How to Use AI to Build Digital Content
As a small business owner, you’ve got enough on your plate. Between managing your day-to-day operations, keeping your customers happy, and trying to grow your business, finding time to create quality digital content can feel like an uphill battle. The good news? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to help you work smarter, not harder, when it comes to content creation.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how you can use AI today to build and optimize your digital content—whether it’s blog posts, social media captions, or SEO-friendly website copy. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a tech expert to get started! By the end of this post, you’ll have practical tips you can implement right away.
1. Use AI for Content Creation: From Idea to Execution
Let’s be honest, one of the toughest parts of creating content is coming up with ideas. Enter AI Tools like ChatGPT and Jasper AI to get ideas flowing and help you draft outlines of digital content for blog posts, social media captions, email newsletters and more.
Start Creating Content:
Choose an AI tool like ChatGPT, CopyAI or Jasper.
Create a simple, straight forward prompt like: “Help me come up with ideas for a blog post about [topic].”
Let the AI generate a draft. You can take it from there by tweaking the content to match your brand's voice and adding your personal stories and insight.
AI tools take the pressure off when it comes to staring at a blank page. It gives you a solid starting point, allowing you to focus on refining the content instead of spending hours brainstorming or writing from scratch.
2. Design Your Visual Content with AI
We all know that visual content is key to grabbing attention. But creating beautiful, professional-looking graphics can be time-consuming if you're not a designer. That’s where AI tools like Canva AI or Adobe Sensei come in. These tools help you create stunning visuals without needing any graphic design experience.
How to Get Started:
Head to Canva, pick a template, and let their AI guide you to customize it for your brand.
Create visuals for social media, blog posts, or even promotional emails by simply uploading your logo and choosing your brand colors.
Canva’s AI even helps resize images automatically for each platform, so you don’t have to worry about making sure your Instagram post will fit just right!
Why This Works: You can quickly create consistent, professional designs that elevate your brand without needing to hire a designer or spend hours learning Photoshop.
3. Automate Your Social Media Posts with AI
Keeping up with social media is tough. Posting consistently and at the right time can make a huge difference, but who has time to be glued to their phone all day? Luckily, AI tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or SocialBee AI can help you schedule posts in advance and even suggest the best times to post for maximum engagement.
How to Get Started:
Choose a scheduling tool like Buffer or SocialBee.
Upload your content—whether it's a blog post, a product announcement, or a promotion.
Let the AI recommend the best times to post based on when your audience is most active.
Schedule a week’s worth of posts in one go, and let the AI do the heavy lifting.
By automating your social media, you can save time and ensure that you’re staying in front of your audience without having to manually post every day. It’s like having a personal social media manager on call 24/7.
4. Boost Your SEO with AI-Powered Keyword Research
Optimizing your website or blog for search engines can be overwhelming. But AI tools like SurferSEO and SEMrush AI make keyword research a breeze. These tools help you find the best keywords to target, analyze your competitors, and even optimize your content in real time.
How to Get Started:
Pick a tool like SEMrush or Clearscope and enter your target topic or keyword.
Use the AI to find high-ranking keywords that align with your business.
Once you have your keywords, integrate them naturally into your content, blog titles, and headers.
Instead of guessing what people are searching for, AI gives you real-time insights on the exact terms and phrases your audience is using. This can help boost your website’s visibility on Google, bringing in more traffic without the need for a professional SEO expert.
5. Ask Open-Ended Questions for Engagement with AI
One of the best ways to engage your audience is by asking open-ended questions. But if you’re running low on inspiration, AI tools like ChatGPT can help craft questions that spark conversation on your social media posts or blog comments.
How to Get Started:
Use AI to come up with fun or thought-provoking questions that relate to your business. For example, if you run a bakery, you could ask: “What’s your favorite dessert and why?”
Post these questions to your social media and encourage followers to share their answers.
Open-ended questions create interaction and community engagement, helping your brand stay top of mind while building relationships with your audience.
6. Choose the Right AI Tool for Your Business
With so many AI tools out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The key is to pick the right tool for the job based on your needs.
How to Get Started:
If you’re focused on blog writing or social media content, try tools like ChatGPT or Jasper AI.
For design work, Canva AI is a great option.
To manage social media posting, try Buffer or Hootsuite.
And for SEO, SurferSEO or SEMrush will be your go-to.
The right tool can make a world of difference. By choosing the best AI tool for your specific needs, you’ll streamline your content creation process and save yourself time and effort.
AI is Your Secret Weapon for Content Creation
AI might seem intimidating at first, but it’s truly one of the best tools you can have in your small business toolkit. By incorporating AI into your content creation, you’ll save time, improve your output, and stay competitive in a fast-paced digital world.
Take action today—whether it's drafting your next blog post with ChatGPT, automating your social media schedule, or creating stunning visuals with Canva AI. Start small, and as you get more comfortable with these tools, you’ll find yourself producing more high-quality content than ever before.