How AI Can (and Can’t) Benefit Your Content Marketing Strategy

With all the hype these days around AI such as ChatGPT and Jasper.ai, it’s no wonder that people are excited to leverage this technology and automate their content creation process. It’s new and innovative, a sandbox for people to play around and experiment in. But amid the rise of AI writing software, many are asking the same question: does AI offer any real benefit for content marketing?

The short answer is: yes and no. There are benefits to using AI as assistive technology, but it’s not going to replace the emotional intelligence of a real-life human writer. Let’s talk about AI content writing tools and how they can (and can’t) benefit your content marketing strategy.

AI content writers, or AI writing tools, are incredibly robust automated text generators powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

The software uses machine learning algorithms to quickly generate vast amounts of content. By analyzing large volumes of real-world data, AI content writers are able to “learn” and craft natural-sounding pieces of writing that can then be used to populate your website and other marketing channels such as emails, blogs, and social media.

There are plenty of ways to use AI content tools for digital content marketing. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

1. Blogs and articles

This is probably the most obvious use. Companies can use AI content writing software to generate blog content. Simply input the topic and relevant keywords into the prompt space, hit the button, and let the program run its course.

Depending on the software you choose, there are different settings you can choose for the output. Many programs let you input key phrases, tone of voice, and content length. Then they will optimize the output based on these prompts and generate relevant content.

2. Website content

AI content generators can benefit website owners looking to quickly build up pages and create unique, appealing content. Since AI programs allow prompters to input keywords and tone of voice, designers and owners can add elements relevant to their target audience.

Site designers can now generate content from headlines to hero copy, and even quickly put together a company bio. This streamlines the process of building a website by making one step – copywriting – much more efficient.

3. Press releases

AI generators can quickly and efficiently generate compelling headlines followed by detailed copy, so the process of creating a press release becomes more efficient. Through the natural language processing (NLP) technology built into AI content writers, the program can integrate industry terminology. Then it turns around and generates press content that accurately reflects your brand.

Besides NLP, AI content generators can also do “research” by scraping data from the web and incorporating the relevant results into the press release. Of course, it’s still worthwhile to double-check the scraped information for any incorrectness or inconsistency.

4. Email newsletters

Using AI copy generators can generate personalized and audience-relevant content for email newsletters to help you engage with your audience. The generator can create everything from helpful tips to compelling CTAs (calls to action), and even content about current events and industry-relevant topics.

You can even tailor prompts and tone of voice to suit different audiences, allowing you to reach a broad range of customers with each email consistent with their interests. This can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates down the line.

5. Social media content

If you need short and quick captions, AI content writing software is a great help. Some programs even have text generators specific to social media. They scrape data from millions of existing examples on websites and generate optimized social media and advertising copy that can drive clicks and conversions.

6. Content templates

Many AI writing tools provide templates for different copywriting needs. There’s everything from how-to blog posts to advertising taglines. You can also use AI software to generate outlines for different topics.

AI content writing software is gaining popularity – and it’s not without reason. There are several advantages to using these tools to boost your content creation process.

1. Increased efficiency in writing

AI content writing software can help content creators be more efficient. It produces written content much faster than a human being does, which is one of its biggest advantages. A human writer might take a few hours to research and write 1000 words, but an AI tool can help them complete the task up to 50% more quickly.

Using AI streamlines the writing process and makes content creation more efficient. That efficiency also scales up with the number of articles and posts required, allowing creators to deliver complex and time-sensitive content without compromising on quality.

2. Improved quality in creativity

AI takes the grunt work out of content creation, allowing writers to focus their energy on more creative endeavours, such as brainstorming ideas or developing a unique voice for the content.

Using AI solutions is also a great way to jumpstart a writer’s creative juices. Sometimes human writers may have difficulty starting articles or expanding on certain topics. AI can provide new inspiration by generating text that can be used as starting points for ideas or stories. By spending less time worrying about mundane tasks, writers can unlock their full potential and create unique, compelling content that engages readers.

3. Cost savings in production

AI writing tools have helped to significantly reduce the cost to produce quality content. Writers are able to speed up their writing process and produce more work in a shorter amount of time. This increased efficiency has led to a decrease in production costs, resulting in tremendous savings.

With the additional time saved, writers can dedicate more of their creative energy toward crafting high-quality pieces. AI technology has truly revolutionized the content production process and opened up new possibilities for writers to explore, while also reducing overall costs.

4. Enhanced online presence

The power of AI is quickly becoming undeniable – and with Google’s 2022 Core Updates placing greater emphasis on quality content, it will only become more important. With the proper use of artificial intelligence, you can take your content marketing strategies to the next level, resulting in an improved online presence and higher organic ranking.

AI content generation isn’t without its flaws, though – and some of them can be make-or-break for a company’s content strategy.

1. Lower-quality and spammy content

While AI strives to generate human-sounding copy, it still falls short of mimicking natural language. Some sentences may be repetitive or generic, while others may sound stilted and artificial. The program may also not capture the intended tone or reflect the company’s brand personality. As a result, it can lead to low-quality content that appears as spam in search engine results.

To ensure your content remains high quality and avoids being flagged as spam, AI-driven writing tools must be used with caution. The content has to always be checked for accuracy and authenticity, and also involve human editors in the creation process.

2. Unreliable and untrustworthy information

Even though AI is making strides in content generation, it hasn’t yet reached a point where it can generate well-researched, intuitive content. The technology simply does not possess the capacity to think critically and form original ideas. It can only collect and deliver static information with limited accuracy and credibility.

In addition, AI has only scraped information up until 2021, meaning it cannot produce content that is entirely up-to-date or reliable. It often cites incorrect data and pulls information from unverified sources. For this reason, any output generated by AI must be actively fact-checked to ensure its accuracy and relevance.

3. Lack of creativity, originality, and personality

Because AI writing software scrapes the internet for data and then uses it to write content that is primarily geared toward SEO, it may end up lacking creativity and personality. AI copy can sound flat and humourless, as opposed to a human’s writing which showcases a personal tone and unique perspective.

Since they scrape existing content to “learn,” it also brings up issues of originality. The generated content might end up sounding too close to its references, with the program lifting entire sections to repurpose. In the end, the quality of content produced by a human is still higher compared to AI-generated content.

4. Google algorithm devaluation

Google devalues content that is created primarily for search engine valuation. Google’s Helpful Content update clearly states that they still prefer content written by humans that combines SEO best practices with quality content. It values “content written by people, for people” and rewards websites that provide as much.

Because AI scrapes search engine results to generate content purely with optimization in mind, you may end up with copy that gets devalued. As a result, it is important that certified SEO professionals run multiple quality checks to ensure that any AI-generated content complies with Google’s Quality Guidelines.

There’s no denying that AI content writing software is quick and efficient – but it’s no replacement for a human touch. At the end of the day, an AI program is just that: a machine. It can’t provide a unique perspective or emotional value to written copy, and it’s still nowhere near the quality of content written by an actual person.

Hiring people to write original content might cost more, but it’ll earn you more profit as well in the long run. You’ll appear more authoritative and reliable with content that sounds naturally written, and you’ll have a stronger appeal with your target audience. Human-written content has more nuance and it shows.

The end goal of your content strategy is to satisfy the reader. And to do that, you can’t rely on a computer program – people will always do a better job.

In the end, AI content writing tools are excellent – as writing assistants. They can help you generate ideas and kick off your writing process but because it’s still a long way from writing original, intuitive content, AI writing tools can’t be treated as an end-all solution to your content marketing needs.

And speaking of – do you find yourself in need of a content marketing strategy for your business? Kika can help you promote your brand to the world through engaging writing, visual content, and even YouTube videos. Increase traffic and conversions with a successful content strategy that will communicate your brand to your audience perfectly.

Request a free consultation with Kika today!