Human After All
Navigating the Content Marketing Landscape in the Age of AI
I don’t want to say it, but I have to: AI. If you’re like me, you’re already sick to death of hearing about AI. Not that I don’t like these tools or think they hold incredible value; in fact, quite the opposite. I am, however, just...sick of hearing about them.
With the web aflutter about AI tools and technologies, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my take on where this is all heading for content marketing and SEO.
The truth is: I don’t know, but I think we’re starting to see things slowly come into focus. Between all of the back and forth between Skynet futures and Jetsons utopias, I see that AI provokes the human element more than hinders it.
The personal connection will play a larger role in the future of online search
The Reddit Effect
In recent years, one of the biggest trends among searchers, and by extension, SEO and content marketers, has been the addition of “Reddit” or “Quora” to the end of search queries.
If you don’t know why this is being done, it’s because Reddit and Quora offer real-world experiences from (presumably) IRL people. We have a genuine need for authenticity, but beyond that, we’re looking for diversity of thought in the human experience.
If I search for a lawnmower on Home Depot’s site, I don’t want to take the manufacturer’s word for how great the machine will perform. Instead, I want to hear from people who have purchased and used it.
How does it perform? Are there wonky features that I should know about? Does it live up to the marketing hype? How does it perform on this terrain or in these conditions?
Beyond that, however, I’m probably looking for a solution to a specific problem or type of problem. Maybe I have a particular type of grass that is troublesome, or I want to know how to keep my mower blades sharpened for longer.
Whatever the case, the product description on Home Depot’s site isn’t likely to give me the answer. User-generated content (UGC) is more likely to have the answers I’m looking for.
Not only do I check Reddit, but I also check YouTube and various other sources. Why? Why do I want to hear from other actual humans?
It’s the authenticity factor that makes us trust the experience of others. At the same time, I can also hear from a plurality of viewpoints. Some people may have glowing reviews, but I also want to hear from those with negative experiences.
This allows me to balance my purchase decision. At the end of the day, I want to know: Will this thing solve my problem?
A combination of digital convenience and human experience will define search in the future
Beneath the Skin
Taking things one step further also comes down to what the purchase means to me. I’m buying the mower for the utility of cutting my yard, but I may also be looking at the purchase as an investment or status symbol. Maybe I want to be known for having the best-looking yard on the block.
I personally don’t care as long as it gets done, but for some people, this is important. Variables like these, the ones that matter to each one of us individually, can make or break a search, and content marketing needs to answer these queries in a human fashion.
It’s the intangibles that AI isn’t able to grasp that are important. And I think all of the glitz and glamour in the digital marketing space when it comes to AI is losing sight of these aspects.
There’s a reason people look for content from humans: We want content that is authentic, not synthetic.
We must draw a distinction between what it means to be human and what defines a machine
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
I’ve debated with friends and clients about what defines AI. Is it the ability to regurgitate facts? After all, our brains take in information, process it within limitations, and then spit data back out based on a limited set of parameters.
Is this not what generative AI does? Look for the best solution given the data?
On the one hand, yes, but on the other, not at all. The human experience involves inferences that machines can’t grasp.
As a simple example, I could interview an NFL player about his day. He could walk me through his breakfast and morning workout routine, practice schedule, and what it’s like to play in front of a crowd – all of these are things I can synthesize in an article to relay what it’s like to be an NFL player.
A machine can do the same thing, but what the machine can’t do is infer the peripheral knowledge. For instance, I can conclude that the NFL player will feel tired and rundown after a long practice session. I can then infer that he will need to rest.
A machine can’t do that. It will simply follow the formula of plotting out the day. Unless it is told that the player will be tired, it can’t infer that he will be exhausted.
I know he will be tired because I know what it’s like to be tired. He doesn’t need to tell me this.
I can also infer the pressure that the player must feel on the field in front of fans and TV cameras. I know what it feels like to be nervous in front of a crowd. AI can talk about it, but I can talk about what it feels like.
I can talk about it from many different perspectives. That is the lived human experience, which is what we crave as living humans. We are designed to crave it.
The future of digital search & content marketing will be defined by a robust experience
Google (Maybe) Gets It – Kinda’
When Microsoft partnered with OpenAI and released ChatGPT inside Bing, many questions started to arise: What will search look like? Will sources be cited? Can searchers still expect to click links to learn more?
Google’s upcoming release of the Search Generative Experience (SGE) looks like it’s taking lessons from the clamoring masses by showcasing the diversity of opinions and experiences I mentioned.
To do this, Google will feature content from many sources in its search results using a feature dubbed “Perspectives.” This is good because it opens so many new avenues for content development.
Instead of adhering to rigid SEO standards, there will presumably be more flexibility to use content for branding and to speak to buyers.
How it will play out in practice remains to be seen. Still, the idea behind it is good because it means that content marketing will need to shift gears toward creating a more personal experience for users on the web.
By bringing together not just web pages and blogs but also videos, images, socials, and other places where content can be found on the Internet, the result will be a robust search experience that uses AI to tie everything together instead of generating it.
The future of content marketing, search, the Internet, & people depends on us
Where Do We Go From Here?
We’re telling clients at Charlotte Content Marketing that content offerings will need to become more comprehensive in the future. Blog posts alone will not be enough to cut through the clutter and rise to the top.
Of course, blog and website content will still be vital, but so will video, social media, and virtually every other mention on the web.
Local citations, mentions on social, responses to Q&A and FAQ content, and more will all give search engines and searchers the content they need to find and be found.
In the future, we are putting together various services to help our clients achieve this. Our solution will combine text, audio, image-based, video, animation, and social content to form a consensus marketing approach.
This gives our clients an edge leading into SGE, and it will continue to benefit them for years as search trends toward a more personal and intricate experience.