A Social Media Manager’s Guide to ChatGPT (+ 15 Prompts)

With the rise of ChatGPT and other AI tools, some have questioned whether social media marketers will be replaced.

Our stance? They won't. Because effective, creative, and original content requires a human touch.  

That said, AI tools can help optimize your workflow — so we're sharing why social media managers should consider using ChatGPT, along with 15 free prompts you can use again (and again).

What Is ChatGPT?

Created by OpenAI, ChatGPT is an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot designed to understand and generate human-like responses.

With it, users can have interactive conversations, seek information, and explore new ideas. 

Simply type in a prompt, and voila. ✨

Skepticism of AI-generated Content  

Ranging from simple definitions and social media captions to entire news articles and blog posts, tools like ChatGPT have brought equal parts excitement and suspicion to the mainstream.

Case-in-point: While ChatGPT can generate full-fledged content, OpenAI says the tool “sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers.”

And because ChatGPT uses original work without citation, many have raised quality concerns and questions of plagiarism. 

The takeaway? AI-generated content shouldn’t be a direct copy and paste.

Instead, it can be used to spark inspo, save time, and optimize your workflow (more on that, below).

Why Should Social Media Managers Consider Using ChatGPT?

While ChatGPT can’t replace the brilliant output of social media managers, there are plenty of ways they can embrace the new tool. 

Think: automating repetitive tasks, kicking off brainstorming sessions, or summarizing valuable information about competitors. 

Take it from Later’s Social Content Lead Lindsay Ashcraft who claims ChatGPT has cut her research time in half.

“ChatGPT has definitely freed up time to focus on more complex and creative work,” says Lindsay. 

“Whether it’s brainstorming bullet points for educational posts or optimizing keywords, I don’t mind the addition of AI in my day-to-day work."  

FYI: At Later, we have AI-powered tools like Hashtag Suggestions, Best Time to Post, and Caption Writer to help you optimize your content. Create an account today.

6 Tips for Writing Effective ChatGPT Prompts

Ready to amp up your social media strategy with ChatGPT? 

Here are our top six tips social media managers can use to write effective ChatGPT prompts:

1. Be Specific (Not Generic)

2. Play With Different Tones

3. Focus On Your Niche

4. Put On Your Director's Hat

5. Fact-Check Your Results

6. Use Later’s Free Template

Tip #1: Be Specific (Not Generic)

When it comes to writing strong ChatGPT prompts, it’s all in the details.

For example:

• Instead of: Which influencers should my brand follow on [social media platform]? 

• Try: I want to fill my [social media platform] feed with more people who talk about [niche]. List the top 15 [nano/micro/macro influencers] I should follow in this space. Include a mix of genders, ages, and races. 

The takeaway? The more specific your prompt, the better ChatGPT’s output. 

Tip #2: Play With Different Tones

ICYMI: ChatGPT can generate responses in a wide range of tones.

From professional and serious to playful and cheesy, experiment with different tones to yield on-brand results.  

Simply add “in [tone type] tone” to the end of your prompt and just like that, you’ve unlocked a whole new batch of responses. 

FYI: You can easily generate new social media captions with Later’s AI Caption Writer tool. Available on all new paid plans.

Tip #3: Focus On Your Niche

A must-know ChatGPT tip is to keep things niche-specific. 

Our advice? Mention your niche when necessary to avoid results irrelevant to your target audience.

For example:

• Instead of: What are the top trending hashtags on [platform]?

• Try: Create a list of the top 10 growing hashtags for [niche] on [platform]. 

TIP: Use Later’s Hashtag Suggestion feature to discover the best Instagram hashtags for your account in seconds!

Tip #4: Put On Your Director's Hat

ChatGPT is no Margot Robbie, but its ability to act shouldn’t be overlooked. 

Adding a simple “act as a…” or “pretend you are a…” to the beginning of your prompt can be the right amount of context needed for the response you’re looking for. 

For example: 

• Instead of: Create a LinkedIn post about [topic].

• Try: Pretend you’re a social media manager in [industry or niche] brainstorming an educational post on LinkedIn about [topic]. Create a bulleted list of three different post ideas with CTAs that'll encourage comments.

Tip #5: Fact-Check Your Results 

As we mentioned, ChatGPT can have errors — so it’s a good idea to fact-check its responses. 

Our advice? Use Google to verify data and a plagiarism tool to avoid ripped off copy. 

But regardless of what ChatGPT splits out, a direct copy and paste is a huge no-no.

Instead, always tweak it to align with your brand voice and breathe life into otherwise mundane content.

Tip #6: Use Later’s Free Template

Detailed, thoughtful ChatGPT prompts can help enhance your workflow. 

And lucky for you, we’ve already done the heavy lifting. 

With Later’s free ChatGPT prompts for social media managers, you can: 

• Automate your daily schedule

• Free up time to focus on more creative work 

• Inspire your next best ideas

So, while the bots aren’t taking over yet, embracing AI as a social media manager = a sure-fire way to stay on top of the latest trends, streamline the nitty gritty, and kill it on social. 

P.S. Later is trusted by over 7M social media managers, brands, and creators to schedule and manage their social media content — saving them tons of time. Crush it in your role and sign up for free today.