Week 11 Part A: Using AI, Social Influencers, LinkedIn, Conversation based Social Media and more

    When the topic of using Artificial Intelligence for social media came up, I was immediately interested, especially since I’m currently running my own (fictitious) Asian cuisine business. With so much competition in the food industry, especially online, looking for creative and efficient ways to promote a brand and keeping customers highly engaged is very important. While I already use Instagram and Facebook to post about specials and new dishes, I realized AI could be a tool to help take things to the next level.

     Running a food business means juggling a lot of moving parts, and coming up with daily or weekly content ideas can be time-consuming. I’ve been trying out AI writing tools like ChatGPT to help brainstorm catchy captions, write menu descriptions, and even create promotional posts. This can greatly help me stay consistent with my posting schedule without spending hours trying to figure out what to say. Additionally, you can save a lot of money by not needing to hire graphic designers, account managers, etc.

     I also tested some AI design tools out such as Canva’s Magic Design and DALL·E. For a brand like Austin’s Noodles, visual appeal is huge as people eat with their eyes first. I’ll use these tools to create flyer designs and even stylized versions of our signature dishes for fun posts. They’re not a replacement for real food photography, but they’re great for enhancing as well as adding something unique and engaging to the content mix, especially for stories and promotional posts.

     Of course, I’ve had to keep in mind some of the concerns that come with using AI. There’s a fine line between using it to support creativity and letting it do too much of the work. I, as well as others, need to make sure that the tone fits the brand, and tweaking the text or visuals are equally important in terms of appeal. It’s important to me that my content feels real and reflects the personality of the business: fun, flavorful, and welcoming.

     All in all, exploring AI will open up some cool opportunities for me as a cuisine owner. It will make my content creation less stressful and give me more time to focus on the food, the service, and growing my audience/customers. For anyone running a brand, especially in the food or hospitality industries, I’d definitely recommend testing out and implementing AI tools. They won’t replace your voice or your vision, but they can absolutely help amplify it.