blog posts, or transcribe audio recordings to text.

Are you writing content that needs illustrating? You need Napkin! Paste your text in and Napkin will create visual – with a ton of options, so, if you don’t like one, there are dozens of other alternatives.

Thinking of hosting a podcast? Take a look at ElevenLabs.  You upload a content file and choose a voice (the paid version can clone your own voice) and press a button!  It even creates a conversation with two people discussing whatever content you give it.

This is just the tip of the iceberg – and none of these are complicated to use. 

And if you think these are mind-blowing, wait until TikTok’s OmniHuman-1 launches!

Webinar magic

Even if you’d never attended an online event before, lockdown probably changed that for you.  Instead of jumping in the car and meeting face-to-face, we all got to grips with online platforms like Zoom and Remo (and many others).

Online meetings have retained their currency as people realised that you don’t have to be in the same room with others to get things done.  Zoom, Teams and GoogleMeet have all gained massive usage in the past few years, where previously only a few people used these tools.

GoToMeeting was the domain of webinars and mass promotional meetings with hundreds of participants.  Although there were others, this one was usually at the top of the list for professional promoters.  Zoom has carved a large chunk of that market out now as the preferred platform.

However, it doesn’t matter what your chosen platform is – as long as it works.  What does matter is what you can use it for.

Why a webinar works

Now we’re all used to attending webinars, it makes sense to use them to expand your reach to more people.  You can deliver webinars:

• To share your knowledge
• To educate your audience
• To promote your offer

Or a combination of all these.  If all you do is sell, people will switch off, but if you share good content, people don’t mind the offer, it just depends on how it’s delivered.

When your webinar is stuffed with great content that genuinely delivers value, more people will be interested in buying a more in-depth service or product.  If they don’t buy, they’ll still have had a positive experience and may buy at some point in the future.

The secret of making sales is to have

1. A good sized audience
2. Who are highly focused – i.e. they are exactly who your offer can help
3. Have already received great value
4. Can see exactly how the offer will benefit them
5. Will get a reduced price or something exclusive that isn’t available elsewhere.

The offer needs to be ethical, of real value and with a great reason to buy – and remember, people buy people.  So they’re not just buying your offer, they’re also buying you.

People that Tony Robbins mentors nearly always bring him into the mix when they’re doing online presentations.  His reputation not only swells the audience size, but means that the offer comes with validation built in.  

That doesn’t mean you need a big name to back you, but you do have to be able to offer some kind of validation.

Get your ducks in a row

Even the big names in webinar delivery work hard on the pre-event marketing.  That means social posts and ads, on Facebook, Google, interruption ads on games, etc.  As the saying goes ‘speculate to accumulate’.

If you don’t do this for free webinars, you’ll end up with three people and maybe your Mum!  Even if 20 people have registered, free events have a big drop out rate.

What can you do to get registrants to actually turn up?

1. A ‘hot’ title – with something that is specifically for your audience.  
2. Reminder emails, at least the day before and on the day an hour before, 15 minutes before and at go live time.  Include the link in every email to make it easy to join in.
3. A teaser – e.g. ‘Don’t miss this as I’ll be sharing the strategy that netted £10,000 in just 30 days’ or ‘I’ll be sharing the secrets that let me double my fees – and my client base’.  Know your audience and what they want.
4. Scarcity – e.g. only 30 places – first come, first served.  If you don’t log in on time, you could miss out.

Practise your presentation, including the offer, with your slides, if you’re using these.  This helps things to go smoothly on the live event.

Make sure you are comfortable using your chosen platform (Zoom or GoToMeeting or whichever you choose).  Know your way around the tools.

If you’re going to encourage participation in the chat, have someone else in your team monitor it, so you aren’t trying to present and respond at the same time.

Plan, Practise and Perform – and your webinars will work!

What is marketing?

I go to networking meetings regularly and so I often get asked ‘What do you do?’  It’s hard to explain it in one word or a short phrase, so it can end up being more of a list.  Many people are surprised at some of the things we do – and that led to this blog!

Our team focus mostly on content – usually written or image based – it’s all about helping our clients to maintain a shiny, positive and influential reputation.  These activities are how we do that.

Consulting: to develop an understanding of the ideal client and create a plan that will reach them effectively.

Web copy: structure and content for your website to engage visitors and make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for.

Blog articles: to share knowledge and expertise.

Social media posts: to retain visibility, get attention and extend reach.

Profiles and biographies: for LinkedIn, other social platforms and for third parties.

Newsletters: to nurture and educate your list.

Email campaigns: to promote your products and services – and to deliver added value.

Lead magnets: to attract new people to your list.

Lead funnels: a process to move people from ‘sign up for free’ to paying customers.

Award entries: to raise profile in your industry and the business community.

Articles for publication: thought-leader articles, profiles/interview-style pieces, press releases for the media.

Scripts: for videos, webinars and podcasts to present your knowledge, information and offers effectively.

Ebooks: to educate your target audience about your depth and breadth of knowledge.

Books: development, editing and marketing of a full length book for publication both digitally and as a hard copy book.

CVs and professional profiles: to present you effectively for those who want more in depth information.

Every marketer is different, and marketing is a catch-all term, so when you engage a marketer or marketing agency, be clear about what you want and choose someone who gets you and your business.

Newsletter nurturing

Your newsletter is a powerful tool.  It’s a direct route to more business, if you use it well.

Let’s be honest, nobody wants another newsletter, so people won’t just ask to be on your list (with a few very rare exceptions).  You need to offer an ethical bribe to encourage people to join your list – then to deliver great value to keep them on your list.

Build your list

Your lead magnet (the ethical bribe) offers something free that your target audience will see to be of value.  The better targeted this is to the kind of people you want to attract, the more power your list will have.  My advice to clients is to create a lead magnet that is very specific to their ideal client, rather than of broad interest.  The problem with generic lead magnets is that a lot of the people who sign up for it will not be potential clients and then your list will take a lot more work to monetise.

Obviously, the online platforms that specialise in email marketing  - like AWeber, Mailerlite, ConstantContact, MailChimp, etc. include an automated unsubscribe option, but a good newsletter will keep your readers engaged.  TIP:  Don’t try and use your own email platform – that’s the quickest way to get your account shut down!

Lead with value

Nobody wants to know what your business is doing – unless there’s a significant benefit to them.  But people are thirsty for information, that’s what you lead with – the how to, step-by-step guides, checklists, tips, etc. that will give them useful information.

That doesn’t mean you can’t include offers too.  Whether your offer is a seasonal special or something exclusive to your newsletter readers, make sure that the headline taps into ‘what’s in it for me’ and is concise and focused.

Create your own style

The newsletters that I engage best with have a very personal style that makes me feel like the writer is speaking directly to me.  It needs to be appropriate for your business, but showing your human side is the best way to get people to continue to engage with your email and open your newsletter every time it lands.

Marketing to your list

Many people are worried that sending pure marketing emails to their newsletter list will result in lots of unsubscribes.  However, remember that people have signed up because they want what you offer in expertise.  Offering services or products that are related is not going to upset them – they may not choose to buy, but some will.

The secret of good email marketing is to deliver value in every communication – as well as making your offer.

Look after your list and it will develop into a powerful marketing tool.

Social strategies

Social media is powerful – even people who ‘hate’ social media, can’t avoid the fact that it has an impact on their business and on them personally.

The secret of successful social media is to know:

• Who your audience are
• Where they’re active
• What they engage with best
• How you can help them

These are the questions I get asked most often about social media?

How often should I post?

This is a ‘how long is a piece of string?’ question!  There are no hard and fast rules.  Some people will tell you to post daily, others say you don’t need to.  Personally, I think the frequency is less important than the quality of content.  

There is not a ‘one size fits all’ answer.  Look at what other people in your area of expertise are doing – and how many followers and comments they get.  That doesn’t mean you should post at the same rate, but it will give you an idea of what is working – and what isn’t.

Do I need to post on all the social platforms?

No.  There’s nothing wrong with maintaining a presence on the major platforms, but a weekly post may be enough for these.  Focus your effort on the platform(s) where your target audience are most active and engage with them on that platform.

What should I post?

This is a huge question and the answer is specific to each business.  There is a long list of potential content for posts – but lots of bland posts won’t work.  Think about your audience, what do they want?  What can you post that will attract their attention and deliver value to them?

Endless branded posts don’t work.  Consider the person who is seeing the post, will it capture their attention or will they skip past it?  Are they interested in the content or not?  I see companies trying to ‘be human’, by presenting profiles of different members of their team – but how does that add value for potential clients?  If there’s something that person does that will make a significant difference to a client, then by all means highlight that – but be selective about how much information you offer.

People like video, but only if the video has either entertainment value or is of use to them.  Think about that when you’re putting content together.

A testimonial is great third party validation – but only if there are clear positive outcomes attached to it.

A quotation may be interesting – but only with your spin on it.  Quotes are all over the internet, why have you chosen this particular quotation.

Don’t be afraid to share other people’s posts if they’re relevant to your audience, that will enhance your reputation as a curator and source of good information.

So the answer to what to post is – deliver value, share your take on things and be unique.

How much time should I spend on social media?

Being a left-brained systems geek, I believe there’s nothing like a good system!  Our own social media is planned in batches, rather than on a day-to-day basis.  The same applies to our clients schedules.  We put together a spreadsheet showing the day, date, platform(s), image/video, text, hashtags and links.  This lends itself to having weekly themes or promotions and a regular feature post on a specific weekday – e.g. Marketing Monday, Wednesday Wisdom, Friday Fun, etc.

However, remember that there are two sides to social media.  Your posts – and engaging with other people’s posts.

If you are broadcast only, people will engage with you less, so follow your industry leaders and gurus, comment and engage with posts that interest you, support and appreciate other people’s content and they’ll repay the favour.

Connect with your current and past clients and engage with some of their posts – but be genuine and only comment if you have something useful to say.

I’d recommend scheduling a 10-15 minute session once or twice a day to do this.  It’s the sort of thing you can do while travelling (not if you’re driving, of course) or tack onto the end of your email inbox clearing.

*****

Social media marketing works – which is why the big companies invest hundreds of thousands of pounds in it.  Make it work for you!

Uncharted territory …

With a lovely new shiny year to explore, most people see the months ahead as uncharted territory.  Most of us measure the year by the calendar – you hear phrases like “I hope this year is going to be better than the last one,” or “Last year was amazing – now we just have to make this one even better!”

When people ask you ‘How is business?’, you’ll often respond in relation to the progress you’ve made this year – as in ‘since January’.

So now is the time to ensure you have plans in place that will ensure that your answer to questions like these are positive as the months progress.

What will make the difference for YOU?

I spent 2024 trying to do business development the ‘traditional’ way – but that has never been the way that my business has worked.  I spent a lot of time, effort and money on trying to do something that was not a good fit for me.  The minute I decided this was never going to work and that I would let go of trying to be a square peg in a round hole, things started to flow better.

What has worked best for you in the past?

Why did it work?

What do you have to do to leverage that?

How do you incorporate that into your business development plans?

How will you stand out from your competition?

Almost every business has competition, but even companies that offer the same products and services as you, have something that makes them different – and so do you.  It’s YOU!

People buy from people they like – and they buy into your take on your area of expertise.

Everyone won’t like you – but you don’t want to work with them, you want to find the clients who love you to bits and appreciate everything you do for them.  How will you ensure they know what they’re getting when they come to you for help?

That’s where establishing your reputation is essential.  What do they see you saying on social media?  What value do you deliver in your newsletter?  What do your blog articles explore – and how do they help the reader?  These are all ways to give potential clients a taste of what they’ll get if they work with you.

The other end of this is that you need to be very careful about everything you post into the public domain.  If you’re having a bad day, don’t have a rant on your social media platforms, if someone has upset you, naming and shaming may make you feel better, but it won’t help your reputation long-term.  Like it or not whatever you say publicly, personally or professionally, adds to how people see you.

What’s the plan, Stan!?

Reputation and success don’t happen by accident, they’re the result of what you actually do.  A great marketing plan sets out what you do, so you are building a strong foundation for everything your business is.

What will your reputation marketing plan include in the year ahead?