Best Practices for Using an AI Assistant for Your Small Business

Leveraging AI in Thryv can be a game-changer for your small business. From responding to customer reviews to creating social media content and email campaigns, AI can simplify many tasks. Here’s how to make the most of it:

1. When Responding to Online Reviews

• Iterate and improve: ThryvAI will automatically generate 3 responses based on the wording of the customer's review. But remember, you can regenerate 3 new reviews as many times as you'd like. If the first batch doesn't sound authentic to your brand, click the button again for 3 more responses. You can repeat this until you get a response that suits you
• Remember to edit: You don't need to use the AI response verbatim. You're encouraged to edit the response to make it sound more like your brand. Be on the lookout for text that needs replacing like [Your Name]. Remember, even though ThryvAI is serving as the starting point, you still have complete control over your response
• Thank Customers: For positive reviews, a quick thank you added to the end of the post can make a world of difference
• For more information about using ThryvAI to respond to online reviews, Click Here

2. Creating Social Media Captions: Short, Catchy, and Relevant

• Be Specific: To get engaging captions, specify the tone and purpose. For example, "Create a fun Instagram caption for a spring sale," or "Write a professional LinkedIn post about our latest product launch." In addition, specify the length for the caption or anything specific you would like included.
• Try Multiple Options: AI can generate various styles for a single post, so ask for several options to see what aligns best with your brand voice. You are able to set the number of responses given when using ThryvAI to generate your caption, so take advantage of the opportunity!
• Use Hashtags and emojis: You can also ask ThryvAI to add relevant hashtags or emoji to increase the post’s reach. These are great tools to enhance your caption!
• For a full guide to using ThryvAI to help write your social captions, Click Here!

3. Writing Email Campaigns: Keep It Friendly and Action-Oriented

• Define Your Audience: When using ThryvAI to write email copy in the Pro Campaign Editor, specify your audience for a more personalized tone. For example, "Create a promotional email for first-time customers" will produce a different result than one for returning clients.
• Coordinate with your Call to Action: Specify your CTAs in your prompts to drive customer action, such as "Write a CTA to encourage customers to sign up for a free trial." This way your copy will drive your audience to click on your action buttons
• Iterate and revise: Remember, it's common to use multiple prompts to get the result you're looking for from AI. Try different prompts to zero in on the exact copy you're looking for.

Crafting Effective Prompts: What Makes a Good Prompt?

In the context of AI, a prompt is a specific instruction or question that you give to the AI to guide its response. It can be as simple as a few words or a detailed description, and the quality of the prompt often influences how relevant or useful the AI's answer will be. The quality of your prompt determines the quality of the AI's response. 

For review responses, the customer's review serves as the prompt, as this allows ThryvAI to create a thoughtful response personalized for that customer. For Social and the Pro Campaign Editor, you will enter the prompts yourself. 

For effective prompts, be as specific as possible. Rather than simply saying "write me a post to advertise my lawn service," try "write a 3 sentence post for Facebook letting customers know how it would benefit them to sign up for recurring lawn treatment this season." By using a specific prompt, you'll avoid being "lost in the noise" of others who are using AI and differentiate yourself among your competition. 
As you continue to use AI, take stock of what has worked before, especially if you see some posts with a higher reach or even going viral. Repeat the same techniques and fine-tune your process to get better results from ThryvAI.

Want to learn from other users about how they are using AI successfully? Post in our User Community!