AI-generated social media content: what works and what doesn't
AI is very good at the part of social media that is expensive and repetitive, and noticeably bad at the part that makes an account worth following. Knowing which is which is most of the skill.
Step by step
- 1
Start from a specific visual idea, not a topic
"Social post about our sale" produces filler. "Sunlit overhead shot of the new sneaker on concrete, hard shadows, 9:16" produces something usable. Name the subject, the light, the angle and the aspect ratio.
- 2
Give it your real product
Drop in a reference photo so the render riffs on your actual product rather than inventing a generic one. This is the single biggest jump in output quality.
- 3
Generate several, keep one
At 1 credit per image, generating six and discarding five is the correct workflow. Judge them at thumbnail size — that's how they'll be seen.
- 4
Write the caption yourself when it matters
Let AI draft, then rewrite the first line. The hook is where a human voice is worth the most and where generated copy is most obviously generated.
- 5
Check it against reality before posting
AI will happily render a product in a colour you don't sell. Verify anything a customer could hold you to — colours, features, prices, claims.
What AI is genuinely good at here
Volume and variation. Ten aspect ratios of the same concept, twenty background treatments, a month of thumbnails in a consistent style. It's also good at the blank-page problem: a mediocre first draft you react against is more useful than an empty editor.
What it's bad at
Opinions, specifics, and anything that requires having been somewhere. Generated copy defaults to the average of everything written about a topic, which is exactly the register people scroll past. Text rendered inside an image is still unreliable — put your words in the caption or an overlay, not baked into the render.
A prompt that works, dissected
"Cinematic close-up of a matcha latte on a pale oak table, morning window light from the left, shallow depth of field, steam visible, 9:16 vertical." It names the subject, the surface, the light direction, the lens behaviour, one moving detail, and the format. Every one of those does work. Drop any of them and the model picks for you.
Common questions
- Will people be able to tell it's AI?
- For product photography and abstract or graphic backgrounds, usually not. For human faces and hands, often yes. If your brand depends on showing real people, use AI for the surrounding creative and real footage for the people.
- Do I need to disclose AI-generated content?
- Several platforms now ask you to label synthetic media, and the rules differ by platform and change frequently. Check the current policy for each channel you post to — and label it when in doubt, since the penalty for undisclosed synthetic media is generally worse than the cost of a label.
- How much does it cost to generate?
- An image is 1 credit, an edit or restyle is 2, and a cinematic video clip is 20. Every account starts with 40 free credits and no card.
Related guides
Try it yourself
MarketingBoss generates the creative, writes the caption and publishes on your schedule. 40 free credits, no card.
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