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In the dynamic world of content-centric marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents itself as the next best thing, capable of replacing all your marketing and copywriting needs.
While there's a place for AI in the work a marketer or content producer undertakes, a mixed bag of opportunities and limitations underscore the value of the human touch. As we explore AI's role in enhancing our marketing efforts, it's crucial to counter that enthusiasm with a healthy dose of skepticism…and more than a dash of editing.
NAVIGATING THE PITFALLS OF AI ON THE ROAD TO MARKETING EFFICIENCY
VOICE AND VOCABULARY LIMITATIONS
Have you ever read a piece of content and thought it registered as a bit beige? For all its advancements, AI still falls short in capturing the unique voice, sophisticated vocabulary, and premium wealth management experience needed to authentically connect with a well-educated audience…which is usually your prime target. Sophisticated clients expect personalized and authentic communications (they’re paying for your trusted insights). While some attempts are close, there's still a level of customization that AI struggles to achieve as it tries to navigate linguistic and regional human nuances.
POTENTIAL FOR ERRORS AND UNINTENTIONAL PLAGIARISM
A significant risk in relying on AI for content creation is its propensity for contextual, factual, or tense/tone errors. More critically, AI's ability to pull information from vast data sources without proper citations can lead to unintentional plagiarism, raising both legal and ethical red flags. In fact, The New York Times is suing Microsoft & OpenAI, alleging that they trained their chatbot technology using millions of articles to create competitive content. We cannot underscore enough the importance of diligently reviewing AI-generated content, and it's our one cardinal rule.
CONSTRAINED CREATIVITY
Einstein once said, "Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought," which couldn't be more apt for the value that effective marketers and content creators bring to the table. AI's creativity is only as good as the data it's trained on. Without the capability to independently think outside its sources, it lacks the fresh and innovative approach that sets humans apart. AI's reliance on existing information means it can't pioneer new paths – instead, it follows the trail we blaze.
LEVERAGING AI'S STRENGTHS IN DAILY MARKETING TASKS
While the concerns listed are real, in our opinion, AI functions best and has many benefits when you’ve sourced original, trusted data to feed the machine. Here are a few ways that AI can add efficiency, accuracy, and strength to your marketing content.
REFINING CONTENT ACCURACY
AI shines in analyzing text for errors and optimizing SEO. It's like having a meticulous editor and an SEO expert rolled into one, ensuring messages are polished and primed for maximum online visibility.
Tools like Grammarly are great for catching those elusive grammar and context issues.
STREAMLINING CONTENT PROCESSING
AI is fantastic at distilling complex, lengthy documents into more manageable, reader-friendly summaries. This is especially handy when converting articles like dense white papers into something more digestible over your morning coffee.
Copying and pasting that public content into ChatGPT and then asking it to provide a detailed summary can dramatically cut your reading time, and best of all, you've provided a source you trust already, reducing the opportunity for inaccuracy. Remember: Never feed your AI with internal or confidential information unless the AI provider's platform has been approved within your organization's firewalls.
EXPANDING AND ENRICHING CONTENT
AI can extend initial drafts or notes into fuller pieces with more depth. It's also a whiz at conducting fast research, pulling in relevant data and references that can be further vetted and woven into our narratives.
We prefer using ChatGPT for research and copy editing, but most software platforms now offer licensed versions of their AI in-platform (for example, Copilot [Microsoft] and Gemini [Google]).
ADAPTING CONTENT ACROSS CHANNELS
Do you need to tweak your detailed analysis for a tweet or transform a blog post into a compelling video script? AI helps adapt your core content across various platforms, ensuring consistency in your message wherever it appears.
When it comes to versioning those white papers for social channels, we've found Blaze to be particularly effective at generating social media content that can engage your audience sourced from original content and your preferred voice (remember to edit first!).
THE CARDINAL RULE: NEVER TRUST THE MACHINE!
While AI can significantly boost our efficiency with data-driven tasks, it's vital to remember that it's not replacing the human touch. ALWAYS review AI-generated content with a fine-tooth comb, don't share private or confidential data, and NEVER allow your content to go to the public first without some guardrails in place. Creating something under your pen and publishing it online reflects your brand's credibility and authority in our digital world.
Ensuring accuracy, authenticity, and alignment with your standards should be non-negotiable.
Has the everything-AI craze peaked?
Yes! Over it!
Not yet! The best is yet to come.
There are many places where AI makes sense and helps us in our daily lives, even if it's just peace of mind and a second opinion on something you've written yourself. By smartly integrating AI into your marketing toolkit and keeping proper guardrails in mind, you can enhance your original efforts without sacrificing the quality and integrity that your clients expect and deserve. Remember — it's your assistant, not your editor!
Bonus tip: Always be polite to AI — at least one day, when it becomes sentient, it'll remember you as one of the nice humans.
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