AI is set to dominate the future of social media marketing. According to Capterra’s 2024 GenAI for Social Content Survey of over 1,600 social media marketers worldwide who use GenAI, Australian businesses currently create an average of 49 per cent of their social media content using GenAI; this number is expected to reach 61 per cent by 2026.
Compared to other countries throughout North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, marketers in Australia currently use GenAI for social content creation at an above-average rate. Over the next 18 months, marketers in Australia, the U.K., Brazil, Canada, and Spain expect to increase GenAI use significantly. Specifically, over three-quarters (78 per cent) of Australian respondents anticipate their company will also increase spending on GenAI tools.
Boosted productivity, engagement, and efficiency drive GenAI adoption
Improving productivity is the primary reason Australian businesses have started using GenAI for social media content development. Most companies (91 per cent) using GenAI for social content say the tech has saved them a moderate to significant amount of time.
Businesses in Australia say the top advantages of using GenAI for social media marketing are enhanced creativity (37 per cent), increased efficiency (36 per cent), easier idea generation (33 per cent), and increased content production (32 per cent).
Nearly four in five (78 per cent) Aussie businesses say using GenAI-assisted content has increased their social media engagement and impressions, with most claiming that GenAI-assisted content performs as well as (32 per cent) or even better than (51 per cent) content created solely by humans.
Challenges of maintaining authenticity and preventing misinformation
While most companies in Australia say GenAI saves them time overall, more than half (55 per cent) report that the effort required to edit and review AI-generated content goes above and beyond what they expected. Even with the ability to review or edit AI-generated content, nearly all (96 per cent) businesses worry that GenAI could potentially harm their reputation.
Over half (56 per cent) of Aussie businesses using GenAI for social media report quality-control issues with the content, including factual errors, plagiarism, and bias.
Many Australian companies (42 per cent) say maintaining the authenticity of AI-generated content is a top challenge, as is ensuring the content resonates with audiences (31 per cent). Over a third (40 per cent) of businesses say using GenAI has made it challenging to maintain creativity.
Implementing AI safely and effectively
To leverage GenAI responsibly, businesses should create a formal internal policy that helps align stakeholders on use cases and best practices to ensure safety, legal compliance, and brand alignment, argued Andrew Blair, analyst at Capterra.
“Businesses should use internal and external metrics to measure GenAI effectiveness, as they help track performance and understand the cost and impact on employee time and morale,” said Blair.
“As businesses increase their investment in GenAI, they must navigate its challenges and benefits, ensuring the technology supports rather than replaces human marketers,” added Blair.
