The story of content as a tool of engagement goes back to 1800. Librairie Galignani, a bookstore in Paris, took a novel route to attract people to their reading room. They started printing a newspaper showcasing articles from influential authors and books at the time. Although the story has not changed much, from then, the approach has evolved over time.
More than two centuries later, in September 2022, a new chapter in content creation was ushered in with ChatGPT3 – a Generative Artificial Intelligence powered language modeling tool churning out content to prompts instantly.
The people world over were not just surprised and curious; there was a beeline to use the tool for various purposes. Marketers viewed ChatGPT3 as a utility to populate their content funnel with quick and comprehensive stories. The prowess of the tool to generate instant content in a variety of forms, personalized to the target audience, added to its charm.
And, here, cropped up the age-old question of man versus machine. Comparisons were drawn, and the debate raged – can this latest technology overpower human intelligence and creativity? Let us try settling the debate by exploring the utility and limitations of GAI tools for marketers.
Are GAI tools equipped to think out-of-the-box?
GAI tools like ChatGPT3 are designed to create different types of content, from branding assets to promotional copy, and provide discussion points as part of the content marketing process.
The question is – with what depth?
Let’s ask ChatGPT3, the Generative AI tool that seems to have set the cat among the pigeons in the content marketing world.
We asked, how can you assist marketers in content creation and marketing?
| ChatGPT-3 can generate high-quality content, provide ideas and inspiration, optimize content for search engines, edit and proofread content, create social media content, curate relevant content, assist in content planning and strategy, and generate multilingual content. As a result, marketers can leverage ChatGPT -3’s capabilities to enhance their content marketing efforts, improve their content quality, and expand their reach to a diverse audience. But this came with a disclaimer too. Please note that while I can provide valuable assistance in content creation and content marketing, marketers need to review and revise the content generated by me to ensure it aligns with their brand guidelines, tone of voice, and specific requirements. |
This exchange took us less than two seconds. The speed of response to the prompt was nothing less than lightning. It gave a cogent answer with simplicity and ease. But is it enough to write the epitaph for content development as we know it?
Can Generative AI tools add a zing to content creation?
When used responsibly, the GAI tools enable content marketers to produce faster and more comprehensive content across the funnel. To begin with, they provide a good starting point to build the narrative further. Here’s how they help:
GAI tools help in ideation as a thought starter. A blank white page can soon push content writers in the right direction as a brainstorming partner, generating a list of ideas on a specific topic. Marketers generate various forms of content consistently and at scale for a continuous supply of content to fuel their marketing campaigns.
Marketers gain relevant content on specific domains or industries covering different aspects aligned to a target audience. These tools can also be integrated with content management systems and other marketing tools to automate the content creation and publishing process for economies of scale.
Writing unique captions for social media posts on different platforms can be tedious and time-consuming. AI tools generate captions aligned to platforms with attention-grabbing call-to-actions (CTAs) and relevant tags for better engagement.
The magic of the tool lies in churning a variety of content, including emails, product descriptions, FAQs, surveys, and copy, or landing page copy for PPC in a jiffy.
Generative AI tools personalize content by analyzing user data for tailored stories stoking their preferences and interests on the platform of their choice for increased engagement and improved user experience.
SEO-rich and high-ranking content for search engines is a major utility. Analyzing keywords, meta tags, and other SEO factors that take a lot of effort otherwise are fast-tracked for improved visibility and ranking of the brand’s content in search engine results pages (SERPs).
But where do we draw the line?
While Generative AI tools offer several benefits for content creation and marketing, their limitations must also be addressed.
- As these tools rely on algorithms to generate content, their ability to produce truly unique and original content is questionable. This lack of creativity is a definite disadvantage for brand differentiation or positioning of start-ups with unique ideas.
- Another major challenge is their understanding of the context and nuances of a topic, leading to inaccuracies or inappropriate content that violates regulations and, at times, user sentiments. Added to these are ethical concerns that generally reflect the bias in data. Mining available data devoid of social-cultural context, the tool relies on volume over clarity and may end up delivering inaccurate information.
- Whose content is it, anyway? That’s one of the major concerns. Can the information gathered be properly attributed? There are issues of plagiarism and questionable authenticity of the information provided by the tool. Thus, the quality of generated content is not always stellar.
Can there be a pre-nuptial agreement between content marketers and GAI tools?
Content marketers have a helpful resource in Generative AI tools. But for the match to flourish, there are some guardrails. Let’s see what they are.
- Set clear goals and guidelines in defining the target audience, tone of voice, and key messaging.
- Use the tool for inspiration and a starting point to tailor content for your immediate needs.
- Verify the accuracy of the suggestions for factual errors, grammar, and tone of voice.
- Use the tool to supplement human creativity to produce high-quality content that resonates with the audience.
- Check plagiarism, when generated content is paraphrased or existing source material is not in its database.
Creativity trumps instant content, but it is not one or the other
Content creation is a craft thriving on unique thoughts, authentic ideas, and creative expressions. Building the authority and credibility of a brand demands nothing less. ChatGPT3 itself vouches for it.
We asked ChatGPT3 how it can support and not replace content creation for marketers, and here’s its response:
| AI language models can’t replace the human element of content creation. Marketers bring their unique perspectives, personal experiences, and expertise to their content creation, which are all critical in creating content that resonates with their audience. |