Dear Reader,
Thank you for being part of my community. #YouRock!
You may not believe it but communities thrive across New York City.
Table of Contents | Volume 11, Issue 5
- Marketing Lesson of The Week – Why You Should Not Jump On ChatGPT YET!
- Social Scene – Is TikTok Still Ticking?
- Marketing Reads – New Book: Belonging To The Brand
- Mark Your Calendar
If you walk down a random block, you won’t find the community.
Why?
Because you’re an outsider.
The people who live and work there know that you aren’t one of them.
On my block off Fifth Avenue, we are part of a tightly-knit community. I know every doorman, every building supervisor and many regular tenants on a first-name basis.
More importantly, we all support each other in good times and bad times.
On our block, André won the award for being the friendliest man. With two gold teeth that glistened when he smiled, André was a proud man who wore a chest full of bling on his suit jacket. He always waved when people he knew passed by the big glass window in front of the building where he stood guard.
Beyond being a friend, André has been my protector over the years. He has stepped out in front of his post to watch me get into my building safely and, for that, I am eternally grateful.
After wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, André returned to his home where he had a heart attack and passed away.
Since then, our community has not been the same. Every conversation in the community mentions André. His light has been extinguished from our midst.
A month after his passing, I’m moved to write about my friend André because we all need at least one André in our community and in our lives.
Ask yourself:
What will your community say about you when you die?
Today, I was lucky to meet one of my neighbors, Alex. Alex runs Otras Formas, an amazing design studio. A visit to his studio will fill you with the awe that only comes from seeing real, beauty made by a human being.
While Alex didn’t know me before today, he opened his studio to me and we shared stories about our small New York City neighborhood. To repay his favor, I’m telling you about his amazing collection of livable art and furniture.
Furniture from Otras Formas (via website)
As a marketer, do you just see dollar bills when you interact with your audience? If so, you’re doing it wrong.
Actionable Marketing Tip
- Build connections with your audience consisting of prospects, buyers, end-users and others to improve their lives and yours.
Recommended Reading
Marketing Lesson of The Week
► Why You Should Not Jump On ChatGPT YET!
Recently, it is hard to find a piece of content that doesn’t mention ChatGPT or that was written by ChatGPT.
Please be assured that I write the AMG Newsletter on my own with no help from ChatGPT or any other conversational AI.
It’s no surprise since ChatGPT is the fastest-growing technology to-date as shown in the charts below.
Everyone, including the top names in content marketing, is writing their version of why you need to use ChatGPT, the latest form of AI.
If you read more than one article, there’s a good chance that the information appears repetitive. There’s a good reason for this. Everyone is using ChatGPT to write their content and, as a result, they’re all getting similar output from this new form of conversational AI.
While ChatGPT is the fastest-growing piece of new technology in history, it isn’t ready for prime time for these reasons:
- Still in beta. This means that ChatGPT has not yet gone through rigorous user-testing. As a result, it’s liable to yield difficult-to-comprehend, unreliable and/or untrue information. When I tried it, it gave me back my own writing! #Truth
- Only uses publicly available content, most notably Wikipedia. As a result, the information it provides is neither well documented nor fully researched.
- Yields content that you can’t copyright. The information generated by ChatCPT is created by AI. According to US copyright law, a piece of content can’t be protected if it is created using a form of AI.
What does this mean for your marketing?
Wait to purchase and employ better user-tested conversational AI products.
The good news is that new conversational AI products will start to hit the market in the next 3 to 6 months. Even better, every major tech firm has an array of options.
The recent layoffs across the tech sector indicate that these products are close to market. Further, the tech giants have decided which ones still work and which ones will get shelved. As a result, they need fewer employees.
Actionable Marketing Implications
- Over the long term, marketing will change. So, determine whether your job and longer-term career are at risk. Translation: Only jobs and work that don’t depend on knowing a specific technology will remain.
- Figure out which skills you need to learn or improve. I recommend doing this, even if you have to pay for the education or take a step back in your career progression to stay employable for the long-term.
Social Scene
► Is TikTok Still Ticking?
Owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, TikTok has taken the GenZ portion of the social media market by storm.
Current data shows that roughly 3 out of 5 users between 10 and 29 use the social media app.
TikTok is a highly viral form of short-form social media video. Currently, it is outpacing even the big social media players considering that it’s the new kid on the block.
This growth is aided by the ease of registration. Users need to fill out a short form including their name and mobile number to download the app,
While it seems harmless to GenZ and their parents, it’s NOT! The Terms and Conditions (aka T&C) are written in Chinese, so users don’t know what they agreed to.
Like many other social media entities, TikTok’s T&C allows its parent company, ByteDance, to view and store any information it deems useful on the user’s device. This extends beyond the user’s name and mobile number. So bye-bye data security!
This means TikTok may have your personal information even if you have never used it. Your name or information may be on someone else’s device without your knowledge.
As a result, the US government and many major corporations have banned the use of TikTok on their devices (computers and mobiles) as well as from their marketing.
Actionable Social Media Marketing Tips
- Stop using TikTok immediately! If it’s installed on one of your devices, you can’t just delete it since it remains active whether or not its icon is present on your device. Instead, bring your device to your Internet supplier. TikTok requires specialized removal.You may need to purchase a new device. Then let all of your financial and medical providers as well as everyone in your address book know.
- Remove TikTok from your marketing plans going forward. You have a responsibility to let the public know about the dangers of this social media platform.If you have used TikTok or TikTok Influencers in the past follow these same guidelines.
Recommended Reading
Marketing Reads
► New Book: Belonging To The Brand
“Why Community is the Last Great Marketing Strategy.”
Belonging To The Brand is filled with inspiring ideas and captivating case studies making it a practical guide for every company that believes marketing can be something more than interrupting customers.
Recommended Reading
- Marketing Rebellion – AMG Author Interview with Mark Schaefer
Plan Ahead: Mark Your Calendar
► Voice Lunch Fridays – Every Friday at 1 pm ET
An open and often free-wheeling online discussion of all things Voice and AI hosted by Alan Firstenberg and Mike Novak.
► Project Voice 2023 – April 24 – 28 in Chattanooga, TN
The number 1 event for Conversational AI / Voice tech in America
► Creator Economy Expo – May 1-3 in Cleveland, OH
If you run a content-first business this is the event to be at!
Use the code AMG100 to get $100 off any pass.
► Are you hosting an event that you’d like us to add to the Marketing Calendar?
If so, let us know by using our Contact Form with the Subject Line:
Event For AMG Newsletter Calendar.
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Happy Marketing,
Heidi
P.S.: Want Heidi Cohen to contribute a quote or other commentary to your next article, presentation, video, research, or book? Then hit reply to this email and ask.
P.P.S: Did you miss last week’s AMG Newsletter? Previous newsletters can be found in the AMG Newsletter Archive.
