How to Use AI for Social Media Post Creation

Social media is an indispensable part of our lives, as well as most businesses’ marketing strategies. Learn how to use AI for social media to maximize your content production, whilst seriously cutting down on costs.

Small business owners often struggle to maintain an active social media presence amidst various responsibilities, such as customer acquisition, dealing with suppliers, and more. 

While 93% of customers expect a business to have a social media presence, the challenge lies in consistent content creation. 

Since the launch of ChatGPT, AI has become mainstream and a lot of AI-powered social media tools have come up. These AI tools for social media aids in automated content creation, social media design, generating post ideas, and so much more.

Using AI for social media will save up a lot of hours that you might put into generating content ideas, blog posts, and managing various social media channels.

We’ll look at three kinds of tools:

• AI tools for social media graphics
• AI for creating social media posts (text)
• AI social media manager tools

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AI tools for social media graphics

We’ll start with perhaps the most popular uses of AI for social media: AI-powered design tools.

There are many social media design tools you can use to create your own graphics. However, if you don’t have any design expertise, or simply want to create social media graphics more quickly, some of these AI options can be useful.

Canva

Canva is probably the most popular DIY design tool. But recently it also launched the option of using AI for social media content creation. Here’s what you can expect from it.

Pros

• Offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
• Provides access to a vast library of templates, fonts, and images.
• Incorporates AI image recognition technology to suggest relevant visuals for your content.

Cons

• The free version has limited features, and more advanced functionalities require a subscription.

But how is the quality of Canva’s AI-generated social media graphics? For the purposes of this article, I’m going to use the same brief across all AI social media tools: “illustration of  girl in casual, modern clothes working at a computer”.

These are the four options I got with Canva’s AI image generator.

Although it’s not bad, there’s a lot left to be desired. Most of the illustrations are pretty simple and done in a similar style (granted, there was no guidance here). But more importantly, some of the fine tuning is missing. For example, the second and third illustration seem to be missing parts (eye and arm), and most detailing is nonexistant.

Compared to Canva’s stellar design templates, it seems its AI for creating social media posts is yet to be refined.

Fotor

Fotor is one of the most useful social media design AI tools, as it allows you to create a range of AI-generated graphics, as well as use their AI software for photo editing.

Pros

• Includes an AI face, image, art, and photo effect generator
• A library of social media templates
• Additional photo editing options

Cons

• AI doesn’t generate a lot of options
• Limited availability with free plan (you only get 5 free AI-generated images)

One reason why use AI for social media content creation is to get ideas. This is where Fotor falls short. I’ve used the same brief as Canva and it only came up with a couple of ideas, both quite similar.

Although the free trial is available, it only comes with 5 credits to create images, so you’d soon need to update to a paid plan. You can opt to pay $0.05 per credit (AI-generated image), or get 200 credits a month for $9.99.

Night Cafe

Tis a social media design AI image generator. So even if you don’t get the exact design you wanted, chances are you’ll get plenty of great ideas.

Pros

• Versatile AI-generated images
• Different styles
• It’s free if you create one image at a time.

Cons

• Dashboard is not very intuitive
• More useful for digital artists, rather than social media use.

The quality of work is quite good, and as you can see the options are quite a bit more versatile than with the previous examples. That said, you’ll find that the designs are quite intricate, so they might be difficult to adapt for social media marketing in most cases.

Although you can get AI social media design for free with Night Cafe, you must purchase credits in order to generate more than 1 result at a time. The cheapest plan costs $6 per month for 100 credits (1 credit = 4  images).

Narrato

Narrato AI Content Genie is an auto-content marketer that generates 20 to 25 pieces of social media and blog content weekly based on your website URL and themes.

Yes, you heard that right. Just put in your website’s theme and URL and its generative AI will create social media posts on autopilot.

Pros

• Wide variety of AI tools and visual content templates
• The SEO brief generator gives you a SEO brief for a blogpost, along with keywords, references, word count, and an SEO score.
• The dashboard is user-friendly and suitable for beginners

Cons

• Some technical issues were prompted by users, but nothing major

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I created this image using Narrato’s AI Image generator tool. You can choose one of the various image styles - cartoon, realistic, oil painting, 3D render, etc. You can also choose an orientation - portrait, landscape, square, and more.

But what I liked the most was the choice of additional styles - black and white, portrait, close-up, ambient light, and more.

Narrato offers a 7-day free trial but then you will have to pay $36/month for a Pro plan and $76/month for a Business plan. They don’t charge you based on credits.

Narrato also offers social media designs for specifically LinkedIn, so make sure you use this tool if you do LinkedIn marketing.

Pictory

Pictory is an AI tool revolutionizing social media video creation, as it allows users to generate videos from text. It also makes content repurposing easy, since you can edit existing videos.

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Pros

• Pictory is a user-friendly tool that doesn't require any prior experience in video editing.
• A wide range of customization options, allowing users to create videos that perfectly match their brand and style.
• A library of templates that users can use to quickly create videos without having to start from scratch.

Cons

• Some users have found that the templates offered by Pictory are not always suitable for their needs.
• Some users have reported that the animations in Pictory can be glitchy or inconsistent.

Pictory offers an all-in-one video marketing toolkit packed with beautiful AI features to simplify video content creation for social. But with their free trial plan you can create 3 video projects, each of up to 10 mins long!

However, if you want the premium features, the plans start at $19/month and can go up to $99/month.

AI social media content writing tools

The other part of a successful social media post is, of course, great copy. Not that long ago it was unthinkable to use AI tools for social media content creation, but nowadays the tools are so advanced that it can be impossible to tell apart copy written by a human and AI.

That said, it’s always advisable to adapt the copy provided by AI tools to fit your brand’s voice and tone. It could be the use of particular emojis or adding a personal anecdote where appropriate. People value authenticity and this is something you should never sacrifice for the sake of speedy social media content production.

ChatGPT

If you haven’t heard about ChatGPT, or even used it - where have you been? This ai chatbot developed by OpenAI released in November 2022 works both as a useful search engine, and an AI writing tool.

Pros

• It’s free and easy to use
• The writing is usually quite natural-sounding

Cons

• You are limited to 2048 characters per response
• Content is not personalized

AI for social media content is used best when you have the option to provide your input and help these tools “learn” about your style and tone of voice. Unfortunately, this isn’t an option with ChatGPT, so be prepared to work on the copy it provides to adapt it to your needs.

Lately

If you want to step things up with a paid AI content writing tool, Lately is worth checking out. It allows you to input your own data, which the tool then uses along with millions of other data points to create tailor-made content for optimal performance. Pricing starts at $199 per month, which isn’t all that cheap, especially considering that you’ll still have to do some of the writing/editing work yourself.

But, as a paid tool, lately comes with lots of perks.

Pros

• It processes your social media data to deliver the best results.
• Learns your brand’s tone of voice
• Can be used for long-form content as well
• 7-day free trial

Cons

• It’s expensive.

CopyAI

If you want to use AI for creating social media posts, you definitely want to check out this tool. Not only is it free, but it’s also created specifically for marketing purposes (unlike ChatGPT which is also meant to offer useful and detailed answers to specific queries).

It also allows you to create your infobase with input that will help the AI tool create more tailored content.

Pros

• You can create templates
• Natural-sounding language
• Intuitive dashboard

Cons

• It’s still in beta phase.
• Free plan is limited to 2000 words per month.
• Some features are only available with the paid plan.

Although the free plan comes with a word count limit, it’s generous enough to be a serious asset for your content creation. If you’d like to have unlimited words, the monthly payment is just $49 per month (or $36 if billed annually).

Finally, like most other AI writing tools, we still have to see how CopyAI will perform. However, for the time being it’s one of the best AI social media tools to use for creating social media posts.

Flick

Flick is an AI social media manager tool that streamlines your social media content creation. It allows users to craft on-brand captions 10 times faster, thanks to its AI Social Media Assistant. 

This tool accelerates brainstorming, writing, and planning, generating original and engaging content ideas based on entered topics within seconds. Flick's Content Planner aids in organizing thoughts f

Pros

• Flick simplifies content planning with an efficient Scheduler, saving time and reducing stress.
• Enhance your post reach with Flick's tailored hashtag optimization for targeted content delivery.
• Gain confidence in decision-making through Flick's insightful analytics on social media performance.

Cons

• Limited tools when compared to some of the other AI tools for social media
• Some users noted limitations when posting on Instagram

Flick is a popular AI tool for creating social media posts, and thus it doesn’t offer a free plan. However, you can get 7-day free trials of any of their premium plans - Solo (£11/mo), Pro (£24/mo), and Agency (£55/mo).

Circleboom

Circleboom Publish streamlines social media tasks, offers a versatile post generator with AI-enhanced features like captions, emojis, and hashtags. The tool's integration with OpenAI ensures efficient content creation, allowing users to handle multiple accounts seamlessly. 

Pros

• Beginner-friendly user interface
• Flexible scheduling of social media posts
• Advanced machine learning capabilities to generate social media posts & tags

Cons

• No support on Tiktok yet
• Watermark "Via Circleboom" at the end of posts

Circleboom is ideal for businesses, influencers, and marketers, providing a comprehensive solution for impactful social media content generation and refinement. Their paid plans start from $24/month and go up to $209/month.

AI social media manager tools

The final part of this list will be dedicated to social media automation tools. Some of their features also use AI, which is why we’re including them in this article.

Feed Hive

FeedHive uses AI to analyze your follower activity to predict post success, find optimal posting times, and generate social media post content. If you’ve been looking for different AI tools for social media, this might be your one stop for success.

Pros

• Comprehensive AI-powered suggestions on improving your social posts
• AI content writer
• Customer relations management platform

Cons

• It doesn’t include design
• Some important features, such as unlimited posts, are only available with the Business plan ($99 per month)

Buffer

You’ve probably heard of, or even used Buffer as a social scheduling tool. But there’s much more to it than that. Aside from comprehensive analytics and engagement tools, Buffer’s one of the best automated content creation tools. It’s AI software allows you to create and brainstorm post, as well as repurpose content in one click (e.g. turn a LinkedIn post into a Twitter thread).

Pros:

• Efficient scheduling and automation of social media posts.
• Content calendar and advance planning for consistent social media presence.
• Multi-platform support, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• Analytics and insights to track post performance and make data-driven decisions.
• A lot of features, including the AI writing tool, are free.

Cons:

• Free version has limited features and scheduling capabilities.
• Lack of real-time engagement with followers due to automation.
• May not be suitable for businesses with complex social media strategies or extensive ad campaigns.
• Requires a paid subscription for access to advanced functionalities.

If you want to test out Buffer just for its AI for social media content, you can do so for free. The paid plans are also quite affordable, and even come with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Hootsuite

Similar to Buffer, Hootsuite is a well-known social media management tool. Unlike Buffer, it doesn’t not have a free plan, only a free 30-day trial. WIth a much bigger price, it basically includes everything you need to manage your social media: from scheduling tool, AI chatbot, and competitive benchmarking to a Canva integration that allows you to design easily through Canva.

Pros

• Simplifies social media management by allowing users to schedule posts, monitor mentions, and track analytics in one platform
• Offers AI-powered social listening tools to track brand mentions and sentiment analysis.

Cons:

• it’s much more expensive than some similar platforms.

Why you should use AI tools for social media

So, now that you know what are some of the best tools, it’s worth discussing why you should even use AI in digital marketing. After all, it doesn’t mean AI does all the work for you. And some of these tools also require payment. And yet, opting to use AI for social media content creation has some serious benefits. Here are some of them.

a) Enhanced efficiency: AI tools automate repetitive tasks, such as scheduling posts, analyzing data, and content curation. This frees up valuable time for social media managers, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives and creative content creation.

b) Improved personalization: AI algorithms analyze user behavior and preferences to deliver personalized content tailored to individual users. By understanding your target audience better, you can create more relevant and engaging social media posts.

c) Time and cost savings: Automating content creation and scheduling with AI tools reduces the need for manual labor and streamlines processes, resulting in cost savings and increased productivity.

Conclusion

While AI for social media offers time and cost savings for enhancing your social media networks, remember the importance of a human touch in crafting high-performing social media content. 

For a superior alternative to AI design, ManyPixels provides access to a team of professional designers for a flat monthly fee. Offering unlimited revisions at no extra cost, it ensures designs meet your preferences. 

Get started today or schedule a call to explore how ManyPixels can elevate your creative needs.