No, the friendly chatbot isn't coming after your job. Nevertheless, if you're a PR pro not using ChatGPT, you are wasting your precious time. These simple steps can help you harness its power and surge your productivity.
ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is all the rage right now and for good reason. The new AI chatbot is currently revolutionizing several industries and can be especially beneficial for publicists or professionals in public relations if used in the right ways. Using ChatGPT, you can now research, develop, identify customer values or changing trends, and strategize optimal campaigns for your clients in a matter of seconds.
In November 2022, the research lab OpenAI launched ChatGPT, their newest version of the language model chatbot — an artificial intelligence computer program that engages in human-like conversation in response to a given prompt. According to their website, the bot was trained to utilize both supervised and "Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback," and to be more accurate and creative than anything we've seen before. Needless to say, the world was transformed overnight.
Across TikTok, you'll find thousands of videos of people being wowed by the platform. It's grown so much that now people are figuring out how to monetize it, and if you're a public relations professional, you shouldn't be left in the dust. Here are the simple steps to using ChatGPT and developing your next winning public relations strategy today.
1. Just Ask
The chatbot can be prompted with any pressing task you have on hand. You have to be specific with your ask — this is the way to maximize utility. For example, if you're working on a PR strategy, make sure your prompt includes your request for a plan, as well as your target demographic and product category. Most importantly, remember to be clear about its purpose for public relations. A perfect prompt would be: "Can you write a public relations plan for a beauty brand targeted at a Gen Z audience?"
If you put in that prompt, ChatGPT should spit out six big strategy buckets to pay attention to. After you receive those six buckets, you can then ask clarifying questions in the same vein as your first question. So, for example, if you put in the prompt that we established, the first suggestion would be "social media presence." ChatGPT suggests that you help your client develop a strong presence on social media platforms popular amongst Gen Z such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
2. Get Really Specific
Not all chatbot answers will be correct, and this is where your hard-earned skills as a publicist can come in. After you review its first set of answers, you should dig into the points that make sense. A follow-up prompt that does just that can be: "Can you write a social media plan for a beauty brand targeted at a Gen Z demographic?" If you do this, the platform should provide you with precise steps for how to develop the desired social media plan. By diving deeper into each original bucket that is relevant, you can start developing the bones of a real strategy.
3. Use It As A Friendly Research Assistant
We spend a lot of time as communicators researching possible partners and targets for our campaigns. Have the friendly chatbot take the heavy lifting by drilling down even further on its answers. To continue with our example, after ChatGPT lists out what social media strategy to embark on, you can ask, "Who are the most popular beauty influencers amongst Gen Z?" This gives you a great starting point to develop a targeted list. ChatGPT doesn't know who is historically hard to work with, or who isn't within budget, so take its answers with a grain of salt. The list needs to be refined with your industry knowledge and relationships. That being said, the targets it spits out can serve as a framework for your lists. For example, it predicted James Charles in this exercise — a popular personality makeup artist and model — followed by several other influencers who accurately move the needle in the beauty market today. ChatGPT did a decent job of nailing down names whereas, in the olden days, it would have taken seasoned publicists a considerable amount of time to put together a list. Unlike influencer software that can run in the tens of thousands per year, ChatGPT is free.
4. Repeat
Do this same exercise for the rest of the buckets that ChatGPT initially gave. Be sure you're refining as you go using your expertise and connections.
This platform is a game changer and increasing in popularity every day. The New York Times called the program "the best artificial intelligence chatbot ever released to the general public." So, why waste time and money Googling or analyzing data on target demographics when the answers are only a question away? Simple: Don't. ChatGPT will probably never replace human communicators — industry connections, insider knowledge, and taste level are a few reasons. Publicists will always be valuable; they add a personal touch and provide pathos to your campaign. But ChatGPT is a shortcut that needs to be finessed.
The trailblazing platform is a simple tool to upgrade your PR game.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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