How is AI going to change the game for content marketers?

Over the course of late 2022 and 2023, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has absolutely exploded into the universal psyche. Music is being made with it, books are being written with it, works of art are being expanded with generative fill on Adobe Photoshop. Film makers and production studios are famously at war with the Screen Actors Guild over their use of AI to underpay extras and background actors. Deep Fake technology is being used for entertainment purposes on Tik Tok profiles, and is a constant source of suspicion amongst many.  

AI has become a game-changer in various industries, and content marketing is no exception. With the rapid advancement of AI technology, marketers and content creators are using its power to streamline their processes, generate ideas, and create high-quality content.  

In this article, the first of four articles that will look at different types of AI content creation that are available to marketers, I want to explore the ways in which AI is transforming the world of content marketing, with a particular focus on writing platforms that offer free use.  

The Rise of AI in Content Marketing 

Whilst AI has been growing and developing for decades, set against the backdrop of many different works of fiction that sound the alarm over what it could mean for humanity, such as the Black Mirror series, the Alex Garland movie Ex Machina, and even as far back as Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. It has only really been over the past year that it has seriously captured the imaginations of the general public, professional artists and of course marketers.   

The market for AI in marketing is projected to reach a staggering $107.5 billion by 2028, indicating its growing prominence and impact on the industry. As AI technology evolves, marketers are finding innovative ways to incorporate it into their content creation strategies. According to a recent survey, 33% of marketers who use AI utilise it to generate ideas and inspiration for their marketing content, and I am one such marketer. 

Generating Ideas with AI 

As a writer by trade (Boast klaxon: I have written and self-published eleven novels in my life, gaining a cult following, before giving it all up when my children arrived on the scene – I now use my writing skills for Search Engine Optimisation and content marketing as part of my role as the head brain here at GEM), I have always been exceptionally sceptical of AI writing platforms. It was never about whether or not it would take my job, but whether it could write as well as I know I can. However, I have found myself using it more often in recent times as GEM grows busier with our new clients coming on board.  

AI can assist in generating ideas for blog content. HubSpot's content assistant AI, for instance, can create a list of blog topic ideas and develop outlines centred around specific concepts. This not only expedites the brainstorming process but also provides marketers like me with a starting point for creating engaging and relevant content. 

AI-Powered Writing Platforms 

One huge way in which AI is transforming content marketing is with writing platforms. These platforms use AI algorithms to generate written content, such as blog posts, emails, and social media posts. While AI can be a useful tool for writing, it should not replace the work of a skilled marketer or content creator. Rather, it should be used to enhance their efficiency and productivity. 

One of the most popular AI-powered writing platforms, and one which can generally be acknowledged as the first widely available chabot-like platform of the AI Boom is ChatGPT. Launched by OpenAI in November 2022, this is a software that learns from the user's writing style and can eventually mimic it, making it a valuable tool for tasks like writing press releases, social media posts, and SEO-friendly blog content.  

Not to be left out of the technological advancement, Google launched its own Chat Bot platform in Google Bard. In its own words, Bard is a large language model, also known as a conversational AI or chatbot trained to be informative and comprehensive. See the whole response below.  

The Role of AI in Content Creation 

While AI can undoubtedly improve the efficiency and productivity of content creation, it is essential to recognise its limitations. In my experiments with AI writing platforms, I have found repetition, Americanised spellings, and quite often wildly incorrect information to cause more work than it relieves. You should never simply let the AI write your content and move on. Writing and content creation are subjective fields that require critical thinking, unique knowledge about a particular subject that highlights authority, and decision-making skills that AI cannot replicate. 

Instead, AI should be seen as an invaluable assistant, helping marketers and creatives like me to improve our output and produce content more efficiently. 

Examples of AI-Generated Writing 

To illustrate the capabilities of AI in generating written content, let's examine three popular AI writing platforms: Google's Bard, ChatGPT, and professional AI writing platform Writesonic. These platforms offer free trials or are free-to-use, making them accessible to marketers and content creators. 

An AI generated image from the prompt: White bearded man reading AI poetry

In order to understand any unique skills they might possess, I used the same prompt - Write a poem about a white-bearded man reading poetry that was written by AI – the first video of the results is below, where you can indeed witness a white bearded man reading a poem about a white bearded man reading poetry that was written by AI. Yes, we went quite meta on this one. The first example was written by Google’s Bard.  

White Bearded Man Reads Poetry Written by AI – Written by Google Bard

The old man sat in his chair, His white beard a-flowing there

He read the words of the machine, and he thought them quite keen

"These words are so clever," he said, "They must have been written by a god instead!"

He thought the AI was so grand that he even began to dance

But then he looked at the clock, and he realized it was quite a shock

For he'd been reading for hours, And he hadn't understood a single word

"This is nonsense!" he cried, "This is all just a bunch of jive!"

He threw the computer across the room, and he stomped out of the room

He never read AI poetry again, and he never trusted a machine again

But he still had his white beard, and he still thought he was quite clever

Full disclosure here, I did ask Bard to write me a poor-quality poem about the white bearded man, but it seems to have made the poem more about poor quality poetry, than ‘chosen’ to make the prose of a particularly poor quality in itself. It uses rhymes and imposes a certain level of character to the poem itself that I don’t hate, but it is very childlike in its delivery.  

I used the exact same prompt to ask both ChatGPT and Writesonic to write me the same poem. Would you like to read them? Of course you would. 

White Bearded Man Reads Poetry Written by AI – Written by Writesonic

There once was a man with a white beard, who sat in his chair, looking quite weird

He picked up a book, written by AI, and started to read, with a heavy sigh

The poetry was bad, oh so sad, it made the man feel really mad

The words were jumbled, all out of place, like a monkey trying to run a race

The man scratched his head, not impressed, this AI poetry was a big old mess

There was no rhythm, no rhyme at all, just random words thrown against the wall

But the man with the white beard, he was determined, he kept reading, though his brain was squirmin'

He thought maybe, just maybe, there'd be a spark, but all he found was a bunch of nonsense in the dark

So he closed the book, with a big ol' frown, and threw it across the room, like a clown

For AI poetry, it just ain't right, it lacks the soul, the passion, the light

So let this be a lesson, to all who dare, to read AI poetry, please beware

Stick with the classics, the poets of old, for they're the ones with stories worth being told

White Bearded Man Reads Poetry Written by AI – Written by ChatGPT

There's a man, got a beard, it's so white, reading a poem, in the soft night

Poem's made by a computer, oh my, He reads it and almost starts to cry

Words are silly, don't make sense, the AI poet, not very intense

Talks 'bout love, stars and moon, Man scratches beard, ends it soon

Man thinks, "This ain't right, AI writing poems in the night?

What's next, robots doing the tango? Better stick to playing my banjo."

So he sits, beard all fluffy, this AI poem, it's kinda stuffy

The man, he's old, not very spry, reading AI poems, don't know why

He says, "This poem, it ain't fly, Feels like it's written by a bad AI."

But man and machine, what a sight, reading poems, into the night

These examples demonstrate the creativity and versatility of AI-generated content. They also highlight the similarities between the different platforms. Each of the three platforms I’ve used here assume that I have requested a poem about bad poetry, as opposed to a poorly written poem about poetry. They all use this child-like language to convey the story of the white bearded man reading bad AI poetry.  

Is any of them better or more advanced than the other? On first glance? Not really. To my knowledge, they all use very similar language models and technology, so it does stand to reason that they would spit out similar content.  

This experiment was simply a bit of a fun to explore what each platform does with a silly prompt, and these platforms do absolutely have their place in assisting the modern marketer with content creation, but it is crucial to remember that they should be used to enhance and inspire human creativity, rather than replace it entirely. 

Striking a Balance: AI and Human Creativity

As AI continues to shape the landscape of content marketing, it is important for professionals to embrace its potential while maintaining a balance between AI and human creativity. AI can help marketers save time, generate ideas, and improve efficiency, but it should never be a substitute for the unique perspectives and critical thinking that humans bring to the table. 

To conclude, it would be silly of me to say that AI is not revolutionising the field of content marketing, offering valuable assistance to marketers and content creators. From generating ideas and inspiration to streamlining the writing process, AI-powered tools and platforms have the potential to enhance productivity and efficiency.

As a writer, I am naturally suspicious of AI, but as a marketer, I know I need to embrace what it is and what it does. Whether this is outlining blog titles and general themes to take the thinking time out of my daily life, or giving me the basis of a paragraph to then expand upon with my own words, it has given me many, many productive hours back to then forward to our clients and our own brand. I have never been as productive as I am now, and if I harness the tools I have at my disposal in the right way, then the quality of my content will hopefully never drop below my own admittedly very high standards.  
 

The AI Series

This is the first blog in a series of articles where Ryan Bracha, Managing Director of Gala Education and Marketing, will have some fun with free-to-use Artificial Intelligence platforms to see how they work, what their benefits are, and who they could benefit in the world of business and marketing. These additional articles will cover design and imagery, video content, and audio production.  

Gala Education and Marketing is a digital agency with a difference, in that we go out of our way to help new businesses and those who are struggling to make an impact with their digital marketing strategies. We aim to make understanding digital marketing as simple as possible, and when we work with our clients we provide full transparency about what we do and how we do it.  

We offer a full range of services including SEO, Social Media, Content Marketing, Graphic Design, Video Production and Website Development. Ryan Bracha has also written and launched an audio book, e-book and video tutorial which acts as an introduction to digital marketing and the importance of building an effective brand.  

If you’re a business that’s struggling to make an impact with your digital marketing then get in touch via WhatsApp on 07450415413 or give us a call on 01709 911663 to chat through your business objectives. If we can help, we will.