The 4Cs of social marketing, with AI in mind

AI is changing what and how we create for social media.

Nine years ago, I gave an interview about the 4Cs of social media marketing. This framework is grounded in the idea that social media works best when content is purposeful, people-first and designed to serve.

In that interview, I defined the 4Cs as:

• Content: creating valuable and relevant information that resonates with your audience
• Connection: building genuine relationships that foster trust and loyalty
• Curation: sharing and contextualizing content to be a meaningful resource
• Community: cultivating a space where your audience feels a sense of belonging and engagement

While AI has made it easier than ever to work smarter, it can’t replace the hard work of intention and creative integrity. So if I were giving this interview all over again today, here’s how I’d reframe the 4Cs of social marketing for today’s digital entrepreneur.

Content then versus now

We no longer have a content creation problem. If anything, we have a content abundance problem. AI can generate writing. Images. Sound. Infographics.

Creativity is now more accessible than ever, and that’s a seriously good thing.

But as AI continues to bring our wildest dreams to life, a question I once asked becomes all the more important:

Why post just for the sake of posting?

Creativity doesn’t have to come at the expense of strategy. And structure doesn’t have to come at the expense of flexibility. And speed doesn’t have to come at the expense of value. Social marketing is meant to influence behaviors, and that influence should lead to action.

The No. 1 cause of burnout is doing the same thing over and over again and not seeing results.

Steve Kaczmarski

Whether a content idea is your own or AI-generated, some key questions to ask before you post are:

• What product does this post relate to?
• What part of the customer journey is it addressing?
• How does this bring value to the business I’m building?
• Is this a valuable use of someone’s time?

Now more than ever is the time to be purposeful with what we post. AI can help increase our capacity for content, but the clarity and direction you bring is what makes social marketing a worthwhile time investment for your business.

Connection is earned, not engineered

In my original interview, I talked about how connection drives loyalty, and loyalty drives sales. I realize how that could be interpreted as advice to engineer connection for the sake of conversions. For example, I remember getting messages from people that read a little something like this:

“Hey girl! Looks like we both have a dog. I wanted to invite you to my upcoming webinar on building a cheese business with zero capital. Are you in?”

That’s not connection. It’s a sales tactic thinly wrapped in common ground.

And now with chatbots, agents and other AI helpers in the mix, it’s possible to move even further away from genuine connection.

I see less of this forced approach these days, but I want to emphasize that when you treat connection like a sales tactic, you lose trust instead of gaining loyalty.

AI has made people even more sensitive to what’s real and what’s not. So, don’t pretend you can relate. Instead, really get to know your audience. You can earn that connection by being consistent and showing up with integrity.

This is how you build real loyalty. And the real win for entrepreneurs right now is that you don’t need to scale it—you just need to mean it.

Educational content can nudge us to dive deeper. Inspiring content can make us curious to explore more. Entertaining content can foster connection that calls us to action.

Curation, but also sense making

AI can find and summarize content in seconds.

When I opened Facebook a week ago, I saw a memory of the interview I did for Pretty Women Hustle on the 4Cs of social marketing. I transcribed the audio then asked AI to summarize what I discussed. I was surprised to find that while the platforms have changed, everything I talked about nine years ago was still relevant today. So I asked AI to write a LinkedIn post I could share. The engagement on that post led me to writing the article you’re reading now.

In a few clicks, I curated my own content!

But curated content alone is not what makes it valuable. It’s the perspective I’ve added to it.

Curation is a chance to show you’re plugged into your industry, your customers and the moment we’re living in.

AI can show us anything we ask for—any topic, headline, opinion or trend, so curation in this new digital landscape is about helping people make sense of what they’re seeing, not just being a resource.

It’s your ability to interpret, to question and to connect the dots that gives that gives curated content its power.

The value isn’t only in the link being shared. It’s in the lens you bring.

Community, but also audience and customer

If you hit play on my original interview, you’ll hear me say social media isn’t just about growing numbers. Your audience should feel like they’re part of something bigger. I also want to emphasize this key point: don’t mistake your audience for community.

In the same way that every follower is not your customer, when we blur the line between audience and community, we risk delivering content that doesn't align with people’s needs.

• Audience means knowing who your people are and what they care about. It’s built on attention and relevance.
• Customers are the people you serve or hope to serve. They require nurturing and expect a certain level of service.
• Community is something else entirely. It’s not just about how people relate to you—it’s also how they show up for each other.

AI continues to expand what’s possible in how we reach and serve people. It can help us understand behavioral patterns. It can support personalized outreach. It can even help moderate and scale communication.

But AI cannot foster community. You need people building, being and participating in a shared experience for that.

As AI becomes more integrated into every business function, especially social marketing, it’s less about keeping up and more about showing up with purpose.

Social marketing has become more of an essential part of business over the years, but with AI becoming more integrated into our digital world, it’s less about keeping up and more about showing up with purpose.

A decade later, the 4Cs have proven to be more than just tactics—they’re tools for building trust, sparking real connection and moving business forward while serving others.