Is the AI skills gap lowering the bar for marketers ?
You’ve probably heard people panicking about the so-called ‘AI skills gap’ in marketing. AI technology is moving so fast that many marketers feel like they can’t keep up. MarketingWeek found that over half of their respondents recognise an AI skills gap within their marketing teams, while 70% of marketers report that their employer doesn’t provide AI training.
But, from what I’ve seen, there seems to be something far more worrying going on. This skills gap doesn’t mean that people aren’t using AI in marketing; it just means that they’re not using it well (not consistently, anyway). And you only have to look at some of the ads on the London Underground right now to see that poor use of AI (in other words, making worse content, faster) is dragging marketing standards down.
There are some huge risks of using AI poorly in marketing. Aside from some of the ethical issues with generative AI, poor use of AI can confuse your audience at best, and lead to a full-blown regs nightmare at worst.
That doesn’t mean you have to stop using AI completely. It just means you have to get savvy about how you use it and what you do with the output. Let’s take a look.
Before you start: go back to basics
If I had a penny for every time I’d seen AI-generated marketing content and had no idea what it was supposed to be saying or who it was supposed to be saying it to, I’d be sunning myself on a beach somewhere, not here in rainy blighty.
So here’s what you need to get crystal clear on before you so much as open your preferred gen-AI pal.
Audience
Who are you hoping will pay attention to your marketing?
What kind of job are they in?
What peeves them off?
What does their ideal life look like?
Getting really granular and detailed about this before you start creating will help you make sure your content is tailored to the people you actually want to speak to.
(Remember, if you’re trying to speak to everyone, you’ll end up speaking to no one.)
Messaging
What are the top 3-5 things your audience needs to know about your brand, product, or service? Go beyond features, here and focus on those juicy benefits. Then, think about how you need to talk about those benefits in a way that will make your audience stop scrolling, walking, or reading and pay attention.
Brand
If you want to be recognised and remembered by your audience, you need a consistent brand. When it comes to your visuals and your voice, consistency is key here, so make sure your brand guidelines are up to date and watertight.
Now you have some parameters to help you create and review your content.
Know what ‘good’ looks like
If you’ve done the work up top, you should have some halfway decent output to review and refine. This step is crucial in raising the bar.
Is it accurate?
This step might seem obvious, but let’s cover it anyway. Is the content you’ve produced true? And, even more importantly, are you allowed to say it? In every industry, but especially in regulated industries, truth and toeing the regulatory line are key to trust and survival, so don’t overlook them.
Is it clear?
You can have the most clever pun on your hands or the most detailed product description, but if it isn’t clear to someone scrolling or walking by, you’ve lost a customer. Really look at the content that’s produced, cut out any jargon or waffle, and get to the point in time to capture attention.
Is it speaking to the right people?
This is the time to go back to your audience personas and do some sense-checking. Will your content resonate with them? Is it speaking their language? Does it connect with where they are now and where they’d like to be? If the answer’s ‘no’ or ‘not sure’ to any of the above, go back to the drawing board.
Will those people know what to do next?
Okay, you’ve got a great piece of content. It’s clear, it’s accurate, and it’s tailored specifically for your audience. They’ll read it and be in the palm of your hand. So now, make sure they know what to do next. Do they need to go to a specific page on your website? Find you in the dairy section of their supermarket? Make a call? Whatever it is, make sure it’s obvious, or you’ll be quickly forgotten.
Use AI where it counts
Of course, content creation isn’t the only place marketers are using AI. From taking on repetitive, time-consuming tasks like data entry and analysis to predicting marketing trends and personalising user journeys, there are so many ways AI can be used to make marketers’ lives easier.
And spending more time and energy upskilling on those AI will give you more time to create high-quality, human-led content.
If you want better copy, faster, AI isn’t the only way. Get in touch to find out how we can help you strengthen your brand and improve lead gen with clear copy that converts.
