Hats off to Justin Lee of HubSpot for the most “Now you’ve got my attention” blog post title I’ve seen all year:
Here’s How AI Will Pull Content Marketing Back From the Brink of Destruction
Through StitchDX’s digital marketing work with the Massachusetts Medical Device Center at UMass Lowell, we’ve been getting a ringside seat at the (rapid) emergence of artificial intelligence in healthcare. If AI can help improve patient outcomes and bring down the costs of care, then I’m on board.
But getting back to content marketing. What’s up with this “brink of destruction?” Is my livelihood in jeopardy? Can content marketers expect to be replaced by C-3PO?
Content marketing has a problem—and so do content marketers.
What Lee is really getting at is this:
- Content marketing is the only marketing we have left (quoting Seth Godin).
- If Godin is correct, then eventually every brand will be in the content marketing game.
- As more brands get in the game, the demand on the content marketer—to create epic, unique, trustworthy, brand-building content that stands apart from the pack and adds value to every engagement with every user—becomes ever greater.
- And as that demand grows, so too does the time needed to produce each piece of content.
Artificial Intelligence to the rescue (up to a point)
Lee in his article points to content that was actually AI-written. It doesn’t suck, but it’s not anyone’s idea of “epic,” either. Content creators: You’re safe for now.
For content marketers and brands, the value happens when AI-enabled platforms gather (via chatbots) and analyze hundreds of user data points and provide guidance on:
- The trends and topics that audiences care most about
- Appropriate content assets and offers for each point of contact
- The optimal times, channels, and frequencies for publishing and sharing your content
And it gets better. I’ll quote the author:
“Then the whole cycle starts over again with smart recommendations … based on how [your audiences have] interacted with your content.”
For businesses and nonprofits, AI can drive highly intelligent personalization that improves user experience, boosts engagement, and optimizes conversion rates.
Don’t Fear the Bots
If you’re an SMB or nonprofit, all this might seem a little too sci-fi—and a lot too expensive. Never fear—you can start using chatbots to gather actionable data within minutes of reading this article.
Start with Growthbot, developed by HubSpot Labs. It’s FREE, and integrates in a snap with Slack, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Google Analytics, and (obviously) HubSpot. Ask it a question in plain language. It seeks answers from more than a dozen sources, analyzes the data, and replies—all with lightning speed.
And as of September 1, HubSpot will offer an integration with Jane.ai that will empower users to source information from the HubSpot platform through a conversational interface. Just ask for the information you need (“Which personas have downloaded our Basics of Growing Your Business With Marketing Automation eBook the most?”), and you’ll have it in hand, in seconds.
As a HubSpot Silver Partner, we’re here to answer all your questions about how marketing automation can accelerate your organization’s growth. Reach out anytime—or type a question into our own chatbot at the bottom right of this page.