Ask EZ
What Do Small Business Owners Need to Know About AI & ChatGPT? – Ask EZ
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard a lot about AI recently. People are going nuts over ChatGPT and doomsayers are predicting that we’re all going to get replaced by robots.
As a business owner, what do you need to know about ChatGPT and AI for your business? Keep watching!
What is ChatGPT? (And why is AI content such a big deal all of a sudden?)
ChatGPT is an AI-based chatbot that understands natural language and can generate human-like responses to your questions.
It was released to the public in November of 2022, and it went viral. For good reason. This thing can carry on complex conversations, generate detailed code, and write a blog post on just about any topic you can think of… all in a matter of seconds.
Using AI and machine learning in marketing isn’t new. AI-based content tools have been around for a few years now. Many of them are even built off ChatGPT’s technology.
But suddenly everyone has access to this tool that’s able to generate vast amounts of content that’s scary good at sounding like a human. And it’s changing the way people are looking at business, education, marketing, and more.
How Do You Use ChatGPT?
If you haven’t already checked out ChatGPT, you definitely should. It’s made by a company called OpenAI, so if you go to their website, or just Google ChatGPT, you can create a free account.
Once you’re in, give it a question or a prompt, just like you were talking to a person. So you could say: “Give me a list of the most popular marketing tactics for small business.”
It also remembers your conversations, so you can follow up with: “What are some frequently asked questions business owners have about each tactic?” and it will give you a whole list of FAQs.
What is ChatGPT Good At?
These AI tools are super helpful for brainstorming. Things like “Give me 10 possible titles for an article about X” or “Write an outline for an article comparing the pros and cons of Y”. If you need ideas, or some copy to start with, these tools are great.
What is ChatGPT NOT Good At?
I’m sure you can see how powerful this is, but please, don’t fire your writers, or start churning out blog posts and pasting them on your website. There are a couple of big drawbacks.
- It’s not always accurate (even though it acts like it is). So always fact-check what it tells you.
- You don’t want to use what it spits out verbatim. Yes, it can write a lot fast, but it doesn’t have your experience, or your personality. You’ll want to edit it to add your own detail and style.
- If you’re using it for SEO, be careful. There are still a lot of unknowns. There are tools out there already that can detect AI writing, and Google is likely to penalize low-quality AI content.
Learn More About ChatGPT
Bottom line: ChatGPT and other AI content generators are amazing tools. But they’re only as good as the person using the tool.
Like everyone else, we’re figuring out how to use AI to help us work better and faster. But it’s not a replacement for real human beings.
For more information on ChatGPT, check out the resources in the links below:
- https://www.verblio.com/ai-resources
- https://www.christopherspenn.com/2023/02/almost-timely-news-february-26-2023-improve-chatgpt-performance-by-understanding-how-it-works/
- https://searchengineland.com/chatgpt-seo-content-where-do-we-go-from-here-393374
- https://searchengineland.com/chatgpt-prompts-seo-393523
- https://searchengineland.com/keyword-research-chatgpt-prompts-393741
- https://bionicwriter.substack.com/p/issue-8-prompts-for-writing-thinking
What is an ADA-Compliant Website? – Ask EZ
Video Transcription:
What is an ADA-compliant website and why does it matter?
The ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act is a law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life. It applies to things like making public buildings accessible by wheelchair or adding braille to public signage.
Why Do I Need to Update WordPress? – Ask EZ
Video Transcription:
When you think about updating your website, you probably think about things like correcting old information, or changing the design. The stuff you can see.
But when was the last time you updated the back end of your website? The stuff you can’t see?
If you have a WordPress website, neglecting updates could put your site at major risk. To find out why, keep watching.
Hi, I’m Tom Malesic, founder and President of EZMarketing, and you’re watching Ask EZ. This is where small business owners go to get real answers to their marketing questions.
Why You Need to Update WordPress
If you have a WordPress website, you need to be doing regular updates. Here’s why:
The WordPress platform is built around the concepts of plugins. Your site relies on plugins for things like forms, galleries, e-commerce, and more.
Most sites have at least a dozen plugins. And each one of those plugins regularly releases updates.
Sometimes these updates fix bugs or add features, but most often, they are security updates because hackers have found a way to exploit that plugin. If you don’t keep your plugins up-to-date, your website is more likely to get hacked.
It’s a lot like the regular updates for Windows and Office products. Because everyone uses Microsoft programs, hackers love to target them. If you’re not installing Windows updates, you’re vulnerable to getting hacked.
How to Make WordPress Updates Simple
OK, so you need to be updating WordPress. But especially if you have tons of plugins, how do you keep track of them all, and make sure they’re up to date?
We offer a WordPress Security Updates service to handle everything for you.
Every day, we’ll scan for and implement updates to your WordPress installation and plugins. We’ll handle all the configuration and make sure none of the updates interfere your website’s functionality. Plus, we do extra backups so if something does happen, it’s easy to restore your site.
And in the event that your site does get hacked, we will fix it for free.
We provide a report each month that summarizes all the updates and backups, so you can be confident that your WordPress site is secure and up-to-date.
Protect Your WordPress Website Today!
Don’t leave your WordPress site vulnerable. Keep your website running smoothly and securely with regular WordPress security updates.
Contact us today to get started!
Why Your Website is the Center of Your Marketing – Ask EZ
The most important thing you can do to market your small business is to get a great website. Your website is the center of your marketing. Find out why.
How Do I Get More Likes on Social Media? – Ask EZ
Have you ever been excited to share something on social media, carefully crafted your post, put it up and… nothing!
Unfortunately it happens to businesses a lot. You post regularly, but you rarely get more than a handful of Likes or comments.
How do you get more people to pay attention and like your posts? Here are a few of our favorite tips we’ve learned from helping small businesses like yours!
1. Post Relevant Information
This might sound obvious, but if you want more likes, you have to post stuff on social media that your audience is interested in. Think about what you can share that’s helpful, thought-provoking, or entertaining for your followers.
Our client Kelly Mahler does a great job of this. She’s an occupational therapist talking to other therapists, educators, and parents. She posts information about the latest research in her field, helpful tips, and information on her courses and resources. Her audience loves her content!
2. Use Eye-Catching Visuals
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are highly visual. If you want people to pay attention to your posts, use eye-catching visuals.
Groups of photos, videos, or even simple infographics work really well. Here’s one that’s literally eye-catching.
3. Use Real People
While stock photos can be beautiful, there’s no substitute for showing real people – they can be your customers, your employees, or just people who are benefiting from what you do.
Look at how a few our clients get more likes by showing real residents, or real employees. Real pets work, too!
4. Ask Questions
Even better than a Like is getting people to comment on your posts. One of the best ways to do this is to ask questions and invite interaction.
Just look how our client New Holland Church Furniture combines asking questions with beautiful visuals to get their followers engaged.
5. Invest in your social media marketing
And finally–I know this is the one no one wants to hear– but if you really want to get more Likes, you’re going to need to invest money in your social media marketing. For most businesses, it’s really pay to play if you want your content to stand out against posts from friends and family.
The good news is that boosting posts and running ads on platforms like Facebook can be really cost-effective. It’s a great way to target your specific audience and get your message in front of them.
Tired of posting on social media and getting nothing but crickets?
We’ve helped tons of small businesses like yours get noticed and get results on social media. We can handle everything for you, including optimizing your business page, creating posts, and running ads.
Click the link below to schedule a no-obligation consultation.
How Do I Succeed on Social Media? – Ask EZ
Social media marketing is a double-edged sword. It can be a super powerful tool. Or a total waste of time.
I want your business to win on social, so today I’m talking about my top 5 tips for succeeding on social media. Keep watching!
