Whether we’re creating bespoke bouquets for a baby’s arrival or arranging some wow-worthy wedding blooms, our whole business is built on the power of human connection. Using artificial intelligence (AI) might seem a world away from the beating human heart of your flower business but its popularity and use in the florist industry is on the rise. AI is very much part of the *new* marketing landscape. So, who better to ask for all the latest buzz on the rise (and role) of AI than our *human* BFA partners Queen Bee! Here’s what they had to say!
AI is in full bloom. Forget the media hyped ideas of techy complicated programming systems or sentient robots with unfriendly, doomsday agendas and prepare to embrace some AI awesomeness! Adding a bit of extra byte to your marketing can really help your floristry business bloom. Whether you are an AI enthusiast or simply more AI curious, here are 5 AI marketing myths – busted!!
- Myth 1 – AI is After My Job (Or It Will Help Ruthless Competitors Get It)
Despite hyped-up media headlines and countless images of humanoid robots, artificial intelligence is NOT after your job.
At Queen Bee we like to call AI “Another (source of) Inspiration”. Think of it more like an added extra to your workflow. It can help you to do your job (if you know how to leverage the tool properly), but it certainly can’t replace you nor your floral skills.
In fact, AI output is only as good as the input (prompts) given by its human user. AI can be an invaluable time-saving tool that when used well, can even remove some of the day-to-day legwork from your already brimming to-do list (hurrah). Familiarising yourself with AI (and its vast capabilities) allows you to work smarter (not harder) and as this growing wave of innovation continues, we know that more and more small businesses are using AI to cleverly raise their business game.
Like any innovative tool there will be businesses out there who will use it unscrupulously. But, whilst we can’t control how other people are using it, our top advice is not to give them a second thought. Lazy marketing, plagiarism or false claims that can’t be turned into reality will eventually be found out. Being ethical and transparent is always the gold star standard for your business – whether you’re using AI or not.
- Myth 2 – AI is Only For Big Companies
AI can be used by businesses of ANY size – from solopreneurs to sizeable outfits.
AI systems are designed with user-friendly intuitive interfaces that are naturally easy to navigate – even for the most tech-phobic user. With a variety of tools available – some are free (e.g., ChatGPT) and some with minimal subscription fees (e.g., Jasper) – accessing AI tools has never been so easy.
A simple Google search will pull up many AI options so if you’re just dipping your toe into the AI world, select a free tool (an email sign up is all that’s required) and simply play around with it. You’ll be surprised at what AI can do.
If you find you’re totally smitten and think that there’s oodles of opportunities for you to add AI into your marketing toolkit, our top tip is to make sure that whatever AI awesomeness you plan to adopt into your marketing – being upfront about your usage from the get-go is good practice. With the growing popularity of AI, companies (no matter how big or small) need to be ethical and transparent about their usage. So, if you’re using an AI chatbot instead of a human, or using an AI created image in that fab floral proposal you sent, then make sure to reference it in your service agreement and in your T&C’s.
- Myth 3 – AI Can Do it All for Me!
Spoiler alert, AI does not think on its own! There’s no magic wand or pre-packaged ready to go marketing strategy that can be implemented at the touch of a button.
AI certainly can’t do it all, but it can help you to do MORE. For businesses that have a clear marketing strategy and focussed end goal, the use of AI will see them reaping the biggest rewards.
AI can help you get to know your customers, streamline and improve your services plus kick-start your creativity. From giving you flower related blog ideas or collating relevant topics into one handy document for you in a jiffy, it can save you heaps of time trawling the web in search of inspo. But AI can’t tell you what to do or give you a strategy. You’ll still have to figure that out the old-fashioned way.
Despite its content crawling capabilities, remember whatever info you get from search results, you must still sense check it and of course add in your own flavour. Just like over used stock imagery or pre-designed Canva templates, the results AI compiles are anyone’s for the taking. So don’t rely on AI to dish out your finished goods as chances are the same results are being presented to your competitors. Use AI as a starting point to kick off your own ideas that reflect your business voice and vibe clearly.
- Myth 4 – AI Just Writes Copy
The best way to use AI is for inspiration. Whilst AI can absolutely kick start your copy needs it also has the capability to help you automate some of your other business tasks too.
The opportunities for creativity are mind boggling. Use it to research new hashtag ideas, help you source new keywords, or come up with blog content suggestion. AI can also help you nail your headlines and sass up your social media content in seconds. Whether you need to draft a quick welcome email, whip up a simple invoice template or help you formulate that lead generator, AI can speed up all your content creation needs and boost your brainstorming processes. Why not ask it to review your homepage and suggest improvements or to list out the best local floristry influencers you’d be perfect to partner with?
Remember – the more creative you are with your prompts the better your results will be! Need a bit of help getting started? Why not try our 20 ChatGPT prompts to inspire your marketing mojo.
- Myth 5 – AI Doesn’t Understand Me as an Individual Business, it’s Just a Glorified Google Search
Whilst AI won’t ‘fully’ get your brand voice down to a tee nor can it capture your company ethos immediately, the more you refine your prompts the better the system automatically learns what you’re looking for – it’s not called intelligent for nothing!
AI offers you an abundance of opportunities to teach the system what output you’re looking for. The key with any tool is to understand its full capabilities and to get to grips with how to squeeze the most out of it.
We know that tapping into new tech can feel a bit daunting, so we’ve put together our very own game-changing mini course that’s designed to hold your hand as we delve into the realm of AI. We’ll be breaking down the essentials of ChatGPT and whipping up some attention-grabbing content by combining your human knowledge with the computing capabilities of ChatGPT! In this short course we’ll show you how to produce powerful prompts for content that speaks to your ideal customer as well as demonstrating some time saving secrets. Find out more and enrol here.
Our view? It’s time to amplify your awesomeness with AI! Dipping your toes into new tech is the best way to keep your marketing fresh and more importantly futureproof. Go on, add a bit of extra byte (and buzz) to your marketing mojo and watch your business bloom!
Helen & Jane, Queen Bee.
