INTRODUCTION
According to Statista, more than 250 million people used AI tools last year, with the numbers expected to push past 700 million by the end of the decade. Municipalities can use artificial intelligence (AI) tools for external communications, including for digital marketing. This is another avenue to enhance citizen engagement and streamline employee tasks.
With so many uses of AI, here are three ways municipalities can use it for digital marketing purposes.
CREATE GRAPHICS USING AI
Using artificial intelligence image generators, like Image Creator from Microsoft Designer or Canva AI, can help municipalities save time if they don’t have a graphic designer on staff. They are both free and easy to use.
To use Canva’s “Text to Image” app, go to Canva’s homepage and then to the App Marketplace. Click on “Text to Image” app to either use an existing design or start anew.
Now, write a description of what you want to see, then click “generate.” It’s better to be more descriptive in your prompts by including information like style, genre, angle, lighting, color or image resolution. For example, “Create a high-quality photograph about upcoming firehose testing. Use a bright-colored stock image of a firehose as the main image.” Users can generate up to 100 images daily for free.
These graphics can be used in social media, e-newsletters, marketing material, surveys, etc.
CREATE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS USING AI
You can use AI tools to write the copy for your social media posts. For example, you can write a prompt to have Claude write short summaries of a recent board/city council meeting after feeding it a transcription.
Depending on your target audience, AI also can use trendy language in your social media posts. For example, if your municipality is targeting young professionals, AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude can help use words that include trending language, or acronyms that might appeal to that group. A sample Instagram post could say something like. “In our projects era. Visit the Village’s website to learn more about ongoing projects.”
Prompts like “Create 2-3 Facebook posts for the Village of [NAME] that discuss some of the ordinances residents should follow. Write in trendy language. [include municipality website].”
CREATE MARKETING MATERIALS USING AI
AI tools also can help municipalities create marketing materials. These could be shared with your stakeholders, residents and elected officials.
As an example, if your municipality has residents who are non-English-speaking, tools like Claude AI can translate print material (e.g., Village-wide mailings, direct mail postcards, etc.) to Spanish and other languages. Once you log into Claude, click on “add content,” then upload your file. In the prompt section, write something along the lines of, “Translate the attached document into Spanish.”