Generative AI has changed many things in content creation, but a balance of high-tech and human touch is still needed in building a successful CRE brand.
The “Easy Button” advertising campaign of yesteryear depicted tough tasks that were resolved with a mere push of a button. Could ChatGPT, the generative AI tool that has taken the business world by storm, be the simple, real, do-it-all deal with regard to content generation?
In the last couple of years, many professionals, including in commercial real estate (CRE), have wondered if the new innovation can be their job’s jack-of-all-trades, a technological talisman that generates content on demand with a proverbial snap of the fingers or push of a button. Is it worth writing text when AI can seemingly do it for you?
According to Forbes, CRE marketing pros should embrace ChatGPT’s potential while considering the “gaps and drawbacks” when using the new technology.
AI’s Rise & Potential
Creating marketing brochures, white papers, blog and social media posts are a key day-to-day need on the marketing and communications side of the CRE industry. The content development process typically requires research, creating, editing and publishing.
Then generative AI came along and dramatically shortened the timeframe. Today’s tools can brainstorm ideas, summarize materials or fully craft an article based on notes and guidelines. James Nelson, a New York City-based Forbes contributor, emphasizes the support role of ChatGPT, from front-end ideation to back-end adjustments.
“I write my own fresh content, and then use AI to reposition it,” he says. “The tools can take my work and suggest tweets and social media posts, which I’m able to review, edit and then publish.”
AI Limitations: A Creator Without Creativity
Most know by now that generative AI can increase productivity, retrieving and synthesizing material in a blink of an eye. But that advanced diligence lacks depth. After all, generative AI tools such as ChatGPT pull from past information and patterns to craft content, which means they fall short on originality and imagination.
“At its base, the concept of creativity goes beyond past experiences and the mere arrangement of words,” Nelson explains. “It involves critical thinking and nuanced understanding, along with fresh insight and perspectives. While AI can replicate sequences and generate content based on existing data, it lacks the human touch that is associated with creativity.”
This drawback or inadequacy becomes especially glaring when striving for authentic connection with an audience and building trust & credibility for one’s brand. Consumers tend to look for genuine opinion and voice, along with other relatable anecdotes, individual things that AI likely misses out on. When all’s said and done, the marketing sales funnel breaks down if strong engagement and then trust are not achieved.
“There’s no replacing personal touch and an authentic brand story in the real estate industry,” said Tim Patton, CEO at Infinitee. “That’s why it’s important to leverage tech efficiencies, like that of ChatGPT, but not view it as a whole-sale replacement for how your brand conveys its unique, distinctive character, identity and values. We have more than 30 years of people-powered creative branding and marketing experience in commercial real estate to back that up.”