“What should our company be doing about AI?” It’s been the big question hanging in the air throughout the last year and a half. And it comes as no shock that it will continue to be a question that dominates conversations in the next couple of years—not only for marketers, but for all business and organizational leaders.
Let’s be candid. We’ve seen AI tools and technologies improve so much in just the span of 18 months that I think that any company that isn’t reckoning with the impacts of AI is burying its head in the sand—at its own peril.
As a prolific consumer of online content, I have seen folks embrace AI across the spectrum—from small time bloggers using Midjourney to illustrate their tips and tricks to major brands using AI to scale up their personalization efforts. And that’s only the beginning.
And yet, when I’ve spoken at conferences across the United States, interviewed guests on Social Pros, and collaborated with some of the leading experts in our industry, the theme I have heard again and again has been that AI emphasizes something essentially human. For all our talk of the importance of AI, the real takeaway is that AI is only valuable when it is leveraged in service of what matters to humans—what matters to your audiences.
To that end, I want to share the advice of three experts who capture the importance of focusing on people in a time when the conversation is all about AI.
Create with People in Mind
“Do sh** that human’s love.”
—Wil Reynolds, Founder & CEO, Seer Interactive
When Seer Interactive CEO Wil Reynolds spoke at MarketingProfs B2B Forum last fall, he spoke about focusing on your core audience: the humans who want your expertise, the humans who are sharing your content and linking to subject matter expert (SME) content. By providing expertise that others want to share, you generate organic social media posts about your content. That WOM about your content is what makes you more trustworthy in the eyes of prospective customers. After all, third-party validation is more valuable than just search results.
Wil summed it up by saying, “Winning for humans is better than winning for Google. Google is only a channel.”
And how can you extend those organic shares into conversions? Wil pointed to the tool PhantomBuster, which allows you to scrape social media interactions so that you can engage 1:1 with the people who are commenting on your social media posts in meaningful ways. Track the people engaging with your content, so that you can turn them into warm leads.
Do Better Than AI—Through Hot Takes, New Research, and Real-World Examples
“AI is a ‘skills leveler.’”
—Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder & CMO, Orbit Media Studios
My friend Andy Crestodina is a fantastic resource for marketers who want to better understand their own AI maturity; in fact he joined us in June on the Social Pros podcast to talk about this topic in-depth.
Andy says that AI should really stand for “average information,” since what it generates as copy is just that: average. Because it is based on predictive large language models (LLMs), the ideas it puts together are the most common or frequently strung together concepts. Andy says that AI cannot replicate the kind of strong opinions, personal experience, and case studies that humans can offer. And that’s where marketers and content creators can stand out.
By creating content that leverages strong points of view, new research, personal experiences, case studies, and real-world examples, we can create content that stands out. Focus on giving your audience content that only you can offer—particularly featuring your SMEs, your clients, and your own data. Those are the things that no one else can replicate.
Be Brave and Encourage Bold Creativity
“Pursue what is human, instead of fearfully following what others claim has been proven.”
—Lindsay Tjepkema, CEO, Human Brands Win
The brands who pursue deep, authentic connections with their audiences understand that there are no growth hacks or easy buttons for success, according to executive advisor Lindsey Tjepkema. To stand out, brands have to take a stand and be truly creative in their content.
AI is trained on everything that exists, but it doesn’t have new ideas—so by embracing creativity and bold vision, brands can make a case for why they’re different.
Looking to strengthen your creative muscles? Be sure to check out my friend Jason Keath’s new book, The Case for More Bad Ideas, a practical toolkit for improving your creative processes.
Final Thoughts: Mine the Data to Be More Relevant to Your Audiences
In a world where AI-enabled search provides a short-cut for your audience to find what they’re looking for, your audience doesn’t want more content. They want more relevant content. Now more than ever, making sure that your team is leveraging AI and machine learning tools to help segment, target, and personalize your content is the key to being more relevant.
If your brand can provide more personalized content to your most valuable audiences, you’ll be able to convert more people and keep your existing customers longer. That’s exactly why I wrote my book, Data-Driven Personalization. At this moment, we need to be more strategic about how to leverage the machines to deliver more of what the humans want.
AI isn’t capable of strategic decision making, and that’s why your marketing job—if you’re thoughtful, expert, bold, and strategic—will be safe.
Want to learn more about building your data-driven marketing strategy? Get your copy of Data-Driven Personalization at a special rate just for Convince & Convert readers. Use discount code: CCData20 on orders from Kogan Page to save 20% (orders in the US and UK also get free shipping, too!) or get the book on Amazon.
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