Police Marketing 101: Using AI for Diversity is Not Very Intelligent!

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Have you started or been considering using AI for your police recruiting efforts?  Artificial Intelligence is an amazing tool with a ton of benefits...but if you’re using AI to highlight diversity at your agency, I’m going to tell you exactly why you need to stop doing that immediately...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO and this week, I’m braving the flood of messages I’m about to get from AI companies all over the world telling me how great their product is, and I shouldn’t discourage using it for police recruiting, but that’s ok.  I’m here to take it, so you don’t have to! 😎

Listen, I think AI is an incredible tool and I use it all the time both at my department and in my business to make things easier for me, and you should too.  💨

From editing and captioning videos to social media post scheduling and hashtag identification it really is a game changer.  But if Artificial Intelligence wasn’t artificial even it would tell you don’t use this technology to replace your own creativity and persona.  💯

I’ve been seeing a lot of agencies starting to use AI generated images in their social media posts and that’s fine, but I’m starting to notice a trend that’s a bit alarming.  😳

Just recently, I was scrolling through LinkedIn when I came across a job post for an agency where it showed an AI generated image of an African American woman in casual clothes with a thought bubble of the same AI generated woman in a police uniform.  💭👮‍♀️

The gist of the post is great...stop dreaming, start doing type of thing...really good angle to pursue for police recruiting.  But here are the three areas both this agency and you need to be aware of before using AI to highlight diversity at your agency.  ⚠️

1.  It’s disingenuous

Say this out loud...'I’m using fake diversity to highlight diversity at my agency'.  🗣️

Sounds pretty dumb, right...well, that’s exactly what you’re doing by using AI generated images of minorities in your advertising or social media posts.  It’s a fraud and makes you look incredibly bad.  🤨

Look, I get it...it’s 2024 and everyone’s searching for diversity, and we should be.  But be genuine about it.  Use real people.  If you don’t have any diversity to highlight, that just means you’re gonna have to work extra hard to start attracting applicants who are lesser represented at your agency. 🏋️

No, that does not mean lowering standards or making exceptions for people who don’t meet qualifications...it means you’re going to have to get out in your community, whether online or in person, and show people that you value the different perspectives and life experiences they will bring to your agency and community.  🤩

2.  You’re missing the connection

If you want to start effectively recruiting in 2024 you have to meet people where they’re at, build a relationship with them, and show them why people like them, work for you.  This is absolutely critical if you are anywhere near serious about filling your vacancies.  🚨

The only thing AI generated images are going to give you is over polished, six mangled fingers of that’s not me.  Why AI can’t get human fingers right is beyond me, but even in the thought bubble ad I described earlier, there they were.  Woman’s arms were crossed, and six mangled fingers front and center. 6️⃣ 🖐️

Now, this shouldn’t be confused with you having to have models posing for your posts.  None of us are perfect...and our flaws, perceptions, quirks, and uniqueness are what makes human beings great.  That’s the secret to attracting applicants...they can see themselves subconsciously in others who work for you.  🙌

That’s never happening with an AI generated image.  Ever.  ❌❌❌

3.  You’re setting yourself up for backlash

AI generated images are still pretty new, so the backlash hasn’t quite started yet in this area...but as with anything these days...it’s just a matter of time before someone is offended and comes calling in your social media comments section.  And yes, this will go for all races and genders.  😠  

You’re going to be called out for being fake, pandering to an audience, or again, using the ad that I saw on LinkedIn, portraying certain people as freaks with six mangled fingers.  Obviously, that was never your intention with the image, but they’re going to say it anyway.  And they’re going to say it a lot. 🤬🤬🤬

Save yourself a ton of problems later and post real people.   Build connections with your applicants by posting real people.  Be genuine and true...by posting real people. 👍

Need more direction to keep your police marketing on track and out of trouble? 

My Road to Better Recruiting course is perfect for you and is available now! 📽️

Packed with everything you need to start recruiting like it’s 2025, you'll learn how to use my recruiting MAP to get your agency headed in the right direction, how to sift through all of those recruiting solutions companies are pitching you so you can figure out which is right for you, and I'll introduce you to the perfect marketing vehicle that will get you flying down the road to hiring awesome people again. 💪

Enroll now at www.forcopstraining.com/rtbr and take control of your police recruiting!  📨

Have a friend at another agency who may be considering using AI generated images for their recruiting efforts?  Give this blog a like or share it with them so they can learn too.  Remember, we’re all in this together...it’s not a competition.  The future of our profession will thank you.  🤝

Have more questions about police recruiting, marketing, or anything else you're struggling with? Don't hesitate to reach out...I’m always here to help. ⛑

Until next week my Police Marketing Squad, happy recruiting! 😃

Tom

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👋 I’m Tom Sye, your Police Marketing FTO. I founded ‘For Cops’ Training to teach Police Departments how to attract more qualified candidates through the same tried and tested methods I’ve used for the past ten years at my own department to keep up with turnover and stay ahead of vacancies.

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