Content marketing is no stranger to technological disruption. Generative AI is a different and more personal approach. These tools are versatile and can be used to speed up production tasks, saving writers from the frustration of staring blankly at a page. You can’t simply plug them in and let them do the work. You can’t just plug them in and sit back while they do all the work. You can carefully edit the output of these technologies to meet brand standards. What is the best way of putting AI’s content abilities to use? Some experts who were presenting at Content Marketing World shared their top AI recommendations and tips. What they recommend you do – and don’t do – is: Do: Use AI to assist with writing and editing. Generative AI can act as your research and brain-storming buddy. You can also stay on brand by using editing tips that are tailored to your tone and style. Some AI tools can also help with SEO during the writing stage or create derivative pieces using your own proprietary content. Wendy Covey is the co-founder and CEO of TREW Marketing. The best way to utilize AI in content is to “Say It Better.” Sometimes what you have written is not what you intended it to be – something is wrong, unclear, or just “off.” This is when AI is most valuable. Marcus Sheridan is vice president at Marcus Sheridan. Use AI to ensure that long-format content adheres to the brand’s voice and tone. This is also a quick and free way to proofread. Jennifer Harmon, Content Strategist and Creator, Convince & Convert Generative AI shouldn’t replace skilled (humans) team members. It should help you do your job easier, rather than replacing the work of professional creatives. It can fill in gaps of bandwidth or resources, such as creating images quickly rather than spending hours looking through stock photos. If you’re not good at writing, it can help with titles and subject lines. It can be used to generate ideas about the scope of a subject to make sure you don’t miss an important subtopic. Ruth Carter, evil genius at Geek Law Firm. Teams who see generative AI only as a means to increase content without improving processes are doomed. It’s for a reason that journalists and content strategists developed processes such as style guides, content shorts, fact-checking and developmental edits. These things are not made easier by generative AI. Jeff Coyle, chief strategy officer and co-founder of MarketMuse, Inc., says: “Sharpen your audience understanding by creating an AI-powered persona.” Compare it with your research on personas. You can improve it until it feels mostly accurate and then quiz it a lot. Unlike humans, your AI persona is available to you day and night. It will never tire of sharing its insights with you. Andy Crestodina is the co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media Studios. He has a good understanding of how audiences research and prioritize their needs. Ask ChatGPT: “What are the most important features [our core audience] will prioritize when purchasing [our products/services]?” You’ll know exactly what content you need to create. Zontee Hou is the director of strategy at Convince & Convert. Don’t ignore AI’s ethical and legal implications. There are valid concerns about quality, authenticity and security. It is important to have human oversight and review. This review must include diverse perspectives in order to ensure inclusivity, and provide context which AI may miss. Being aware of these pitfalls will allow organizations to reap the benefits of generative artificial intelligence while also ensuring a responsible and effective implementation. Karen McFarlane is chief marketing officer at LetterShop x KMC. I am particularly concerned with the legalities and privacy issues associated with AI. You can’t hide proprietary information from chatbots. If you put it in, anyone who uses the chatbot will be able to use it. How can you be original if all your content is the same as everyone else’s? (Since chatbots are only able to regurgitate content), and how does that make you stand out from the crowd? Michelle Garrett, writer and consultant, Garrett Public Relations. Do: Create production efficiency and iterative assets. I’ve converted our long-form material into short videos for YouTube, as well as snippets for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media. AI has also saved time by creating transcripts to make content more accessible. AI allows me to promote our content more efficiently and effectively than I ever thought possible. Cathy McPhillips is the chief growth officer at Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute. As a podcaster I can upload audio files and generative AI will generate a variety of content including episode titles, show notes and newsletters. The content is still in need of some editing but this makes my job easier. – Bernie Borges, vice president, content marketing, iQor Generative AI is great for content busy work like paid social, email subject lines, tweets, etc. AI can offer a variety of options when given the correct inputs. However, it is up to an expert in order to determine the best choice. AI is a collection of ingredients but not a complete meal. – Kristyn WILSON, executive vice president, digital PR and communications, Adept. Don’t: publish raw AI output. Generative AI excels at converting one type of content into another. We have also used it in creative ways, such as to create emails for webinars and social media, analyze keywords and competitors and outline articles. Copy from AI has become stale and obvious. Avoid publishing AI without an editor who can add humor, personality, and opinion. Michael Brenner CEO, Marketing Insider Group Do : Amplify the content promotion. One example I have used is writing social media posts to accompany articles I share. I paste the body of the article into ChatGPT, and then tell it how many sentences I want. I edit the copy provided and fact-check to ensure it is accurate. Dennis Shiao is the founder of Attention Retention. Don’t assume AI will automatically improve outcomes. Make sure AI actually improves your processes and output. Measure the time you take to complete a task, and compare it with how long it will take when using AI. Brian Piper Director of Content Strategy and Assessment, University of Rochester Using [AI tools] to write without extensive prompt engineering may lead to poor results. The large learning models are based on word probabilities. If your prompts don’t provide enough detail, the results will be generic and unimpressive. Understanding the nature of the models is key to achieving the desired results. Christopher Penn, Chief Data Scientist, Trust Insights AI’s potential is in (human) your hands. Take a look at your current content program and see where it needs the most assistance. Then, plug AI into the mix to help you. The more you plan your content marketing, the better results you will get. MORE ADVICE FROM SPEAKERS AT CMWORLD 2023: Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
