Introduction: The Intersection of AI and Content Marketing
With the development path AI has been following, it is no surprise that the world of content marketing and AI have intersected spectacularly. AI-powered services have enabled content marketers and content creators new avenues to produce more personalized content than ever before. With the bonus of increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
But, at what costs are associated with us utilizing these new avenues – that is what we’re discussing in today’s blog post.
What Role Does AI Play In Content Marketing
Whether we like it or not, AI is here to stay, and its potential is encroaching on every crevice of our world – especially content marketing. Some may not know, but AI has been playing a role in content marketing for quite some time now. It first made its mark on major players over 20 years ago. However, the difference now is that it has become highly accessible to everyone, resulting in the world shifting to accommodate this new AI-driven space.
These are six different ways AI is used daily in content marketing:
1. Automatically Generate Content
Arguably the most impactful and significant way AI is currently used in content marketing is through its ability to generate content. This application has been creating news headlines, and stirring up the space, with the jury still out if it is acceptable to do so. However, subjectivity aside, what we do know is that it can be an incredibly powerful asset – in many different ways. The ability to instantly create post captions and text or create a blog post draft can save hours of work. Allowing businesses to use fewer resources for the same result. This application has been used for longer than you may think, take a look at this article from 2015, where Wired talks about how AI can write a news post. This was 8 years ago, the technology has moved forward since then at a rapid rate, allowing AI content generation to become significantly better at mimicking brand tones of voice and creating a vast array of content.
2. Chatbots
Another significant AI application that has become increasingly prevalent recently is chatbots. AI-powered chatbots are essentially artificial intelligence that has been taught to mimic conversations with users. It has become so widely popular due to the significant benefits it provides. The ability to save businesses time and improve customer experience while cutting costs has proved to be a no-brainer. Research suggests the implementation of Chatbots during 2022 saved businesses $8 Billion and over 2.5 Billion hours. These savings are substantial and are only growing. As there are no significant cons to its implementation, AI-powered chatbots also improve the customer experience. Through streamlining the customer support process, customers can resolve their issues and complaints faster than ever before.
3. Feed Algorithms
It is no secret that social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, use AI-powered systems to personalize user’s news feeds.
These platforms achieve this through carefully designed algorithms that are designed to showcase ads based on the behavior and preferences of the user. Through analyzing the user’s interactions, these AI-powered feed algorithms achieve the goal of providing personalized content that aligns with the user’s tastes and interests. How this impacts content marketing is that these algorithms determine what is shown to the users. Therefore by understanding them, content marketers can ensure their creations are shown to more users and the right users. These algorithms are constantly evolving and changing with the platforms that utilize them. Following user trends, technological advancements, and company policies. As these rules change, so do the methods to succeed on social media platforms. Increasing the demand for high-quality social media managers.
4. Predictive Intelligence
Predictive intelligence is another application of AI that has proven a game-changer in the content marketing space. By predicting future trends and customer behaviors, it enables businesses to be more efficient and proactive in their approach. By analyzing past interactions, purchase history, and browsing behavior, predictive intelligence allows you greater data on how to personalize your content for your target audience. It allows content marketers, like social media managers, to be much more efficient with their time and increase their engagement rates.
Is AI In Content Marketing Beneficial?
From these applications, it’s clear to see that AI is most definitely beneficial in the content marketing space. It has proven a game-changer that has caused the space to now revolve around its uses in algorithms, content creation, and analytical potential.
However, there are cons to its use, let’s go over both the pros and cons.
Pros of AI in Content Marketing
Efficiency and Productivity: AI can automate many mundane and repetitive tasks. This allows businesses to save time and cut costs resulting in higher productivity.
Data Analysis: AI’s ability to analyze large amounts of data in real-time helps businesses to better understand their audience. This allows the easy creation of content that resonates with their target audience.
Predictive Analysis: AI can forecast customer behavior and preferences. This can be instrumental in planning future content.
Personalization: AI can customize content based on user behavior and preferences. This increases customer engagement and satisfaction.
Cons of AI in Content Marketing
Lack of Human Touch: Despite its sophistication, AI is proving to lack the human touch that is often necessary to create truly great content. It often fails to capture emotions and nuances, which is particularly important in marketing material and content writing.
SEO Penalties: The utilization of AI-generated content has now been proven to reduce the SEO score of the content and the site that hosts it.
Plagiarism Concerns: Although AI has proven to be a powerful asset, it is still not capable of creating truly original content. Often leading to generated content flagging for plagiarism.
Reliance on Data: AI’s very nature is machine learning through vast quantities of data. This leads to an obvious flaw – without data, AI cannot function effectively. This causes issues when attempting to apply AI to applications that lack reliable, consistent data.
How Does AI Impact Content Writers
Content writing has become an in-demand profession with the rise of the gig economy. Many businesses opt to outsource content marketing and, therefore, content creation roles.
This has led to content writers and the content writing space acquiring the spotlight for AI applications and services. Platforms like ChatGPT, Jasper, and many more by the day are marketing themselves to content writers to increase their productivity and allow them to expand their client roster.
Originally, this was almost a hidden secret to a select few copywriters who saw its potential. But as we’ve discussed, its potential was soon understood, and as it grew in popularity, it also grew in criticism – similarly to the debate on AI-generated art.
Moving past the ethical and quality debate of this application, the SEO penalties were identified. AI-generated content is now proven to negatively affect the SEO performance of any content. Impacting content writers who utilized these services, to produce high-quality, ranking content, it must be completely AI-free (or contain very little).
This has led to the demand for high-quality content writers to increase, with agencies and content marketing platforms now becoming the go-to for many seeking to outsource their content marketing and content creation roles.
The Future: AI and the Evolution of Content Marketing
As we move forward, AI in the content marketing space appears to be solidifying its presence. However, as we have mentioned, its role is constantly shifting, and the viability of its applications is still not properly understood.
We do know that AI is not taking over content marketing just yet – but with its applications constantly advancing, it’s clear that AI technology will continue to shape the industry in ways currently not imagined. The possibilities are endless, with it likely to never return to the pre-AI space.
So, what can we expect in the future of AI and content marketing?
It is a hard question to answer with many avenues and current practices likely to change and shift with technology and ethics. It is likely we will see AI-generated content continue to improve, potentially one-day replacing human copywriters. It is also likely that AI will continue to influence our news feeds and, therefore, the strategies content marketers utilize to promote their creations.
AI is here to stay, so like many other spaces, content marketing must embrace it.
Conclusion: Embracing AI in Content Marketing
AI’s role in content marketing is fluid, with the future being uncertain. What is certain is that content marketers need to adjust to the new AI systems available to ensure they are consistently providing the best quality service.
With shifting algorithms, SEO practices, and technology, AI has significantly changed the space and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.
Related Articles:
Powered by YARPP.
