32 Tips for AI Content Generation That Will Supercharge B2B Marketing

In my pursuit to learn B2B marketing use cases that AI can accelerate, last week I attended a webinar titled “Using AI for Content Creation.”  The webinar was hosted by two industry experts, Matt Heinz (a B2B marketing expert), and Andy Crestodian (a content marketing expert).

With a little help from AI to convert the webinar transcript into content, below is some of the valuable information covered in the webinar.

7 Key topics covered in this AI for content marketing webinar.

1. The importance of training AI with a detailed persona of the target audience before using it for content generation or analysis.

2. Various methods to use AI for brainstorming content ideas, creating outlines, drafting articles, and analyzing content performance.

3. How to use AI for gap analysis and content audits by comparing existing content with the target audience's information needs.

4. Strategies for using AI to enhance thought leadership content and social media posts.

5. Techniques for analyzing website analytics data and social media metrics using AI to derive insights and recommendations.

6. Best practices for creating and sharing prompt libraries within teams to streamline AI-assisted content creation.

7. The speakers' views on the potential impact of AI on search behavior and the marketing profession.

AI Prompts for content marketing

Prompts are what marketers type into an AI to get answers to their questions. Most use cases and workflows require several well-thought-out prompts that will train the AI to lead you to the desired output.

This webinar goes deep into several prompts that result in content, research, images, heat maps, and much more. You can also learn more about the prompts covered in this webinar here.

These types of prompts are:

Persona Prompt

How to create a detailed persona prompt to train the AI about the target audience. This helps generate more relevant and tailored content ideas, outlines, and drafts.

Content Marketing Mission Statement

‍How to use AI to create a content marketing mission statement by providing a template and prompt. This helps define the target audience, topics, and benefits of the content.

Thought Leadership Prompts

Several prompts to generate thought leadership content ideas, such as identifying mundane topics that professionals have strong opinions about, finding contrarian viewpoints, and discovering content gaps.

Content Outline Generation

‍An example of how to prompt AI to create a content outline based on the persona's information needs and the inclusion of thought-provoking elements.

Social Media Analysis

How to use AI to analyze social media data, identifying top-performing topics, formats, and engagement triggers. This helps inform a data-driven social media content strategy.

‍Blog Post Analysis

How to use AI to analyze blog post-performance data from Google Analytics, identifying topic clusters, content gaps, and opportunities for improvement.

Webpage Audit and Optimization

Andy provides prompts to audit a webpage's alignment with the target persona's needs, identify gaps, and generate recommendations for improvement, both for user experience and SEO.

Google Analytics analysis

‍How to export data from Google Analytics and other tools like LinkedIn Analytics to analyze content performance using AI. By providing the AI with structured data on metrics such as traffic, engagement, and conversions, users can gain valuable insights and recommendations for optimizing their content strategy.

Competitive Analysis

‍How to use AI to compare a brand's content with competitors' content, identifying gaps and opportunities for differentiation.

AI Tools for content marketing and analysis

Fortunately or unfortunately, marketing is one of the business units that will be impacted the most by AI. This is evidenced by hundreds, if not thousands, of new tools that are promising to solve all of our problems. How can a B2B marketer cut though this madness?

Here are several tools that the experts in this webinar use.

Chat GPT (free version) and Chat GPT Plus (\$20/month)

Andy uses the free version of Chat GPT for most of his AI-assisted content creation tasks, such as generating ideas, outlines, and drafts. He mentions that the paid version, Chat GPT Plus, allows users to upload files and screenshots, which can be helpful for tasks like webpage audits and content analysis. Andy believes that the \$20/month subscription is a small price to pay for access to such powerful technology.

Custom GPT

Andy discusses using a custom GPT to train the AI on a specific brand's writing style and tone. By uploading a large amount of the brand's best content (known as the "lifetime body of work" or "elbow"), the custom GPT can generate content that better aligns with the brand's voice. This is particularly useful for creating drafts of articles or other content pieces.

Go Full Page (Chrome extension)

A Chrome extension to capture full-page screenshots of web pages. These screenshots can then be uploaded to the AI for analysis, such as auditing the page's alignment with the target persona's needs or identifying content gaps.

Chat Hub:

Input a single prompt and compare the outputs from multiple AI tools. This can be useful for testing different AI tools and determining which one generates the most relevant or highest-quality content for a specific task.

Why use AI as a research tool and not to write your content

One of the views that Andy mentions in this webinar is that he does not use AI to write content, rather, he uses AI as a research tool to become more efficient and effective when developing content strategy.

Here are several points that Andy makes to support using AI as a research tool.

AI lacks true opinion and perspective‍

AI models like Chat GPT do not have genuine opinions or points of view. They can generate content based on patterns and information from their training data but cannot form original, nuanced perspectives.

AI cannot replicate human creativity and strategic thinking‍

While AI is excellent at analyzing data, identifying patterns, and generating ideas, it lacks the creativity and strategic thinking that human marketers bring to the table. Andy believes that these human qualities are essential for creating truly impactful and differentiated content.

AI-generated content may lack depth and specificity

‍Although AI can produce coherent and grammatically correct content, it may lack the depth, nuance, and specificity that comes from human subject matter expertise and experience.

AI cannot independently add certain human elements

‍AI struggles to incorporate elements such as personal anecdotes, collaborations with subject matter experts, and original data and research. These elements are crucial for creating content that stands out and provides unique value to the audience.

AI-generated content requires human oversight and editing

‍Even when using AI for drafting content, Andy emphasizes the importance of human review, editing, and fact-checking. Human marketers must ensure that the content aligns with their brand voice, tone, and strategic objectives.

Overreliance on AI may lead to homogenization of content

‍If marketers rely too heavily on AI for content creation, there is a risk that content across different brands and industries may start to feel generic and lack distinct brand voices.

Experts and quotes that support the use of AI in B2B content marketing

Jay Baer

"The problem is not that AI does what marketers can do. The problem is that marketers keep doing what it can be done by an AI."

This highlights the importance of marketers focusing on tasks that AI cannot easily replicate, such as adding human elements to content (e.g., opinions, experiences, and collaborations with subject matter experts). It suggests that marketers should embrace AI for tasks it excels at while focusing their efforts on areas where human creativity and insight are crucial.

Paul Roetzer

"AI will not replace marketers, but marketers who use AI will replace marketers who don't use AI."

This quote emphasizes the competitive advantage that marketers who adopt AI will have over those who do not. It suggests that marketers who leverage AI tools and techniques will be better equipped to succeed in the industry.

Christopher Penn

"A single marketer who uses AI will replace several marketers who don't use AI."

Building on Paul Roetzer's quote, this statement further underscores the efficiency gains that AI can bring to marketing teams. It implies that marketers who use AI will be able to accomplish more than their counterparts who do not, potentially leading to a consolidation of roles.

Arti Johari

Although not directly quoted, Andy mentions Arti Johari as a persona expert who provided feedback on his AI-generated persona. Arti's input highlights the importance of validating AI-generated content with human expertise to ensure accuracy and relevance.

AI Is moving fast, why should you care?

Finally, as a B2B marketing leader, here are several reasons why you should listen to this webinar and increase your understanding of AI's impact on content marketing.

Staying ahead of the curve

‍AI is rapidly transforming the content marketing landscape, and staying informed about the latest trends and best practices is essential for maintaining a competitive edge.

Improving content quality and relevance

‍By learning how to leverage AI to create persona-driven content, I can ensure that my team's content resonates with our target audience and addresses their pain points effectively.

Boosting marketing efficiency and productivity

‍AI-powered tools can streamline the content creation process, from ideation to drafting and optimization, allowing my team to produce more high-quality content in less time.

Enhancing thought leadership

‍The webinar provides guidance on using AI to brainstorm thought leadership ideas and create content that showcases our brand's unique perspective and expertise.

Making data-driven decisions

‍Use AI to analyze content performance data can help my team identify what works, what doesn't, and where to focus our efforts for maximum impact.

Optimizing for better results

By learning how to use AI to audit and optimize webpages, I can ensure that our content not only attracts visitors but also engages them and drives conversions.

Preparing for the AI first future

‍As AI continues to advance, it's crucial to understand its implications for the marketing profession and adapt our skills accordingly. This webinar offers valuable insights on navigating the changing landscape and positioning my team for long-term success.

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