A New Era of Content

The content marketing landscape is changing... and fast. With thousands of MarTech tools on the market, it's difficult to keep up with the technology needed to strategize, create, optimize, and measure your content. In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are taking the world by storm. Every week, a new start-up enters the market, disrupting what we thought was possible for machines.

Let's face it... marketers are not prepared. But we're not alone. Is the world really ready for the innovation that AI will bring? It's still not adequately prepared to handle the tech we already have.

A Digital Revolution in the Making

The government has not figured out how to adequately construct ethical regulations that keep companies from taking advantage of privacy for corporate gain. Let alone putting in policy controls that stop the spread of mass misinformation without infringing upon free speech.

Some companies have taken advantage of the lack of regulation, while others are taking it upon themselves to set guidelines and create ethical standards of their own. For example, consumer privacy has been a top priority for BigTech giants like Google. In fact, Google Chrome announced cookies will be going away by 2024. This puts increased pressure on content teams to create quality content that readers find valuable enough to comply with a form-fill.

AI is expanding quickly, and there are no clear ground rules for how we should move forward in business or as a society. But that shouldn't stop us from laying the foundation for ourselves. We're already using AI in our daily tasks, after all. We just don't think about it. The bot that finishes your sentence in Gmail. The voice recognition and response that Siri provides. The chatbots you're using when you reach out to customer service. They're all powered by AI.

However, AI extends far past these menial tasks, helping the most innovative among us generate better short-form ad copy, create interesting images, and collect or disseminate data for more informed and strategic decision-making.

If you haven't seen the latest advancements in AI, you haven't been paying attention. Jason Allen, a video game artist in Pueblo, Colorado, recently won a digital arts competition at the Colorado State Fair. The piece, Théâtre D’opéra Spatial, was generated through Midjourney AI and a bit of skilled photoshopping. It has sparked a large debate about the future of creativity.

In another intriguing story, former Google engineer Blake Lemoine was fired after he publicly claimed the company's chatbot, Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA), was a sentient being. The company released a statement sharing that this claim was "wholly unfounded."

AI & Marketing

With all of these new advancements, it's clear that AI is here to stay, and it's only going to get more advanced the more it learns. What does this mean for marketing? What does it mean for creatives?

The industry is changing, and marketers are one of the best positioned to immediately benefit from these innovations. But to get to those benefits, marketers need to reclaim their seat at the table with data-driven strategy and insights. As a whole, marketing departments are falling behind their peers when it comes to tech adoption.

Marketing leaders must be prepared to embrace innovative technologies that help them showcase the value of marketing campaigns as well as creative. We need more data-driven marketers with tech-savvy prowess. We need to rethink the marketing organization as a whole to better prepare for the shifts in industry norms we are about to see.

So, how do you generate a marketing AI plan? First, you need to stay informed. Marketing AI Institute is a great resource for learning about what's trending in the space. Founder Paul Roetzer and Chief Content Officer Mike Kaput recently published a book called Marketing Artificial Intelligence: AI, Marketing, and the Future of Business. If you haven't snagged this yet, you need to put it on your list.

So, how do marketers move forward? There's no manual for this. What we do know is that AI is here to stay, and it will impact the way we work and our roles as marketers now and in the near future.

AI & Creative

AI is here. We can't outrun it. And contrary to popular belief, it's not out for our jobs. It's here to make our jobs more strategic and valuable overall. Once we start viewing AI as a partner, we can begin to unlock incredible growth for our organizations.

So, what does that mean for creative departments? What about brands that are vying for customer engagement and interaction? How will it impact content marketing and design? There is no definitive answer to these questions yet, but we can stay informed, speculate, and prepare with our own research.

While creativity powers our brand presence, today it is largely unmeasured for impact. Content has more metrics in place for measurement than design, but AI is helping us solve the age-old question: Why does [copy/color/word/shape/etc.] work better than that one? You see, only a robot could analyze the hundreds if not thousands of variations that marketers are trying to test with their target audience in a timely manner.

The content analytics we have now are good. We can see engagement, time on page, track customer journeys through UTM codes, assess messages with A/B testing, etc. What if we could do more? There are AI platforms that are already measuring the sentiment of content, helping marketers understand what words, phrases, formatting, and context prompt an individual to engage with a brand. Shutterstock.ai is at the forefront of design, evaluating different elements of images like color, shape, objects, position, etc. that work better than others for specific target audiences.

The time it would take to analyze all of those unique variables and determine which combination will yield the best result is humanly impossible. AI is here to help us elevate our roles and create better experiences for customers across every touchpoint in the buyer's journey. Will this mean that creatives might need more training in data science? Possibly. Companies like Stable Diffusion have AI that requires human creativity to teach machines how to produce better graphics. The output of AI is only as good as the input it receives.

How will our industry be impacted in the next five to ten years? The possibilities are endless. Follow my newsletter to learn more about the future of content marketing and how technology is transforming how we do business.

See more articles like this on the Next Gen Content Marketer LinkedIn Newsletter.

Coding for Content Marketers?

Writing code and writing content aren't exactly synonymous. One is analytical, structured, and diagnostic in nature. The other is research-driven, creative, and methodical. But the two will soon have much more in common than we ever thought possible. It's time for content marketers to learn why code is a critical skill to understand.

A Marketer Takes on the Coding World

Not interested in my personal journey with code? Skip to the next section.

Technology and I have not always "gotten along." I was a late bloomer for anything techy, so it's no surprise that I was overwhelmed when I joined my first tech company. In 2016, I joined Accusoft for the first time.

The software development company based in Tampa, Florida, specializes in the development of software development kits (SDKs) and application programming interfaces (APIs). That's a mouthful in itself for a tech-challenged marketer!

When I joined, I was hired as a Content Strategist on the marketing team. I didn't know much (well... anything) about software engineering or code. I was a newbie, and I had a lot to learn. Luckily, everyone at Accusoft was welcoming and helpful. The organization is comprised of several sophisticated software engineers, and while I was intimidated, I knew it was essential to get up to speed quickly.

As part of my role, I created brand awareness and demand-generation content for our suite of over 20 SDK and API products. Talk about a learning curve. I befriended some of my new colleagues, learning through asking (albeit amateur) questions.

As the months passed, I could understand rudimentary code, read about different programming languages, and keep tabs on development trends. I quickly learned what the buzzwords artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) actually meant. I was fascinated.

I signed up for Codecademy and made it my mission to get through the first few lessons of learning Javascript and HTML5 before the creative in me took over. I couldn't stop daydreaming. I find so many things more enjoyable than learning to code a pop-up that says: "Hi there!"

That said, my learning continued when I started working in the backend of WordPress. I heard that snicker, web developer friends. Those rudimentary coding skills still come in handy when a quirk affects my content layout.

Anything beyond that, and I need to rely on the pros. After all this time, I'm glad I learned the basics, but more understanding will be required soon. AI is here to stay; in the future, our projects will require more tech-savvy marketers.

Coding for Content Marketers?

Coding and content require different skill sets. That much is obvious. However, when we fully understand each other's skills, we can create much more compelling outputs. Our teams can collaborate to create effective content and beautiful works of art. It's no secret that content marketers will need to be more strategic and analytical over the coming years, given new technology making it easier to create compelling creative.

Does that mean that all content marketers need to be well-versed in the latest coding languages, learn how to program websites, and build industry-leading applications? No. However, learning the basics of code will help you in the long run, especially in the age of AI. Before you start catastrophizing and thinking AI is out for your job, let's take a step back.

Fear stems from what we don't understand. So, if we challenge ourselves to understand code, we will learn how machines "think." Content marketers who know how to talk about programming (hats off to those who already do) are more valuable in conversations shaping our industry. The more we contribute to these discussions, the more we can influence our organization's success and elevate our careers.

There is strength in creativity, and that's not going away. Machines learn from humans, and nothing can replicate how we conceptualize our ideas to create intricate strategies. AI will not replace us, but it will challenge us to elevate our roles. Content marketers will soon be called to produce more strategic, data-driven outputs and work alongside machines.

Who Teaches Machines?

The Oxford Dictionary defines machine learning as "the use and development of computer systems that can learn and adapt without following explicit instructions, by using algorithms and statistical models to analyze and draw inferences from patterns in data." So, what does that mean in plain English? Machines learn from humans. Humans input data to teach machines, and the output directly correlates to the quality of the data the machine was fed.

Typically, software engineers are at the helm, creating algorithms for machines to automate tasks. When it comes to creative, AI is learning from data inputs. The better a human is at crafting data inputs for creative direction, the better the machine's output will be. Innovative marketers are already using machines to prepare compelling content, create beautiful graphics, and optimize strategy for better engagement. This AI technology will become more mainstream shortly.

Currently, creative AI is in its infancy. It's still learning, but it's learning fast. There are thousands of software engineers dedicated to making creative AI a reality. Stability AI just received $101M in financing from Lightspeed. If you don't know why this is a big deal, just read up on how it's evolving.

So, how can creative professionals keep up? Data input is such an essential part of the way AI learns. By teaching AI what ideas you want to see, you can create images more efficiently, craft copy with a more compelling narrative, and optimize creative for target audiences. That said, understanding machines and code is essential in this new era of tech. Our roles will soon elevate to become more impactful with the help of machines.

By using AI and ethically collected consumer data, marketers can create authentic, human experiences that resonate with individual consumers, giving them the right message on the right channel at the right time.

That's the power of AI and creative professionals working together.

Read more articles like this one on the Next Gen Content Marketer Newsletter on LinkedIn.

The Role of Chief Content Officers & Chief Growth Officers in the Age of AI

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), many companies wonder what the future holds for their marketing teams. Will AI spell the end of specific jobs? Or will it simply mean a reorganization of responsibilities? What role will chief content officers (CCOs) and chief growth officers (CGOs) play in adopting and implementing AI? In particular, how will CCOs and CGOs elevate their current content creation and distribution strategies, as well as customer acquisition and retention? 

The Role of Chief Content Officers

What is a Chief Content Officer exactly? CCOs lead all aspects of a company's content and communications strategy. This includes developing an editorial calendar, delegating writing tasks, working cross-functionally to align the content strategy with business goals, and executing plans to create and distribute engaging content across multiple channels. They are responsible for the organization's content output, leading teams that publish blog posts, social media, eBooks, whitepapers, infographics, and more. In the past, CCOs have focused primarily on creating original quality content, but with the rise of AI, their roles and the roles of those on their teams are changing.

As AI is quickly emerging as an alternative resource for content creation, CCOs will need to focus more on content strategy, user-journey personalization, and content curation. They will also need to prioritize strategic distribution, using data from AI-powered tools to determine where and how to reach their target audiences. Additionally, AI-powered chatbots can be used to interact with customers and collect data that can be used to improve future content. With the help of AI, CCOs can create more targeted and personalized content for their audience at a fraction of the cost and time it would take to do so manually.

Will AI replace Chief Content Officers?

It depends on whom you ask. We know that AI will change the role of CCOs in significant ways. AI will automate many of the tasks that CCOs are currently responsible for—such as content curation, topic research, and even some aspects of copywriting. As generative AI evolves, the impact on copywriting will undoubtedly expand. But that doesn't mean CCOs (or their teams) are going away. These new time savings will free up CCOs to focus on more strategic tasks, such as developing long-term content strategies and partnering with other departments on cross-promotional initiatives.

AI will also provide CCOs with more data than ever before—about what types of content resonate with users, what topics are being talked about online, etc. This data will be invaluable in helping CCOs fine-tune their content strategies to meet the needs of their audience better. Additionally, AI can help CCOs track engagement with their content in real time and make adjustments accordingly. CCOs must ensure that all content—created by humans or machines—adheres to brand guidelines and meets quality standards.

To stay ahead of the curve, CCOs need to be on the lookout for new AI tools that can help them create better content faster. They should also keep an eye on how their competitors use AI to create more effective pieces. This will impact how they create, implement, and execute their strategies and what team members they need to do it. CCOs must be prepared to reorganize their teams to prioritize new technology like AI. Instead of replacing people with machines, CCOs must consider how to effectively use the skills of their human team members to execute their content strategies.

The Role of Chief Growth Officers

So, what does a Chief Growth Officer do? CGOs are responsible for overseeing all aspects of a company's growth strategy. Basically, it means expanding revenue opportunities. This includes everything from customer acquisition and retention to product development and market expansion. In the past, CGOs have focused primarily on acquisition, but with the rise of AI, their responsibilities are changing.

CGOs are even more critical today as companies seek to implement AI-driven strategies to drive growth. This new technology challenges CGOs to be more strategic in their approach to customer engagement, using data from AI-powered agencies to determine where and how to reach their target audiences. AI will play a significant role in helping CGOs identify potential customers and track engagement with current customers.

Will AI replace Chief Growth Officers?

AI will automate many tasks that CGOs are currently responsible for—such as analyzing customer data, developing targeted marketing campaigns, and managing customer support requests. This will free up CGOs to focus on more strategic activities, including new growth opportunities and cross-departmental promotions.

With AI, CGOs will have more data about what marketing campaigns are most effective, which features users engage with most often, etc. CGOs can use this data to target potential customers with personalized messages. This data will be invaluable in helping CGOs fine-tune their growth strategies to meet the needs of their audience better.

AI will also help CGOs and their teams automate repetitive tasks such as email list building and social media outreach. AI-powered chatbots can even provide 24/7 customer support. AI isn't here to replace humans. It's here to streamline tasks. It's like the invention of the internet all over again.

And while these efficiency gains are attractive, it's up to us to ensure we implement them ethically and resourcefully. That said, CGOs must ensure that all customer interactions—humans or machines—adhere to ethics, brand guidelines, and quality standards.

Changes to the Marketing Team

As AI continues to transform the marketing landscape, we can expect changes in the composition of marketing teams and team members' roles. In particular, I expect to see more team members with data science and analytics expertise. Future marketing teams will place a greater emphasis on automation and personalization as they seek to provide relevant and engaging experiences for customers at scale. 

As AI becomes more prevalent, teams must reorganize to prioritize the new technology. Some traditional roles will become obsolete, while new positions will be created to fill the gaps. For example, data scientists and analysts will become increasingly important as businesses seek to make sense of the large amounts of data generated by AI-powered tools. Additionally, team members with experience managing AI-powered chatbots or other AI-based software will be in high demand.

Industry analysts have speculated a decrease in demand for traditional copywriters as AI-powered tools like Jasper become capable of generating high-quality copy automatically. They've also predicted a reduction in demand for conventional graphic designers as generative AI tools make it easy for anyone to create professional-looking visuals without any design experience. That said, AI is only as creative as the input it receives. Professional copywriters and designers today will still be able to use their creativity and imagination to partner with AI and create more unique outputs.

AI is poised to impact marketing teams significantly—and that impact will be felt most acutely by those who hold positions of responsibility within those teams: CCOs and CGOs. As AI plays a more significant role in content creation and customer engagement, these executives must adapt their strategies accordingly.

How can marketing teams prepare for an AI-powered future?

Future marketing teams will have an increased focus on data science and analytics. They will use AI to power content, design, and drive data-driven marketing campaigns. As AI continues to evolve and become more sophisticated, it will automate many tasks currently performed by human workers— freeing up those workers to focus on more strategic tasks. With the data it provides, marketers can fine-tune content strategies and growth initiatives to exceed current KPIs and offer more value to their organizations.

For businesses that embrace AI early on, there's a huge opportunity to gain a competitive advantage over those that don't—so companies need to start thinking about how they can best prepare for this transformative technology. By staying up-to-date on the latest AI and digital marketing trends, CCOs and CGOs can ensure that their companies are well-positioned to take on the future of marketing.

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