Put up Efficiency Report: April Roundup

It’s time for one more version of the Put up Efficiency Report (PPR), a sequence the place we showcase social media posts and campaigns inspiring us, and discover what makes them so genius. We unpack how your model can use these examples to spark your personal scroll-stopping concepts—whereas maximizing your price range and doing extra with much less.

This month, we’re fascinated by manufacturers utilizing AI to reinforce their social presence. Candidly, social media customers are nonetheless largely cut up on how they really feel about manufacturers dabbling in AI content material creation. In accordance with a Q1 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey, 38% of shoppers can be extra focused on a model that posted AI-generated content material on social, whereas one other 39% say they might be much less more likely to interact. Multiple-third (36%) say they wouldn’t even be capable of spot an AI-crafted publish.

Regardless of the polarizing nature of AI content material, some manufacturers are discovering a method to minimize by the adverse chatter and use AI to their benefit. From dashing up content material creation to leaning into whimsy to creating their posts distinctly extra human. Let’s dive into our lineup of manufacturers who strike the suitable stability between human and machine-made, and takeaways you should use to comply with swimsuit.

ESPN: The alternate jersey-verse

ESPN, the prolific sports activities information firm, makes use of AI to churn out content material imagining athletes in alternate jerseys. Whether or not it’s to seize what might need been if an athlete had performed for one more crew, or to share a primary have a look at a participant who’s been traded.

ESPN is ready to obtain this impact by utilizing Photoshop AI instruments, like this video by creator @tysonbennett_ illustrates.

Posts from the alternate jersey-verse rack up 1000’s of feedback and a whole lot of 1000’s of likes. Lots of the feedback are followers expressing their heated opinions about drafts, trades and profession selections—proving why this content material is an engagement generator for ESPN.

With out AI, the ESPN social or inventive groups must spend hours tediously modifying pictures, hindering their skill to publish breaking information concerning the newest trades and signings rapidly. However Photoshop makes it potential to craft these photos in just some minutes, fueling an countless provide of rapidly generated jersey-swap content material.

ESPN’s conversation-starting posts assist them land on customers’ House pages and enhance their engagement. For instance, this publish that includes Caitlin Clark generated over 318,000 likes and nearly 2,000 feedback in lower than 24 hours.

The play: Utilizing AI to generate templatized photos makes fast work of making content material, saving your crew time and serving to your model keep high of thoughts.

Get Soiled: The actual influencer vs. her AI bot

In accordance with a survey of two,000 shoppers Sprout performed in February 2024, 37% of shoppers say they’re extra more likely to be focused on manufacturers who use AI influencers, and that rises to 46% amongst Gen Z.

However what precisely is an AI influencer? In some instances, it’s a model utilizing a wholly AI-generated “particular person” as an account avatar. Many of those “influencers” are eye-catching girls. Some are so life like that customers slide into their DMs to ask them on dates. However this formulation (stunning bot + product = model consciousness) is beginning to turn out to be a trope on-line.

Different AI influencers are AI-generated photos and movies of creators who promote their likenesses to manufacturers to make use of in content material about their merchandise. Like when the non-public hygiene model Get Soiled commissioned a video:

The publish ended up going viral, and the remark part was stuffed with equal elements pleasure, skepticism and concern. The model responded by hiring Ariel, the human influencer whose picture they used, to star in a content material sequence alongside herself—or, her AI self that’s.

Get Soiled proved that human and AI influencers can stay collectively in concord, and it paid off for his or her model.  The unique viral publish drove 250,000 views on X (previously Twitter), and their subsequent partnership with Ariel led to the story being picked up by main information retailers like AdAge, leading to main consideration for the comparatively unknown model.

The play: Ditching human influencers solely for AI influencers will backfire. However by working with human creators and influencers on AI-generated content material, you could possibly intrigue audiences and foster engagement, fairly than sending them down a dystopian rabbit gap.

Meta: AI-dorable

Meta is betting on an AI-powered future. The model simply introduced their subsequent era of AI infrastructure, and has been selling Meta AI, their AI lab. Whereas a lot of the dialog surrounding AI is critical (for good motive), Meta is utilizing light-hearted content material to interrupt the ice.

Meta is beginning AI conversations in a approach that feels approachable and acquainted on social: cute cat content material.

Like this roundup of cloud-inspired photos.

Feedback on the publish vary from “I wish to be sitting on the sofa with my kitty consuming a cloud cookie ” to requires a Meta-hosted creator AI competition.

Different Meta AI content material options pet portraits and photoshoots—a relic of social media days of yore—with a contemporary twist.

Promotion of Meta AI has helped the model and its AI lab safe 10 million impressions on X, in keeping with Sprout Listening knowledge from March 12 to April 11, 2024.

The play: AI is a fancy and sometimes divisive matter. But, it stays a central a part of the cultural zeitgeist and can solely turn out to be extra related shifting ahead. As a substitute of shying away from it, take a cue from Meta by leaning into it in a approach that feels acquainted and enjoyable. Transparency (i.e., labeling AI-generated content material as such) will assist you retain belief now and sooner or later.

Dove: On an anti-AI mission

20 years in the past, the non-public care model Dove unveiled their Actual Magnificence marketing campaign. To mark the anniversary, the model is doubling down on their mission to #KeepBeautyReal by taking a stand towards bias in AI-generated photos.

Of their newest video, a generative AI software is prompted to create a picture of a fantastic lady, and it unsurprisingly spits out a stereotypically flawless femme. However then, “in a Dove Actual Magnificence marketing campaign” is added to the immediate—which expands the definition of “stunning lady” to incorporate totally different ages, backgrounds, races and lived experiences.

On the finish of the video, the model pledged by no means to make use of AI to create or distort individuals of their content material, reiterating that actual magnificence is best than something a pc may create.

In just some hours, the video generated 1000’s of likes, a whole lot of feedback, and was picked up by information retailers like TODAY and Fox Enterprise. This marketing campaign drove model consciousness and attain amongst a brand new era, whereas embodying the well timed fears many individuals have about AI content material.

The play: AI is a strong software for knowledge evaluation, buyer care and workflow optimization. However it could actually additionally inadvertently create unrealistic magnificence requirements and expectations. When creating AI content material, bear in mind the moral implications of what you’re doing and use AI thoughtfully when telling your model’s story.

AI highlight: Cowboy Carter album artwork

Beyonce’s newest genre-defying album, Cowboy Carter, launched on the finish of March. The excitement surrounding the album surpassed 12.2 billion impressions, 16 million engagements and a couple of million distinctive conversations, in keeping with Sprout listening knowledge from March 12 to April 11, 2024. Although extra culture-defining milestone than model activation, the momentous drop has a shocking relationship to AI that entrepreneurs can study from.

The photographer behind the album’s iconic cowl used AI to encourage the picture. In accordance with an interview with AfroTech, the photographer Blair Caldwell says he makes use of AI storytelling instruments to create temper boards that seize the essence of his shoots and assist excellent his inventive imaginative and prescient. Within the interview, he additionally doubled-down on the significance of human photographers—suggesting that AI must be extra digital assistant than creator.

The play: AI generally is a useful sparring associate in the case of producing content material concepts and finalizing your imaginative and prescient. It could actually assist take nice concepts to the following degree, and permit you extra time to dedicate to creating the work itself.

The model AI revolution is right here: People must be on the helm

That wraps up this month’s version of the PPR. Subsequent month, we’re exploring manufacturers who use onsite occasions to gas their content material pipeline. Within the meantime, bear in mind these takeaways when experimenting with AI-generated content material:

In search of extra on how one can thoughtfully weave AI into your social advertising technique? Learn our information to conversational AI, and the way it can positively influence the client expertise.

And in case you see a social publish or marketing campaign that deserves to be highlighted, tag us @sproutsocial and use #PostPerformanceReport to have your thought included in a future article.