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The Dos and Don’ts of Designing Marketing Materials Using AI Tools

AI content generators are software applications powered by artificial intelligence and they can generate content such as copy and images off a neural network. This neural network is built on existing information it reads and learns off the internet and is anticipated to develop further. After all, content is created and uploaded to the internet every day.

Aside from learning massive amounts of information, AI is also known for its speed. It can write copy and generate images in minutes, which is why more companies are becoming more curious about how they can apply AI to their day-to-day output and overall productivity. On the other hand, it’s no secret that AI isn’t perfect, and it too has its own limitations. Before you deputize AI tools as part of your arsenal, here are some dos and don’ts every marketer and creative has to consider when designing marketing materials.

The Rights Things To Do with AI Tools

If you’re ready to dip your fingers in the pie that is AI-generated content, here are some of the things you might find helpful for your marketing materials!

Use AI to research your target audience. Your audience is a critical building block to any marketing campaign —  you have to design your message around their need, after all. Some AI tools are equipped with features that can help you generate your target audience’s demographic. If you’re not sure where to begin, you can always start simple, say, by asking an AI chat tool to give you a general description of millennials as the target market. How do they feel about cute stickers and receiving postcards? It’s likely that you will get generic results, and it’s worth noting that you’re probably not the only one searching for this particular topic, but AI’s answers can give you a broad idea and useful insights about your audience.

Let AI tools help you overcome writer’s block. You don’t need to be a writer to experience creative block—ask anyone who had to sit in front of a blank page and engage in a staring contest with the cursor. Even writers are not spared from hitting the wall. This is an area where AI tools can help you. If you find yourself stuck with a pile of ideas that don’t work, chat up AI and use it as brainstorming assistant. You can also look up guidelines on how to create specific types of content such as website copy, email, or social media posts.

Use AI-generated content to inspire original design. As you gather ideas with the help of AI tools, take note of what applies to your brand and the type of content you’re designing. Use AI to build cornerstone elements for your business such as your logo, key visuals, and brand story from what AI tools generated for you. Keep in mind that everything AI knows, it learned by reading the internet which means everything it generates for you is an idea that already exists. Be mindful not to copy any original content as you build your own concepts.

Always check for facts, figures, and sources. AI may have read a significant amount of data available online, it hasn’t read the entire internet… yet. As such, check the content you generated using AI tools for factual errors and inconsistencies as you would answers you find on Google. Our experience with using AI tools for research revealed that machine-generated content can produce outdated information, dead links for sources, and other inaccuracies. It always pays to check for facts and to substantiate results with authoritative sources.

Use free tools that allow you to be creative and original. Or just hire a professional designer, because honestly who doesn’t want a brand that’s built on a vision that has both meaning and a semblance of uniqueness? You can use free design software online to create logos, website banners, and social media content from scratch, and many of those have beautiful design templates too. A machine can’t replace a human artist’s perspective, ability to interpret instruction and be creative with it, and empathy for the ultimate consumer of your content — your audience.

Things You Shouldn’t Do with AI Tools

As you find your way around different AI generators, remember this list of things that you shouldn’t do.

Don’t rely on AI to make creative decisions. Creativity is one of the things that separate us from machines. As you use AI tools to help you brainstorm for ideas, remember you’re the one who has to take the lead in making creative decisions. Ultimately, what goes into your design should be up to you. After all, you’re creating content for humans.

Don’t expect AI to create something original for you. AI has yet to cover tons of data and at the rate of content marketing is going, it doesn’t look like the internet is going to run out of information for AI to read. As AI generators are only able to turn up existing content and ideas for you, you shouldn’t count on it giving you original concepts.

Don’t take credit for AI-generated content. This rule also harps on AI turning up non-original content, and it’s an area you need to tread carefully. It is no secret that AI content tools, particularly some image generators, are in hot water for churning out content whose styles are based on original artwork of human artists, except that the AI versions can sometimes look gnarly or simply wrong. A lot of artists have cried foul over their work being “plagiarized” by AI and it won’t help your brand if you claim something that’s generated for you by a machine as your own.

Don’t just copy and paste the content AI tools give you. It’s impressive how fast AI content generators deliver content. You type in one query, and it can give you several paragraphs worth of ample albeit basal content in minutes. Nevertheless, it’s not good practice to merely copy the results AI tools provide. Just consider the possibility that if your competitors do the same exact thing you’re doing with AI, you’ll probably end up with the same content, which may cause problems for your brand. Instead, you can use your research as a jump-off point or as inspiration to optimize your own content. Take brochures, for example. If you’re creating one that details your entire product line, AI can give you a fair idea how to design you’re an informative and elaborate brochure.

Don’t ignore ethical concerns. The use of AI content generators is a lot like pineapple on pizza — it’s polarizing. While it goes without saying that developers and enthusiasts are keen on exploring AI tools’ possibilities, there are also those who are not too thrilled about its misuse. Aside from artworks being scraped by AI, another controversial issues linked to AI is the use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a chat-based AI content generator, to create college essays and academic papers. A lot of professors fear that automation will adversely affect how students think and learn, and that it may dull their instinct to verify sources and spread misinformation.

From Prompts to Canvas: Start Printing with AI Art

After creating the desired output from AI, the next step is to bring your design to life by printing it on physical materials. PrintPlace makes it simple to print your designs on superior materials. We provide a variety of custom printing services, which include:

All of which can be altered to suit your individual requirements. It’s simple to upload your designs, select your desired print options, and quickly place an order with PrintPlace. To make sure that your marketing materials look polished and appealing, we only utilize the best materials and printing methods. Our printing services can therefore help you accomplish your objectives whether you’re marketing a new product, making an announcement about an event, or just trying to improve the image of your company.

Balance AI Tools with Human Creativity

AI content generators can be quite helpful, fun even, to use but when it comes to creating marketing materials remember that it all boils down to intention — you need to be clear about what you’re using AI for and who you’re talking to through the marketing materials you design. Keep in mind that AI generators are tools, so use them as such. It may seem like AI is a search engine, but the success of your campaign will depend heavily on human creativity and empathy.