Lately, I’ve noticed a worrying trend in growing businesses. When the numbers aren’t moving fast enough, or if engagement stalls, the immediate response is to push the marketing team harder. The assumption is that the problem is a lack of effort.
In reality, most teams are already stretched thin. They’re not lacking motivation or talent but trapped in systems that drain their time and attention before they ever have the chance to do meaningful work.
Instead of chasing more output, the focus should be on reshaping the way the work itself flows.
Where Things Really Break Down
Behind the scenes of most marketing departments is a long list of tasks that have nothing to do with creativity or strategy. Time is eaten up by formatting, scheduling, reporting, rewriting, resizing, cleaning up data, searching for information, or working with clunky tools.
By the time the “real” work begins, energy and focus are already running low.
AI can help because it handles mechanical and repetitive tasks that don’t require intuition or emotional intelligence, so your team can focus on meaningful strategy.
That’s where its value lies.
Be honest with yourself. How much of your marketing team’s time is spent on tasks a machine could do faster? Are your people creating or just managing platforms? If 10–15 hours opened up every week, where should their focus go?
Learn the answers to these questions and more with my Social Media for Small Business Owners course!
Smart AI Use Strengthens Human Thinking
There’s a big misconception that using AI makes your brand feel less human. What I see is usually the opposite. When AI is used strategically, it gives your team the mental space to go deeper into the things that actually make a brand resonate: tone, empathy, positioning, story.
It can help your team organise thoughts more quickly or analyze patterns that are easy to miss. This changes the quality of decisions being made. Instead of reacting in a rush, there is room to respond with intention.
This is where smarter work starts to show up in the results. Content becomes more aligned. Messaging becomes more focused. Audiences feel more understood, not more “marketed to.”
The human element becomes stronger because it’s no longer buried under busywork.
Smart Begins With One Intentional Shift
The most important thing you need before you get started is awareness. Take note of which tasks are draining the most time and energy. Look at what’s being repeated week after week. Pay attention to where creativity stalls because the workload is too heavy.
From there, AI can be introduced as support. Strategy, relationships, and values remain human-led, so it isn’t a replacement. AI simply reinforces the system that holds everything together.
When that balance is struck, your team works with more focus and confidence, all with a stronger sense of purpose.
Why This Works
Burnout is a sign that something in the system needs to change. The businesses that will thrive in the next few years will be those that design smarter ways for their people to work rather than simply demanding more from them.
If your marketing feels exhausting instead of energising, it may be time to change your approach.
At That RANDOM Agency, we combine data with empathy and curiosity to design marketing systems that are equally intelligent and human. Our work is centred on making brands feel more connected, not more automated.
Join my Social Media for Small Business Owners course where I teach a practical, human-first framework that works alongside AI instead of fighting against it.
Let’s make your marketing feel clearer, lighter, and far more effective.