AI Isn’t The Enemy - It’s Our Ally In Social Media Marketing (But Let’s Use It Wisely)
AI is changing social media marketing by making tasks faster and easier, but humans are still critical for keeping the brand voice and emotional connection strong. James Armstrong, Creative Director, Social Firefly dives into the world of AI and what he thinks the best approach is for AI in social media marketing.
AI is everywhere, and if you work in social media marketing, chances are you’ve already been asked, “Is AI going to take over your job?”
As the owner of a social media agency, I can confidently say: no. But it is going to change how we work – and that can be a very good thing (for the contentious marketer).
AI as a tool, not a replacement
Let’s get one thing straight: AI is here to support us, not replace us.
It's a tool that, when used well, helps us work smarter. According to Smartsheet’s 2025 Pulse of Marketing Report, 87% of marketers believe better tools would help them be more efficient. Unsurprisingly, AI tools are right at the top of that wishlist.
In practice, AI can help us:
Analyse performance data faster.
Spot trends earlier.
Generate content ideas.
Automate repetitive tasks.
All of this frees up time for what we really want to be doing: thinking creatively, connecting with audiences, and building campaigns with heart and purpose.
The human side still matters
But AI can’t do everything – and that’s where we humans come in. No matter how smart a tool is, it still lacks the human context, emotional nuance, and cultural awareness that great social media marketing needs.
It’s up to us as marketers to make sure that AI is guided by the right inputs. That means:
Ensuring brand tone of voice is maintained.
Briefing tools clearly (like you would a junior team member).
Always reviewing outputs with a critical, human eye.
Without this care, it’s easy to end up with content that sounds almost right – but feels a bit off. That’s where I think lazy marketers may get caught out!
The reality of AI in advertising
It’s not just content where AI is making its mark. Ad platforms – particularly Meta – are pushing a growing range of AI-powered features to “help” advertisers. But from experience, many of these tools actually just get in the way.
Take Advantage+ audiences or automated creative tools like image enhancement. If you don’t manually turn some of these features off, your ads can end up looking and feeling completely off-brand. We’ve seen AI-enhanced visuals that strip away brand colours, or tweak image compositions in ways that simply don’t reflect the creative we intended to deliver.
And while AI features promise increased performance, we’ve tested them – and the results haven’t matched the hype. Campaigns using AI-generated creative or Advantage+ audience targeting have consistently underperformed when compared to ads built with human-made visuals and interest-based audiences.
The lesson? AI can speed things up, but it can’t replace the insight and intuition of a well-informed marketer who truly understands their client, audience, and creative intent.
AI investment is rising – and for good reason
Most of us are still leaning in – according to Sprout Social’s State of Social Media report, 93% of business leaders expect to be investing in AI tools that help teams become more efficient and productive while also freeing up people to do deeper, more meaningful work. That’s the balance we’re all trying to strike: making our processes more efficient without losing the human insight that drives real impact.
But let’s not ignore the environmental cost
One thing we don’t talk about enough? The environmental impact of AI.
Most large-scale AI deployments are run in data centres – millions of them. These centres use vast amounts of energy, water, and raw materials. To build a single 2kg computer, for example, takes about 800kg of raw materials (according to the UN’s Environment Programme). Many of the microchips that power AI rely on rare earth elements, which are often mined in environmentally damaging ways.
On top of that:
Data centres produce electronic waste, which can contain hazardous substances like lead and mercury.
They consume huge amounts of water to stay cool – one estimate suggests AI infrastructure may soon use six times more water than the entire country of Denmark.
Most of their energy still comes from fossil fuels. In Ireland, AI data centres could account for 35% of the country’s total energy use by 2026.
Even just using AI tools – like sending a request to ChatGPT – uses roughly 10x more electricity than a standard Google search.
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use AI. But it does mean we need to use it responsibly and be aware of the bigger picture.
The bottom line: people + AI = better marketing
AI isn’t the enemy of marketers. But it’s also not a silver bullet. The real magic happens when people and AI work together – when we use the speed and scale of AI to unlock more time and headspace for strategy, creativity and meaningful connection.
Let’s keep the human at the heart of our work – and use AI as the powerful, helpful sidekick it was always meant to be.
Join us in London at SocialDay’s Social Media Fest, 20-22 May, and hear from James Armstrong and other experts as they explore the world of AI. socialday.co.uk
