Leveraging AI for marketing and growth

From: gregisenberg

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, leveraging AI to create engaging, viral content is emerging as a cutting-edge strategy for business growth. This approach focuses on developing high-quality, attention-grabbing applications, particularly games, to drive user engagement and ultimately, expand audience reach and revenue [00:00:10].

The Power of AI-Generated Micro-Apps

Alex Finn, a prominent figure known for his viral content on X (formerly Twitter), has demonstrated the immense potential of AI-powered micro-apps, specifically video games, for marketing and business growth [00:00:56]. By utilizing platforms like Grok and Cursor with just a few prompts, he has built games that have garnered millions of impressions [00:00:31].

“We are going to learn how to use AI apps as a way to growth hack any product you have… It’s through this whole new concept of like using AI apps and content to drive attention to your product.” [01:11:00]

The core idea is to create “micro-apps” that serve as powerful hooks to:

• Drive newsletter sign-ups [01:56]
• Increase app purchases and revenue [02:01]
• Boost social media attention [02:03]

This strategy works for individuals with varying levels of experience in coding, programming, or marketing [01:48].

Why Video Games Go Viral

Through experimentation, it has been found that games are the most “eye-catching hook” for people on social platforms like X [02:15]. Examples include “Call of Duty” or “Grand Theft Auto” clones that quickly attract clicks and attention [02:36]. This contrasts with traditional methods like viral threads that have become saturated and less effective for driving newsletter sign-ups [04:00].

Tools and Workflow for AI-Powered Game Creation

The process of creating these games and integrating them into a marketing funnel involves several key AI and development tools:

• Grock: Utilized for initial game design and code generation [05:22].
  • Deep Search: Excellent for scouring the web, conducting research, and formulating a plan for the game [07:13].
  • Think: Grok’s reasoning model that executes the plan and generates the code [07:21]. It can perform tasks rapidly, often under a minute, with high-quality output and a detailed chain of thought [10:13].
• p5.js: A user-friendly JavaScript gaming framework ideal for beginners due to its ease of testing and prototyping [08:47]. Code can be directly pasted into its online editor for instant previews [09:17].
• Cursor: An AI agent environment (like Claude 3.7 Sonnet) used for refining and enhancing the game code, as well as integrating external services [21:12].
• Superbase: An easy-to-use backend database solution, often free for beginners, for storing user data like high scores and email addresses [21:52].
• GitHub Pages: A simple and fast way to deploy web prototypes and games live on the internet [01:00:14].

Step-by-Step Implementation

Phase 1: Game Creation with Grok

1. Initial Prompting: Begin with a clear prompt to Grok using “Deep Search” to design a game. For example, “Design a p5.js implementation of a space shooting game. It must be extremely polished and I want you to build all the Sprites and assets yourself.” This ensures all visual assets are generated by the AI, simplifying the process [07:44].
2. Code Generation: Once the plan is complete, switch to Grok’s “Think” mode and prompt it to create the complete code block based on the design [12:31].
3. Initial Testing (p5.js): Copy and paste the generated code into the p5.js online editor (p5js.org) to quickly test the game’s basic functionality [14:06].

Phase 2: Refinement and Enhancement with Cursor

1. Setting up the Project in Cursor: Create a project directory, an index.html file, and a sketch.js file, copying the Grok-generated code into sketch.js [18:36].
2. Iterative Debugging and Improvement:
   • Fixing Core Mechanics: Use Cursor’s AI agent (e.g., Claude 3.7 Sonnet) to identify and fix issues like non-functional shooting mechanisms. The AI can analyze the code, understand logic flaws (e.g., keyboard input handling), and suggest fixes [22:35].
   • Refining Game Logic: Address unexpected issues, such as random deaths. The AI can help analyze the collision detection and propose more accurate methods, even acting as a “product manager” by bouncing design ideas off it for player experience [25:45].
   • Enhancing Aesthetics and Virality: Provide the AI with the specific goal (e.g., “I want this game to go viral on X and my niche is people into AI products”) and ask for design changes. The AI can autonomously implement advanced features like multiple enemy types, visual effects, scoring systems, and power-ups, tailored to the specified audience and goal [30:50]. This demonstrates AI’s ability to engage in creative and abstract thinking beyond mere instruction following [40:46].

“I just built an insanely fun game in just three prompts with Claude Sonet 37.” [01:11:51]

Phase 3: Integration and Deployment

1. Superbase Integration for Lead Generation:
   • Planning: Ask the AI to outline a plan for implementing a leaderboard and email collection using Superbase [44:14]. This helps prevent hallucinations and ensures a structured approach [44:27].
   • Superbase Setup: Create a new project in Superbase.
   • Database Schema and Security: Use SQL commands provided by the AI (often in a README.md file generated by Cursor) to create the leaderboard table, add indexes, and set up security policies that allow users to insert and read scores [51:57].
   • API Key Integration: Copy the Superbase project URL and API key into a superbaseConfig.js file in your project, replacing placeholders [53:50].
   • Game Flow Integration: The AI updates the game’s sketch.js file to display an email input field on game over and send scores to Superbase [55:12].
2. Deployment with GitHub Pages:
   • Initialize Git: Initialize a Git repository in your project folder and create a .gitignore file to exclude unnecessary files [01:05:03].
   • Commit and Push to GitHub: Add all project files to Git, create a new public GitHub repository, and push your local code to it following GitHub’s instructions [01:05:10].
   • Enable GitHub Pages: In your GitHub repository settings, navigate to “Pages” and select the “main” branch as the source for deployment. GitHub Pages will then host your game live on a public URL [01:07:44].

Phase 4: Social Media Marketing Strategy (X)

1. Initial Hook: Instead of a simple link or thread, create a short, compelling video of the game being played. The initial tweet should focus on a captivating hook, like “Wild. I just built an insanely fun game in just three prompts with Claude Sonnet 37.” [01:11:31]
2. Delayed Link: To maximize visibility and engagement, avoid including the game link in the initial tweet. Wait a few hours, then post a follow-up tweet with the link, encouraging users to “screenshot your score and put in the replies” to boost engagement [01:11:16].
3. Incentivize Play: Offer a small prize (e.g., $50) to the highest score within a specific timeframe (e.g., 48 hours) to create competition and further drive participation [01:11:20].

Key Takeaways

• AI’s Creative Leap: Modern AI models like Claude 3.7 Sonnet can perform abstract and creative thinking, going beyond mere instruction following to generate innovative solutions, such as adding viral elements without explicit commands [00:40:46]. This signifies a “next level” of collaboration with AI [01:17:08].
• Arbitrage Opportunity: There’s a current window of opportunity for individuals and businesses to leverage these AI capabilities for marketing and growth before the strategies become mainstream and saturated [01:01:54].
• No Advanced Coding Required: Even complex tasks like building games and integrating databases can be accomplished by non-technical users by simply asking the AI for instructions and fixes [01:17:52].
• Trend Leveraging: AI allows for rapid development of experiences based on current memes and viral trends by simply uploading images or describing concepts [01:14:14]. This enables businesses to stay on the “bleeding edge” of content creation [05:03].
• Prototyping to Production: The streamlined workflow from AI-generated prototype to live deployment on platforms like GitHub Pages means ideas can go from concept to user experience very quickly [01:00:14].

“The people that play with this right now there’s like a moment opportunity there’s a window like there’s an Arbitrage here like building apps here.” [01:01:51]

This approach to leveraging AI for marketing and growth represents a powerful new frontier for entrepreneurs and indie hackers to gain attention, build communities, and drive business outcomes.