Feeling overwhelmed by the rise of GenAI? Don't worry, you're not alone. But here's the thing: nobody is coming to save you. As marketers, we have to carve out our place in the world of GenAI. We're not left behind—we're right where we need to be.
As a B2B enterprise marketer, I'm on a quest to discover my unique value proposition in this GenAI era and how to claim our power within it. I'm part of a Marketing AI Council with colleagues at the cutting edge of marketing and AI. I'll introduce some of them here as part of a series of posts I'm calling, 'Making GenAI Work for Work.' We'll explore topics to help us understand how we fit in without making it more complex or leaving anyone out.
Here are some steps to get started:
Learn how GenAI works. Learn the basic principles of GenAI and practice explaining them to others. This will demystify it, set the right expectations, and explain the risks. A few things need calling out. Never enter work IP or personal information into public language models such as ChatGPT. Keep an eye out for the less obvious risks of bias that can result from the data used to create the language model. And based on how GenAI works, it is designed to please you, which sometimes means it fabricates information or 'hallucinates.' It's your job to fact-check and verify.
Watch this video with Ethan Mollick and learn the basics: A Non-Techie's 10-Minute Guide to Using GenAI
Give yourself the freedom to fail.
Get messy. Ask all the questions. GenAI marketing experts are still a rarity. The best way to learn is by doing.
Actions to consider:
Sign up for the free versions of ChatGPT, Bard, Bing Image Creator, and others. Play around. Try asking it to explain ocean tides, compare design principles, or design featured graphics as I've done here. Keep the guardrails in mind: never enter personal info or work IP; use it ethically and legally.
Refine how you write a prompt. The better you get at it, the better results you'll get. As a prompt example, here is the one I used to create the art in this post: "In the pop art style, create a 744 x 400 pixel PNG format graphic image that uses a small set of cool blues, greens, and aqua colors. No human figures, only icons. Use a globe icon as the main compositional element. Combine that with a location pin in red inserted like it was poked in like a flag at the top of the world. Make the overall image hopeful and happy."
Listen to Paul Roetzer on the Marketing AI Institute podcast. Paul IS a marketing AI expert. You'll gain knowledge quickly through his smart, easy-to-understand insights.
Indulge your curiosity.
Here are some of the sources I am devouring right now. Share yours. Lace up your sneakers, pop in your headphones, and listen while you take a walk. Set aside 30–60 minutes a day to learn something new.
Here are some to consider:
For some big-picture context, listen to AI Will Save The World with Marc Andreessen and Martin Casado and read What is generative AI? Everything you need to know and The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier
For ongoing insight, regularly check in with these podcasts: CIO Exchange, Marketing AI Institute, and Last Week in AI.
If newsletters are your thing, One Useful Thing is excellent.
Own that you're more than a user.
I'm not just a user, and neither are you. With GenAI, we can automate tasks and processes. But the real magic happens when we blend our human perspective with this technology. As we move forward, standing out from the crowd and connecting in a distinctive way with our audience will only become more important. Consider how you can use new skills to evolve your professional profile to showcase your uniqueness (and awesomeness!).
Actions to consider:
Identify your uniqueness: think about the aspects of your personality and perspective that make you, well, you. Maybe you've got an uncanny ability to spot solutions where others only see problems. Whatever it is, find it, own it.
Harness personal experiences: GenAI is great at automating tasks, but it can't mimic our personal experiences that shape our viewpoints. Reflect on some life-changing experiences and how they've molded you as a marketer.
Dissect a dream job with ChatGPT: ask ChatGPT to draft a job description for your dream job. Alternatively, feed an existing job description of your dream job into ChatGPT and evaluate the GenAI skills you'd need to ace it. Use what you learn to identify gaps to start building up your skill set as an AI-immersed marketer.
Tap into your creativity.
A benefit of GenAI is its aptitude for inspiring imagination. Don't get bogged down in the GenAI use cases for efficiency, automation, and scale. Let it be a catalyst that helps you uncover imaginative ideas and inspire your interest. In no time at all, you'll find yourself using GenAI regularly.
There's no better time to start than today. Observers won't create the future of work. Doers, aided by GenAI, will create it. We're the doers. Let's get going!
About the graphics
The colorful pop art style reflects the bold, pioneering attitude we need to guide AI's impact on marketing. Our insight and empathy can steer this change toward empowering, rather than replacing, the human elements that build rapport with audiences.
About me
As a B2B enterprise marketer, I'm on a quest to define our unique value proposition in the age of AI. I'm the writer and editor of The Strategist Blog, where I explore AI's power to transform content creation and empower fellow marketers to shape the future of their work. That future is human-first, AI-powered. Let's go!
More posts in this series
Making GenAI Work for Work: The ROI of REAL Connection
Making GenAI Work for Work: Find Your Use Case
Making GenAI Work for Work: Create a Marketing AI Council