From the public release of ChatGPT to top search results on YouTube—suddenly, artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere.
Many view AI in content marketing as the next big wave of innovation. Much like the internet in its infancy, AI is expected to transform every aspect of humanity.
Industry leaders are considering how teams can best use AI, and content marketing is no exception. Let’s look at some of the best ways to put AI to work in content marketing, along with several uses you should avoid.
8 Dos and Don’ts of Using AI for Content Marketing
No one is certain of the long-term impact of AI, but there are some clear benefits to using AI for content marketing. AI is fast, tireless, and inexpensive to use. That said, it’s also a long way from offering that elusive human touch. User caution is advised.
Below is a list of eight of the most important dos and don’ts of AI content marketing.
- Do Use AI to Generate Topic Ideas
AI has given writers a tremendous gift by ending the all-dreaded writer’s block. Brainstorming doesn’t have to be the painful struggle that’s laid waste centuries of frustrated scribes.
Plugging a few target keywords and product descriptions into your choice of AI content marketing assistants is all it takes to build mental momentum and get you inspired.
- Do Use AI to Assist in Writing Content
Using AI for content marketing doesn’t have to stop with the initial inspiration. AI has a long way to go before we can rely on it as heavily as search engine results. But it’s great for building a framework of information you can then double-check for accuracy.
Remember that AI can help you with ideas on tone and voice just as much as subject matter, so experiment with text until it’s close to what you’re aiming for.
Consider entering prompts to help you with the following stumbling blocks:
- Sentence starters
- Client branding and voice
- Conclusions or summaries
- Targeting a specific demographic
- Finding alternate ways to express ideas
AI can help build the foundation for your content. From there, you can sculpt it with your personal voice.
- Do Use AI to Optimize Your Content
Just like traditional content marketing, AI-based content relies heavily on common SEO practices to deliver proven results. AI is becoming useful for automated tasks, like analyzing data for keywords and uncovering ideas for link building.
Once you’ve created a final draft, it can check for errors and offer ways to improve ranking. This could be used for more relevant keywords or targeting the right length for a story.
- Do Use AI to Personalize Content Based on User Data
Brands can boost customer engagement and improve loyalty by tailoring content to each individual based on their purchase history, queries, watchlists, and browsing data.
For example, personalized content can give complex eCommerce platforms a huge performance boost. AI can analyze metrics based on individual sentiments almost instantly. Thousands of data points can help AI generate unique content catered to the interests of every user.
- Don’t Rely Solely on AI
AI is excellent for ideation, organization, and analysis, but it’s also easy for other AI-based platforms (like Google!) to spot. Publishing content that’s 100% AI-generated is likely to hurt your site’s ranking. Plus, people can sense when someone has put a lot of sincerity and careful thought into a piece of content. And AI may generate inaccurate content, further harming your credibility with readers.
- Don’t Take Humans out of the Loop
People still have the advantage of recognizing nuance and style. Use the data AI offers, but at the end of the day, it’s there to assist you, not replace you.
Remain engaged in the content marketing process so your content exhibits your best qualities. As long as you’re creating content designed for human consumption, people will appreciate your human touch.
- Don’t Lean on AI for Human Experience
Sometimes, AI misses subtle cues about the meaning behind phrases and even references sources that simply do not exist.
Use AI for content marketing to make your processes more efficient, but also understand that great writing comes from our experiences. AI may be learning from the wealth of human writing, but like its intelligence, its experiences are artificial as well. Never turn down the opportunity to pour human experience—and your specific life journey—into your content. It will pay off.
- Don’t Overlook the Importance of Human Connection
On a final note, even as AI advances, it’s important to remember the foundational purpose of why we create content. Marketing isn’t effective when it’s cold, distant, and only based on metrics.
People like to support products and companies they believe in, and that goes for the people generating the content.
Even though AI is a great tool for marketing, people will lose interest and feel devalued if they believe everything pushed in front of their eyes is 100% AI-generated to target them.
Content created for people should be driven by the ideas and experiences of other people as a way to maintain that connection we all value most.
