The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has revolutionized content creation for financial advisors.
With the demand for personalized and insightful content, AI offers a transformative solution to automate mundane tasks, analyze data-driven insights and generate tailored content at scale.
From crafting engaging blog posts and social media updates to generating comprehensive market reports and client communications – AI streamlines the content creation process – enabling advisors to focus on strategic decision-making and client relationships.
Industry marketing maven Marie Swift knows the full potential of AI. Her firm, Impact Communications, relies on many of these time-saving tools in their daily practice. Swift outlined some of these AI-powered content creation tools in a recent article in Action! magazine.
I sat down with Swift so we could delve further into the topic of AI and how AI-powered tools empower financial advisors in content creation. Click the video below to watch the full interview and learn how you can use AI-driven content creation to enhance efficiency and elevate the quality and relevance of your financial advice.
Transcript:
Suleman Din: I wanted to just ask two questions. So my first question to you is for anybody who reads this article, what's the importance of exploring these AI tools as they try to figure out how to use them to help create communications for their practice, marketing and also client outreach?
Marie Swift: I have to admit that when I first started to think about using generative AI in my own business as a PR communications person and for our clients downstream, I was skeptical. I really thought nobody could do it better than me and my team because after all, we're human beings who are professionals at doing this and our clients are experts at what they do and we just help them do it in a more powerful way. But what I found is that it's a huge time saver. One of the reasons that the listeners and the viewers of this video might want to think about trying something is because it's starting to become embedded everywhere. I don't know if you've noticed that if you go to LinkedIn now, it prompts you, what do you want to write about? I just got a promo for MailChimp, the email platform, and Constant Contact, the email platform that said you can build full email campaigns right in that software program. It's starting to be everywhere and I think that the trick is to become better as human beings as the users to prompt the software, to give it the prompt that will give you the output that you're hoping for so that you don't have to do so much work afterward perfecting it. To get ready for this interview, Suleman, I have to admit, I actually used ChatGPT to come up with some talking points.
Din: There's no judgment here and there's, I guess, no real wrong way to use these tools either. Especially if you're just exploring how to use them and get a sense of what output they'll give you. In your exploration, how have you defined the uses that you want to put this technology to work for you and how do you kind of set the standards for your own self as a professional in communications of quality?
Swift: One thing we use AI for is to generate inspiration and ideas. We rarely ever use it as is. So I would say rule number one is to use it as a springboard but don't think of it as a be-all, end-all. You're going to want to go through multiple rounds of iteration and checks and balances to make sure that you're compliant, that you're coherent, that you are on brand – there's a lot to think about. I would say a simple step would be just to try the thing that is right there in front of you. Just be aware of the AI that's already being offered to you. For instance, in your email program, it'll fill in the rest of the sentence for you is generating what it thinks that you want to say and just be open to those suggestions.
But back to the idea of having good quality, we always run our AI content through a team of human beings and then through a couple of other programs. One that we really like is called Reword. It will give us ideas for statistics and links that we can use as sources and sometimes we like those and it cuts down some work for us. Grammarly just to make sure that we're not using passive voice, that we're using active voice, that we're clear and concise with good grammar and punctuation. I would say Quillbot is another one. It's like a feather, a quill. Quillbot, that's great. And some specific ones in the industry we're starting to see. Oh, for instance, Wealth.io has a client engagement tool that is AI-generated. RiXtrema has one that is AI-generated. WealthManagementGPT has one that is specific to our industry. So trying some of those is an easy step forward. And I think once you get used to how you can use these tools, it gets easier and easier to see how it can be a springboard to save time and be a better communicator.
Din: I feel like you've answered a lot of my second question, but to pose it in another way, you know, for someone who is interested, they've read the article, they feel inspired, they want to use AI and content generation. It sounds like, obviously, playing with these tools and exploring them is one step that you would recommend. But any other advice that you would give a novice or somebody who's interested in using it but may have some apprehension as to how to use it in an effective way?
Swift: Well, I would study what other people are doing. If you're in a mastermind group, a study group, at a conference, get with other advisors or people who are using AI, I have to admit, I'm a boomer and I'm using AI more than my staff is, some of whom are Millennials and Gen Z. They're kind of poo-pooing it more than even I am, but I figure that I can blaze a trail. I was skeptical about Twitter and social media early on, but then I found once I got into the habit, I think that's important to get into the habit of using these tools. Then you start to say, “Hey, that's pretty good. I think it can be helpful in the business.”
