Content

Here’s why you should use AI to produce better content

Sep 12, 2023 14 minute read Advance B2BAdvance B2B

Last updated 12 September, 2023.

I’m a content marketer, and I believe every business should use artificial intelligence to create more and better content.

Why you should use AI to create better content

I have three use cases for using AI in content creation.

  • Brainstorming
  • Writing short and compelling copy
  • Producing social media content

 

Use case #1: Brainstorming and exploring more ideas and angles

If you are a content creator, you’re most likely subject to writer’s block occasionally. And if you’re anything like me, you’re yet to find an efficient solution to get rid of it, other than counting on the stress of a coming deadline.

When writer’s block strikes, I can always count on AI to generate more angles for me to explore.

Here’s an example of this.

I asked Chat GPT to list 10 reasons why Content Marketers should use AI to create better content.

Here’s what it gave me:

 

1. Improved customer targeting

AI can analyze vast amounts of data to understand customer preferences and behaviors, helping content marketers create highly targeted and personalized content that resonates with their audience.

My thoughts on this answer:

AI can technically help with targeting, but you must give it context first. If you can’t figure out who you should target with your content, AI will not be much help. Your best bet is comprehensive customer research.

I am not giving my vote to this one. 

0 / 1

 

2. Enhanced content creation

AI-powered tools can generate content ideas and headlines, and even write articles or blog posts, reducing the time and effort required for manual content creation.

My thoughts on this answer:

Yes. However, I’m yet to be convinced by the ability of AI to produce quality blog posts without a LOT of human intervention. But it’s close enough.

1 / 2.

 

3. Content optimization

AI algorithms can analyze content performance metrics and suggest optimizations to improve engagement, such as recommended keywords, optimal content length, and ideal posting times.

My thoughts on this answer:

Yes. Here again, a valid point. There are lots of tools out there that can give you interesting AI-powered recommendations. However, I urge all marketers to follow those recommendations carefully, as AI can often miss the point.

2 / 3.

 

4. Real-time feedback

AI-powered content analysis tools can instantly provide feedback on grammar, style, and readability, helping content marketers refine their writing before publishing.

My thoughts on this answer:

Yes. 100%. AI-powered writing assistants should be part of every content creator’s toolkit.

3 / 4.

 

5. Data-driven insights

AI can extract insights from large and complex datasets, allowing content marketers to better understand trends, customer behavior, and competitors, leading to more strategic content decisions.

My thoughts on this answer:

Yes .., but I wouldn’t say this applies to content creation. It’s quite the opposite since AI-produced content is everything but factual right now.

3 / 5.

 

6. Content distribution and amplification

AI tools can identify the most effective channels and platforms for content distribution, maximizing reach and engagement by targeting the right audience at the right time.

My thoughts on this answer:

Yes, it can, but it also needs a lot of data to learn from and give you accurate recommendations. But since I believe a lot in content distribution and amplification, I’ll give Chat GPT a point for that one.

4 / 6.

 

7. Intelligent content curation

AI algorithms can intelligently curate content from various sources, helping content marketers discover relevant, high-quality content to share with their audience, saving time in research.

My thoughts on this answer:

I like that this is a possibility. But I also don’t trust AI enough to have it curate and share content for me with my audience. As of today, I’m not thrilled by this suggestion.

4 / 7.

 

8. Improved SEO efforts

AI-powered content SEO tools can analyze search trends, competition, and user intent to optimize content for search engines, helping content marketers improve their visibility and organic traffic.

My thoughts on this answer:

This is a good point, but this suggestion is a bit of a repetition and should be merged with 3. Content optimization, and 4. Real-time feedback.

4 / 8.

 

9. Automated content categorization

AI can automatically categorize and tag content based on its topic, keywords, and themes, making it easier for content marketers to organize and manage their content inventory.

My thoughts on this answer:

This is another tough one. As much as I would like this to happen, I’m unsure we should entrust AI to categorize and tag content for my organization.

4 / 9.

 

10. Advanced content analytics

AI-powered analytics tools can provide in-depth insights into content performance, such as engagement metrics, conversion rates, and audience sentiment, enabling content marketers to make data-driven decisions and continuously refine their content strategy.

My thoughts on this answer:

And finally, another repetition that could definitely live under 3. Content optimization.

4 / 10.

 

This little exercise right here shows both the benefits and pitfalls of AI-produced content.

It helps, but it’s not enough.

 

Use case #2: Write compelling short copy.

I probably shouldn’t say this as a B2B content marketer, but I do everything to avoid ads. I use ad blockers and have a superpower to skip ads when googling from my phone.

Having said that, part of my recurring tasks is to produce excellent ad copy for the companies I work with.

Let’s be clear.

Chat GPT is not writing ads for me.

But it’s a great sparring partner to think out of the box and help me produce the ad copy that will stand out and generate engagement.

 

Use case #3: Produce social media copy that stands out.

My third use case for using AI to produce content is for social media copy.

You’ve probably heard that content distribution should account for 80% of your time on a piece of content.

Well, it’s not true.

There’s no accurate data to back this up. It’s one of those things that’s been shared so many times we take it for granted.

However, most content marketers indeed spend most of their time producing content. Only a fraction of their available time is spent on organic distribution.

Now, I believe that if you don’t take the time to share your own content, you shouldn’t expect anyone else to do it for you.

A big part of the problem is the time it takes to produce compelling social media copy for various platforms.

Here again, AI can help and give you something to work with.

Don’t expect ready deliverables (I’m yet to see one), but you’ll often get interesting sentences and wording from which you can work to produce something great.

All in all, AI is a great time saver. And to be honest, AI is also a cheap helper as opposed to hiring someone to produce content.

However, AI is also dumb.

 

Why AI can’t (yet) produce your content.

Most people mistakenly associate the word “intelligence” in artificial intelligence with common human intelligence traits, such as knowledge and decision-making.

Yes, AI can compute impossible calculations in milliseconds, learn from large data pools and improve complex models, or even hold sensical conversations, but it’s not (yet) able to make decisions beyond what it was initially designed to do.

To make a long story short, AI doesn’t think.

This leads me to tell you where AI falls short for content creation (even though you already have some elements above).

AI-powered content is just storytelling.

Right now, AI writing assistants are great storytellers, not truth-tellers.

Here’s an example I love about my lovely Labrador, Dora. I gave the AI a bit of context, and it produced a great story!

The-AI-generated-story-of-Dora

Here’s another example with Advance B2B:

I asked two questions:

  • What is the press saying about Growth Marketing Agency Advance B2B?
  • Which news outlets are talking about Growth Marketing Agency Advance B2B?

why-AI-isnt-reliable-yet-GPT

As much as I would like it to be accurate, we are yet to be featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNBC, Wired, and Business Insider.

It’s a nice story, but there’s no truth to it.

 

Don’t fear AI. Use it to work smarter.

Just like AI improved Sales or Customer Relationship Management, it’s helping Content Marketing be more efficient.

One thing is for sure, AI is not YET here to replace content marketers, because it’s not YET reliable.

You want your audience to be able to rely on your words and AI is not yet able to do this on a larger scale. To put it simply, for as long as AI will produce content based on the information available online vs. fact-checked and up-to-date information, we should be careful.

Now, at the rate things are developing, I wouldn’t bet my life on this still being true in 10 years. But right now, content production still needs to be human-powered, and, of course, so does your content marketing strategy.