AI is transforming every aspect of content marketing, both on the brand side and the prospect's.
Too much AI-related content advice focuses on writing, creation, or tactics, with too little focused
on the big picture, including
content marketing strategy.
Optimizing your
blog or website for AI search isn't enough.
Neither is using AI to get into a scale race with your competitors.
Brands need a concerted and strategic content approach encompassing more than it probably did before,
because....
There Are No More Shortcuts
A
content strategy is a planned journey created using content.
Before AI search, a content strategy could be created based on search engine optimization (SEO) content
(even though this wasn't always the best approach).
Search engine result pages (SERPs) and rankings change slowly. If Google has you ranked number one today, you'll probably be number one tomorrow.
But AI search is nothing like that.
Prompt the same AI 100 times and you may get 100 different responses, with different brands and products presented
in a different order
each time.
And with the citation criteria used by large language models (LLMs) changeable in an instant, and variable
between models, generative engine optimization (
GEO) content strategy is impossible, at least until the technology
and its masters settle down.
And with search engine-related clicks
in decline, SEO is losing its power as a shortcut to brand prominence. The
drawbridge is being raised, and content strategy must adapt.
Everything Matters
For a long time, not all
branded content was created equal.
Your website was traditionally your alpha and omega, with most of your offsite content functioning as little more
than bait to get people onto it, but AI has changed the equation.
Earned media has a much stronger influence on what an LLM says than on search rankings.
And older website content cannot be left to simply gather dust.
Because LLMs have a greater affinity for fresh content (unless told otherwise), while out-of-date content in
training data can lead them astray.
Content marketing, whether strategy or operations, must now consider everything already published on behalf of
your brand, everything being published on behalf of your brand, and everything already and being published
regarding your brand by third parties.
Because you never know what AI will cite, or where, or who.
Community Marketing Matters
In the past, B2B firms might have cared what journalists, analysts, and reviewers said about them, but not
so much the average netizen.
Today, any negative Reddit post or LinkedIn article could be referenced by an AI citation.
And unlike the typical journalist, analyst, or reviewer who writes about your brand, who you may be on a
first-name basis with, there may be very few response options to some Internet rando, which is one
reason (among many) brands must create enough positive buzz, commentary, and narrative to outweigh them.
The media is your best option for this, but if you aren't famous enough to attract it, you might need to
focus on community engagement, which can be done in one of two ways.
You can build a community, which is easier for brands with more gravity, resources, and street cred, or
you can be an engaged member of communities that already exist.
But the latter cannot be done effectively as an anonymous brand. You'll need people doing it, acting like
people, under their own names.
It must be conversation (at least when in full view of the community).
It cannot look like marketing or selling. And it cannot be automated (in most instances).
You're toast if you get caught using AI on Reddit.
Your Brand and Company Matter
Product information changes quickly and buyers know this, which is why brands and companies must focus
more on what LLMs say about your brand and your company.
This means focusing on testimonials, case studies, review sites, and earned media.
Some would say to focus more on
brand narrative and storytelling.
And while that certainly can't hurt, nail the basics first.
You Have Hallucinations and Falsehoods To Contend With
Not only must brands do more to make sure AI says the right things about you, you must also be ready to
react when it says the wrong things.
You must be both more proactive and reactive at the same time, which means....
You Need Agility and Flexibility
In the past, once a
content strategy and plan were set, you didn't deviate much from it
over the course of the year.
You might do ad hoc or otherwise unplanned work, often in response to internal demands, but today's
brands must also be aware of and respond to external terrain changes.
You need regular monitoring and intelligence (something largely confined to market leaders in the past)
regarding what people and AI say about you, and what AI isn't saying about you but should be.
The good news is autonomous agents are well positioned to help with this.
The Big Picture Must Change
A content strategy is a journey that starts with the audience, and what they want and need, not with you.
Many brands mistake frameworks and flywheels for content strategy.
But these are scaling models, built largely according to internal considerations. The customer (or the
world at large) rarely figures in.
Because of pretty much everything I've just told you, such models are often inadequate.
They're oriented around creating, curating, and repurposing new content and sending it out into the
world, quickly.
But a flywheel doesn't give a shit about your legacy content, or your customers, or what the world thinks
about you, or what someone on Reddit says about you.
A flywheel might be adequate if you're a well-established brand that already has your customer's attention.
But to win your customer's attention, you must meet them where they are, which requires a proper content
strategy that starts with them.
AI is well positioned to change this game and help you play it better.
Make Popcorn, Build Roads
What B2B content says can vary by industry or job, but tactics are often undifferentiated.
Everyone gets steered to subscribe to the same newsletter.
Everyone receives the same tedious pestering in the hope they'll buy.
There's only one playbook and every prospect endures it.
But this is usually a mistake, because it assumes everyone consumes your content for the same reason.
Most B2B businesses have two key content marketing audiences:
fans and customers.
Fans consume your content because they're interested in it. They read your
blogs and
newsletters and
comprise most of your followers who openly engage with your
social media content. They include peers, nerds,
analysts, experts, aficionados, and journalists. And most will never buy from you.
Customers, on the other hand, consume your content as a means to an end. They're sizing you up as a vendor,
usually when they're in market (or close). They want the content they want (not necessarily what you send
them). And they tend to be lurkers. They might follow or subscribe to you, but they rarely announce
themselves openly.
Serve Your Fans Popcorn
Fans are best served by a steady outbound diet of social media and newsletters, including plenty of fresh,
attention-grabbing, buzzworthy, bite-sized,
zero-click, insightful, original, and perhaps even fun content,
optimized for sharing (since fans serve you best by spreading the word).
Think of this as making and serving popcorn.
And don't mistake this metaphor for something insubstantial. Most of your
thought leadership is fan
content, as is plenty of your
subject matter expertise.
Popcorn can remain tasty for years in the right conditions and it smells irresistible.
Build Roads for Customers
Customers want an inbound self-service content journey that answers their questions, addresses their concerns,
and helps them weigh options, with minimal fuss.
This is about content updating and optimization as much as creation.
Think of it as building and repaving roads.
AI Can Help Engage Fans and Customers
AI can help with fans by making it easier to create
brand and media assets, and make sure your brand's
voice and messaging are consistent across your entire content footprint via custom GPT.
AI can help with customers through its ability to update, optimize, and customize content, in real time and
without end.
How's Your Current Content Marketing Strategy?
B2B adoption of content strategy
has grown, a prediction I made
a while back, but our understanding
still leaves
much to be desired, which is why I'm writing this article.
It's time for the content marketing profession to grow up. To make the game more strategic (and less "strategic").
To look beyond metrics targets and work towards business goals.
Start working towards your business goals
here.
