Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way organisations approach social media marketing. For purpose-driven businesses and charities, AI offers the opportunity to save both time and resources while still producing engaging and impactful content.
From helping with content planning, creating visuals to crafting captions, the possibilities seem to be endless… but so are the responsibilities that come with using these tools.
People want to trust that the brands and organisations they support are honest about how they operate, and this includes their processes. Being transparent about how you use AI isn’t just an ethical consideration; it’s a way to strengthen trust, uphold your values, and potentially stand out in an increasingly competitive digital space.
With that in mind, let’s explore why transparency around AI use is vital, particularly in social media marketing.
AI transparency refers to the practice of being open and honest about how, when, and why your organisation uses Artificial Intelligence (AI). When it comes to social media marketing, this means sharing with your audience when AI tools are used to create content, plan campaigns, or analyse performance.
But why does it matter? Like we’ve mentioned, albeit briefly, trust is the cornerstone of any successful organisation. All organisations, regardless of size, rely on community support and so being able to maintain this trust is critical.
Transparency around your AI use reassures your audience that you’re not cutting corners or replacing human input with automation. Instead, it shows that you’re using AI as an assistant to complement your team’s expertise, not as a substitute.
With so many worries about AI replacing people and ‘taking jobs’, showing the world (in a sense) that you’re only utilising AI tools to assist your work output is so very important.
At Naturally Social, we’ve doubled down on this by including it within our AI policy. Here, we’ve outlined how we intend to use AI:
“Naturally Social plans to use AI to contribute to the work we produce for both us and our clients.”
Transparency doesn’t just extend to letting your customers know about how you’re using it. Being upfront about AI helps you stay ahead of potential regulatory changes, as governments and industry bodies increasingly focus on ethical AI use. By adopting transparency now, your organisation can demonstrate a proactive approach that aligns with emerging best practices in the digital marketing world.
The big question is, “Should businesses disclose AI use?” and this can spark some debate. While it could be argued that it’s unnecessary to highlight every instance where AI has been used… Others can point out that transparency builds credibility and protects your brand from potential backlash.
From our point of view, the answer is clear: Yes. You should disclose AI use when it directly impacts how your audience experiences your content.
But what do we mean by that? If AI generates captions, curates’ responses to comments, or writes your newsletter… let your audience know.
A great way to communicate your use of AI is by creating an AI Transparency Statement. This document would outline:
You can then include this statement on your website and publicise it across your socials, reinforcing your organisation’s ethical approach.
If you’re not sure where to start with this, download our free AI Transparency Statement template.
We’ve just touched on disclosing the AI tools that you’re using. What we mean by this is that not all AI platforms are created equal! When choosing tools, prioritise those that adhere to regulatory standards and ethical guidelines.
This isn’t just a case of finding your favourites and pulling a list together. You’ll need to research and read through the policies and information each platform has. You can then select platforms that are transparent about how their AI works.
At Naturally Social, we carefully vet the AI tools we use to ensure they meet these standards. We’ve reviewed and compared a number of tools, provided training to our team on the ‘Do’s and Don’ts of AI use’ and created an in-depth policy, which is available upon request.
This commitment not only supports ethical marketing but could also protect our organisation from potential reputational risks.
When you’re reviewing the AI tools that you are, or might, be using make sure you know whether you need the paid version to protect data. If you do, make sure you’re building in any steps you and your team need to take to mitigate:
If you’ve got to this point in the blog, you’re ready to embrace AI transparency!
Here are some practical steps to help you get started:
By embracing transparency, you can use AI ethically, build trust with your audience, and set your organisation apart from the rest.
We’ve been ‘playing’ with AI since 2023, and we’re confident in both our policies and our use of AI as an assistant to our team. We’re already seeing the benefits of integrating AI into some of our tasking and plan to further roll out it’s use into 2025.
If you’re ready to take your knowledge further, join us for our “AI Made Easy” course which launches in February 2025.
We’re passionate about AI, and we want to make AI work for you and for your values.
Until next time… Stay Social!
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