Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a hot marketing topic, mainly in content marketing. AI-powered tools and platforms like Chat GPT, which secured over 100 million users in January 2023, help companies streamline and optimize their content creation and distribution. The benefits of using AI abound for B2B marketing teams, and while there is a range of limitations, content writers can use the strategies in this article to overcome them.
There's no denying it: The adoption of AI in content creation has brought a paradigm shift in how businesses approach marketing. For an industry estimated to be worth US$ 72 billion in 2023, Chat GTP and the likes are a welcome advancement.
In content marketing, AI has brought many benefits as AI-powered tools enable content creators and marketers to produce high-quality, bespoke content at scale, optimize their campaigns for superior results, and save valuable time and resources.
Moreover, AI's ability to provide inspiration and generate new ideas empowers content creators to push the boundaries of creativity, aside from creating multilingual content and ensuring consistency in messaging and branding across multiple pieces of content.
AI-powered tools are not, however, one-size-fits-all solutions, with caution advised for marketers implementing their use.
Currently, the following setbacks make AI best suited as a complement rather than a replacement for content writers:
AI lacks the ability to understand and convey emotions effectively. This is a significant limitation as emotions are essential in content marketing, particularly in creating connections and building trust with the target audience.
In his most recent book, How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market, Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltaman asserts that 95% of purchasing decisions are made in the subconscious mind, suggesting that emotion is a critical component of an effective content marketing strategy.
When it comes to storytelling, emotional intelligence is also essential. Stories that resonate with the audience are those that evoke emotions and create a connection with the listeners or readers.
The ability to connect content marketing with the objectives and essence of the brand is a critical factor for the success of a content marketing campaign. AI tools have made significant advances in natural language processing, but they need help understanding the nuances of language and the context in which they are used.
Language is constantly evolving, and AI tools are limited to producing standardized, generic texts, albeit on a wide range of subject matters. This can lead to incorrect interpretations and inappropriate responses, damaging the brand's reputation and reducing conversion rates.
While AI can generate large volumes of content, it often lacks humans' creativity and originality. This can result in generic and uninspiring content that fails to engage the target audience.
Forbes Councils Member Jonathan Forrester argues, “Particularly during the introduction stage, customers instinctively recognize the way they are addressed and spoken to, which then significantly impacts their entire view of a brand.” Robotic digital marketing in B2B marketing campaigns can make potential clients run a mile. Therefore, it is important to use a more personalized approach in marketing, particularly in the introduction stage, to make potential clients feel valued and engaged with the brand.
In content marketing, AI tools are increasingly used to generate and optimize content for targeted audiences. However, the effectiveness of AI-generated content depends on the accuracy and completeness of the data input. If the data input is flawed, the output may not resonate with the intended audience, leading to ineffective strategies and content that fails to engage and convert potential customers.
For example, if an AI tool is fed inaccurate data about a target audience's preferences or behaviors, it may produce content that is not relevant or appealing to that audience. This can result in a missed opportunity to engage with potential customers and build brand awareness.
Additionally, biased data input can result in AI-generated content that perpetuates stereotypes or reinforces negative perceptions of certain groups, which can harm the brand's reputation and result in negative customer perceptions.
AI algorithms are based on data that can perpetuate biases and infringe privacy. Marketers must know the ethical implications of using AI in content marketing and take steps to mitigate these risks. There is the additional concern of plagiarism, mainly as AI-powered content creation garners popularity.
Leveraging AI tools and human expertise can make for a winning combination, with the human brain filling in the gaps that AI can’t.
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The key to overcoming the limitations of AI lies in reinforcing its strengths with human expertise, creativity, and originality. Agencies specialized in content marketing possess the knowledge and experience of traditional digital marketing, enhanced by newer models of marketing AI.
Given that 91% of B2B companies attribute their success to content marketing, brands, and well-established companies alike need to work with specialized agencies that embrace emerging technologies and can circumnavigate the pitfalls in the following ways:
Humans possess emotional intelligence, creativity, and the ability to understand the nuances of language and context, which AI lacks. By working with content marketing agencies that employ experienced content creators and strategists, companies can leverage AI and human expertise to create compelling content that resonates with their target audience and, ultimately, converts.
In the process of content creation, it is essential to involve different human professionals, such as industry experts-who can provide insights and expertise in a specific industry or subject matter-ensuring that the content is accurate and relevant, content editors-who can refine and optimize the content-ensuring that it meets the brand’s voice and style and resonates with the target audience, among others.
By collaborating with human experts, AI tools can learn from their input and improve their output over time. This can result in more accurate insights, better content creation, and improved ROI for the company.
The trick is to be very specific in your prompts. This article explains how to get the best out of AI like ChatGPT. For technical industries, you can ask open-source software to simplify concepts, making them more accessible to your audience.
Human experts can help ensure the accuracy and completeness of the data used by AI tools. They can augment the data with their knowledge and insights, resulting in more comprehensive and effective strategies. ChatGPT warns of its limitations, such as ‘May occasionally produce incorrect data,’ so verifying the output with human expertise is always worth verifying.
Working with content marketing agencies with a solid ethical framework and oversight can help mitigate the risks of bias and privacy infringement associated with AI.
The output can only be as ethical as the input. While the tech community is working hard to eliminate algorithmic biases, much work remains to be done. The humans behind content marketing agencies do well in checking AI output to identify devastating errors.
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In addition to leveraging human expertise, B2B companies can utilize various AI-powered tools and platforms to enhance their content marketing efforts. These tools can help automate tasks, streamline processes, and optimize content creation and distribution.
AI-powered chatbots can engage with customers in real-time and provide personalized recommendations while collecting valuable data on customer behavior and preferences. A study by botco.ai found that a staggering 99% of those surveyed found chatbots increased their lead-to-customer conversion rates.
For example, Castleberry’s chatbot: Hellobot, is a crucial technology tool as it can be trained with relevant information about the company or campaign to respond to the concerns of prospects, clients, internal teams, or visitors.
Content creation tools like Chat GPT can generate on-demand content based on specific keywords and topics, including blog posts, social media updates, email blasts, website copy, and product descriptions, to name but a few. It’s a good idea to conduct keyword research first and ask the software to include them in their responses to advance your company’s SEO performance.
In addition to Chat GPT, other content creation tools are available in the market that can help companies produce content more efficiently and effectively. One such tool is Midjourney, a text-to-picture AI that allows users to generate images based on textual descriptions, creating a wide range of art forms, from realistic to abstract. This can be a valuable asset for companies looking to generate unique and engaging images that resonate with their target audience and help to build their brand identity.
Content optimization tools can analyze and optimize content for search engines, ensuring it reaches the right audience and generates leads.
For example, MarketMuse is an AI tool that analyzes the content on a website or blog and provides recommendations to optimize it for search engines. The tool can suggest new topics to cover, identify gaps in content, and provide insights on improving content to rank higher in search engine results.
Another relevant example is True Content, an AI-powered tool that optimizes content in tone, sentiment, and readability level. Or Mindpath, which identifies potential customers by monitoring their web behavior and then creating digital content campaigns that showcase the company’s content assets to decision-makers at those companies.
AI-powered predictive analytics can help B2B companies identify trends and patterns in customer behavior, enabling them to make informed decisions about their content marketing strategy. Predictive analytics is a branch of data analytics that uses statistical techniques and machine learning algorithms to analyze historical data and predict future events or trends. The goal is to identify patterns and relationships in the data that can be used to forecast future outcomes.
True Content is also a tool with a data-driven approach to content marketing and IBM Watson Analytics, an AI-powered tool that analyzes data from various sources to identify trends and patterns. It can provide insights into customer behavior, marketing effectiveness, and sales performance, helping B2B companies make data-driven decisions about their content marketing strategy.
To maximize the benefits of AI while avoiding its limitations, B2B companies must balance human expertise and AI technology in their content marketing strategy. The cocktail of experienced marketers and content writers in specialized digital marketing agencies and access to AI tools is a safe bet for your content marketing strategy.
Here’s another bonus: Even content that you have already produced can be optimized using AI. Integrating AI tools into existing content marketing strategies to automate repetitive tasks and optimize content creation and distribution is a great place to start. It’s wise to be aware of the limitations of AI and take steps to mitigate risks, such as validating data, maintaining ethical standards, and avoiding biases.
Continuously evaluating the effectiveness of the content marketing strategy, incorporating insights from human experts and AI tools, and making necessary adjustments is the most sensible route. AI offers a wealth of benefits for content marketers and is revolutionizing the digital marketing world. It is not, however, foolproof. Human intervention is the icing on the cake when it comes to AI.
In conclusion, while AI has its limitations, it can be a powerful tool for B2B companies looking to grow their business through content marketing. By combining the strengths of AI with human expertise, companies can create compelling content that resonates with their target audience, generates leads, and drives ROI. However, it is essential to be aware of the limitations of AI and to take steps to mitigate the risks associated with its use. By doing so, companies can achieve success in the fast-paced digital age while maintaining ethical standards and protecting their reputation.
Rather than AI replacing humans, which is the worry of many — humans and AI can work together and become the power couple of our time.
https://blog.gitnux.com/chat-gpt-statistics/
https://www.wired.com/story/11-tips-better-chatgpt-prompts/
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/12/16882408/google-racist-gorillas-photo-recognition-algorithm-ai
