In college, I was taught that playwrights were blocked from attending each other’s performances in Shakespeare’s day. My professor said they feared the other playwrights would go home after the performance and copy the script word for word.
I don’t know if that’s true, but it does highlight the cumulative impact that the invention of the printing press (about a hundred years before Shakespeare) had on our culture.
I can’t imagine anyone stealing an entire script with one viewing today.
However, the historical record makes the playwright’s concerns at least possible. In Jewish tradition, it was common for students to memorize the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. All without the aid of written materials!
I can’t imagine.
The point is that technological advances do change us. And they change how we function.
Currently, we are facing the rise of AI.
Cue the ominous music. Dun, dun, dun, dun!
Will AI rise to become our overlords?
Not likely.
Will it put people out of work? That’s a tougher question.
The short answer is that steam-powered mills put some lumberjacks out of work. The difference is that they did not have the opportunities we have to adapt.
I remember the rise of the computer and all the doom and gloom about the end of the need for secretaries.
Seriously.
Instead, it created a need for secretaries who did more than type and file.
It created opportunities for niche businesses. Like desktop publishing. Or computer training positions? Instead of being out of work, many secretaries found they were in high demand! Only they knew how to use the computer. They became experts in data management, among other things.
The rise of AI is doing the same thing.
Some companies have jumped on the bandwagon, hoping AI could replace some of their workforce. Now, they are suffering because of their premature jump.
In light of this, I asked AI to explain some of the common mistakes that companies make when using AI for their content marketing. Here is AI’s unedited response.
AI
While AI has revolutionized content marketing in many ways, there are still some common mistakes that people make when using AI for content marketing. Let’s explore a few of these pitfalls:
- Overreliance on Automation: One of the biggest mistakes people make is relying too heavily on AI-powered automation tools to create and distribute content. While AI can streamline certain tasks and improve efficiency, it’s essential to remember that content marketing is ultimately about connecting with your audience on a human level. Over-automating your content can lead to generic, impersonal messaging that fails to resonate with your target audience.
- Neglecting Quality for Quantity: In the quest to produce large volumes of content quickly, some marketers make the mistake of sacrificing quality for quantity. While AI can generate content at scale, it’s crucial to prioritize quality over quantity. High-quality, engaging content is more likely to drive meaningful engagement, build trust with your audience, and ultimately drive conversions.
- Failing to Customize Content: Another common mistake is failing to customize content to suit the needs and preferences of your target audience. AI can help personalize content by analyzing data and user behavior, but it’s essential to go beyond basic personalization tactics. Tailoring content to address specific pain points, interests, and preferences of your audience can significantly improve its effectiveness and relevance.
- Ignoring Human Input: While AI can analyze data and generate insights, it’s essential to remember that human input is still invaluable in content marketing. Marketers should use AI as a tool to augment their creative process rather than replace it entirely. Combining AI-generated insights with human creativity and intuition can lead to more innovative and effective content strategies.
- Failing to Monitor and Adjust: Finally, some marketers make the mistake of setting and forgetting their AI-powered content marketing strategies. It’s essential to regularly monitor the performance of your content, analyze key metrics, and adjust your approach as needed. AI can help identify trends and patterns, but human oversight is necessary to interpret data accurately and make informed decisions.
By avoiding these common mistakes and leveraging AI as a strategic tool in your content marketing efforts, you can create more effective, engaging, and impactful content that resonates with your target audience and drives results.
Me
Interestingly, this is the same I’m hearing from the gurus. A complete reliance on automation results in:
- Mediocre content.
- Generic content.
- Content that neither engages nor meets the needs of your market.
These are great starting points as we search for opportunities that the rise of AI will bring.
Just as we all now (well, almost all of us) use computers, we will all use AI in time. The question is how.
A couple of observations:
First, I resisted the urge to edit AI’s copy. I wanted you to see it—believe me, I wanted to edit it. It’s pretty good, but it’s not excellent. Even now, the force is strong, pulling me back. That said, I want to highlight that AI’s copy is not as engaging or even clean (a couple of the sentences in AI’s part make me cringe—good thing AI is not vengeful😉 I’d be toast!). Fortunately, AI agrees.
Second, AI:
- Has the potential to be a great collaborator.
- It can research if you use it properly.
- It analyzes data far faster and more efficiently than a human can.
- And writing rough drafts? It’s so fast that one person using AI would require a large team to put out the same volume (it reminds me of the legend of Paul Bunyan versus the steam engine).
- It is only as smart as the person writing the prompts.
- It can help you brainstorm.
- It can make suggestions when your brain goes numb.
- AI doesn’t need lunch, but I do (it’s just a freebie).
- AI cannot understand human emotions as well as humans who cannot sense their own feelings (it’s a thing, unfortunately; look it up). At least the humans mentioned above can experience pain to some degree. We can teach AI about it, but experience always trumps rote learning.
This last point is important because it is those very pain points that points enable sales copy to meet our buyers where they live. We can show them how the product or service can alleviate the pain. Remember, as humans, we buy on emotion and rationalize our purchases with logic. Humans are emotional creatures, while AI is logical.
Where is this all going?
If you know – I mean really know – tell me.
We are starting to see the opportunities. You can do what you want, but I want to see what needs (and money-making prospects) this technological advancement brings.