The rise of AI tools comes with abundant opportunities, especially for marketers and communication specialists. The latest AI technologies enable more efficient content creation than ever before. For social media posts, AI-generated texts prove to be a real asset in terms of efficiency and time savings.

However, there is also a negative connotation attached to all these developments: is our work as marketers soon to become obsolete, taken over by the latest AI technologies? The rapid advancements in this field occasionally fuel significant concerns. There is no reason for fear or uncertainty, if you ask us. AI allows us to work more efficiently and should be seen as a tool rather than a replacement. Crucially, as a marketer, you must know how to leverage these AI developments to your advantage. This is where the opportunities lie: being able to apply AI to your daily content creation, making you more efficient. Keep on reading if you want to know how!

Automatically generating social media content

ChatGPT is now widely used for automatically generating high-quality content. The benefits are clear: thanks to this AI technology, you save a tremendous amount of time in writing texts. The strength of ChatGPT lies in its versatility and adaptability to effortlessly create tailored content in line with your brand and market.

However, writing a prompt requires some skill. It can be a bit challenging to figure out how to give the tool the right instructions to get suitable content as output. It's not just about providing the right data, but also a certain mindset to work with. A simple prompt in ChatGPT can lead to various outputs. But there is an easier way to quickly create suitable social media content.

Coosto’s AI Content Generator

The AI Content Generator in Publish, Coosto's social media planning module, is designed so that you get customized content with just a few clicks. The answer to uninspired moments or searching for the right words to effectively reach your audience. How does it work? Very simple.

Select the main goal of the social media post: more reach, interaction, or conversion. Then it's a matter of providing the right input. Describe with a few keywords, sentences, or a slightly longer description what the content should be about. The more specific the description, the better the output. Then choose the desired tone of voice: this can be done using a term like formal, humorous, or enthusiastic. You can also choose to embody a well-known character with a distinctive way of speaking, from Donald Duck to Barack Obama.

Finally, choose the desired language: Dutch, English, and Spanish are among the options. This way, you reach not only the local audience in your own country but also a larger and international audience! It's time: automatic content generation can start. Click the button, and voilà! Your tailored content is ready to be shared on social media.

AI: An endless source of content inspiration 

Generating social media content automatically is a breeze. But where do you draw your inspiration for new content? And how do you ensure that your social media posts align with the current conversation? Or better yet, anticipate emerging trends so that you're the first in your market to latch onto a groundbreaking topic.

The answer lies in Coosto's Discover. In this module, our tool analyzes millions of sources in real time and organizes all content based on algorithmically calculated Trending Scores.

Bonus tip! Pick a trending article that’s relevant for your target group and simply copy the title of this article. Paste the copied title into the ‘topic’ field of Coosto’s AI Content Generator and adjust the goal, tone of voice, and language. In a split second, you will have trending content to be shared on all your social media platforms. 

Helping to fight the disease

My personal motivation to participate in Alpe d’HuZes stems from a strong desire to help combat the disease. I've had this feeling for a long time, and it grew stronger when I started my own business. My first company sponsored good causes from the very beginning, and I was fortunate that the business allowed for it. I believe that when you are in a unique position as an entrepreneur to sponsor good causes, you should do so. Entrepreneurship is not just about starting new ventures, growing revenue, or making a profit; it is also about making connections, development, life, and contributing to society.

Coosto & charities

From the start, Coosto has sponsored various good causes, but a few years ago, we decided to fully focus on sponsoring cancer research and treatment. This includes supporting organizations like KWF, the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, smaller and sometimes personal initiatives, and we have been proud sponsors of the wonderful Alpe d’HuZes for eight years now.

Nothing is taken for granted anymore when dealing with cancer

As the years pass, I'm now 53, I have become increasingly aware of how lucky I am that my family, immediate relatives, and friends are in relatively good health. 

I often reflect on the special things in life, such as the fresh scent of an early morning or freshly cut grass, the colorful display of clouds and light during a sunset, peacefully grazing cows in a meadow, or an energizing techno percussion set blasting from the speakers during a car ride. I can enjoy these things without worry, without medical stress, and that feels like pure happiness. I wish this for everyone. All these so-called givens are no longer so obvious when you are ill or when someone you love is sick. These 'trivialities' then suddenly become special moments of happiness. 

Of course, this is different for everyone, and everyone experiences it in their own way. But if my company and I can contribute, even if it is just a drop in the ocean, to fighting cancer with the goal of increasing moments of happiness, then that is the best thing there is.

Alpe d’HuZes 2023

As mentioned, I am an entrepreneur, and from that background, I also wanted to participate and ride up the mountain as an Alpe d’HuZes participant. I love challenges, especially when they are tough.

In 2023, it was time; we participated for the first time, not just as sponsors but also by cycling and running. Being opportunistic, I thought I could just ride up the mountain. After all, it was just over 15 km; I used to cycle that distance to school, it couldn't be that hard. I started training by cycling about 40 km every weekend. With three months to go and extreme weather like snow and frost, I bought an indoor bike trainer to train at home. The advantage of this device was that I could simulate the climb of Alpe d'Huez, and that became my new training goal: climbing Alpe d’Huez as often as possible on the indoor trainer in the attic.

The first time I did it, I was in for a rude wake-up call. I started too fast, and as a result, 30 minutes later, I was completely exhausted and could barely move forward. It was one of my toughest sports experiences ever. I finished the training, but I was utterly wrecked, and the next day I could barely walk due to muscle soreness. That was a serious wake-up call. I realized I had severely underestimated it and that serious work was needed.

I began by reading up on how to train for climbing a mountain by bike. I read training schedules, watched various YouTube videos, and, on the advice of an enthusiastic cycling colleague (thanks for the tip, Stan), listened to the 'Beter Worden' podcast by Laurens ten Dam and gradually adjusted my training. I learned how to train based on wattage, how to adjust my diet, incorporate varied training, and the importance of a good night's sleep. Ultimately, the preparation for 2023 was too short, but I couldn't complain; Team Coosto did fantastic, and it left us wanting more, so we signed up for 2024 immediately.

Preperations Alpe d’HuZes 2024

This time, I planned to start training much earlier, but unexpected business circumstances threw a wrench in the works, and then my mother suddenly passed away. This combination resulted in little training. In the last few months, I have been able to train relatively well. Long rides on weekends of four to five hours, combined with hill training and intervals on the indoor trainer. The result is okay; it could be better, but I am glad I can participate given the circumstances, and I am looking forward to it immensely. It will be an amazing, yet emotional and impactful experience that I will savor to the fullest.

Regarding the sponsorship money, I have decided to personally double the final amount I raise. Hopefully, this will encourage everyone to give generously, but know that every donation is greatly appreciated.

I want to thank everyone in advance for their support, and of course, I will give everything I have on the mountain! 🙂! One last important word:

Don't forget to enjoy life, the little things, the big things, keep things in perspective, and go for it. It's not tomorrow, but now! ❤️

Do you want to contribute to Toine's mission to fight cancer? Donate here!

Toine Verheul

For years, I had the idea of climbing Alpe d'Huez on my bike, inspired by the heroic images of the Tour de France, particularly the victories of Peter Winnen (1981), Gert-Jan Theunisse (1989), Lance Armstrong (2001), and of course, Marco Pantani (1995), who set a world record with an incredible time of 36 minutes and 50 seconds. Along the climb, the route was packed with enthusiastic supporters dressed in the most peculiar clothing. Every year, there was a supporter dressed as a red devil, chasing the cyclists with a trident. Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France was always a great spectacle and gained a mythical status.

On television, the climbs looked tough, and the riders suffered, but watching from the couch, I thought I could do it myself. Maybe I could even come close to a good time!

On June 6, 2006 (6-6-6), 66 people cycled up Alpe d'HuZes 6 times for a good cause, cancer research. There was limited media attention initially, but year after year, the media coverage grew, capturing my attention as well. I would love to participate one day, achieve a sports performance, and sponsor a good cause—a wonderful combination. But the years went by, and there was always a reason not to sign up. I was too busy, not fit enough, cycling wasn't really that enjoyable, supporting charities could be done in other ways, and so on. Until Corona emerged and gripped the world in a dreadful manner. The number of sick people and deaths increased rapidly, and the news mainly focused on vulnerable individuals and those with underlying conditions who passed away to a disease.

During that period, I got to know Maud Burgers and Marlies von Mansveldt from the Prinses Máxima Centrum for Pediatric Oncology. The trigger was an episode of Jeroen Pauw's program "Pauw komt binnen", filmed at the Prinses Máxima Centrum for Pediatric Oncology, where he spoke with children, fathers, mothers, and families about the impact of cancer, the fear, but above all, the zest for life. I happened to come across this episode, and I was captivated by the intensity, honesty, and the pure, sad, but also beautiful stories. When the episode ended, I had an irresistible feeling that I wanted to contribute, to help. That same evening, I sent an email to Maud, stating that I wanted my company to contribute to the good work of the Prinses Máxima Centrum. The next day, I received a positive reply and was invited for a meeting. Two weeks later, I went for a visit, and after a warm welcome, a good conversation, and an impressive and discreet tour, I was even more convinced. We must contribute, and that was the start of our collaboration.

From that moment on, the Coosto management team decided to choose one charity for sponsorship, and that was everything related to cancer research. We were already sponsors of Alpe d'HuZes, but we had never participated in the event. That had to change, and besides, it was an opportunity to climb Alpe d'Huez and make a contribution. In December 2022, I sent an email to the entire company, announcing that we were registering for Alpe d'HuZes 2023. And so it happened, but there was a small detail, and that was the preparation.

By nature, I am quite positive and somewhat limitless in my thinking. Climbing that mountain on a bike couldn't be that difficult, right? The videos on YouTube of cyclists effortlessly riding up the mountain confirmed my suspicion—climbing Alpe d'Huez is quite doable. I wasn't in a hurry to train because I believed it wouldn't be that challenging. At the end of February, I decided to do a simulation training of Alpe d'Huez on my indoor bike trainer. I started off well and got into a good rhythm, but a quarter of the way up, it started to get tough, and by the halfway point, I was already quite exhausted. At 75%, I no longer found it funny and wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into. Two hours later, completely drained and with a significant mental blow, I got off the bike trainer. With a sense of panic, I realized I had a problem—this was much, much tougher than I had expected, serious work was required.

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made a concise list of what needed to be done to cycle up the mountain multiple times. I needed to lose weight, sleep more, eat healthier, train more, vary my training routine, lower my heart rate, and, above all, find out how other climbers prepare. Slowly but surely, I made progress. My endurance training improved, my heart rate became more stable and lower, and my recovery also improved. But is it enough? Now, one week before the start, I still have doubts about whether I am adequately prepared, but the excitement for the event is growing. I think it's super cool that I can participate, and I won't disappoint my sponsors. On Thursday, June 1, I will be ready and give it my all, enjoy it to the fullest, and have a beautiful and extraordinary experience. Giving up is not an option.

Thank you for your support and generous donations, we're going for it!

Help Toine reach his goal and donate here

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