Another new year. It comes round so quickly. It’s also the time when I like to highlight some of the important trends and topics I’ve noticed being discussed in the world of content, marketing and SEO.
If there’s one topic that seems to dominate predictions for the 2024, then it has to be AI. I’ve put together a few thoughts that have caught my attention on how AI will impact those of us involved in content creation.
Generative AI can’t be ignored in 2024
I needed to remind myself what generative AI actually is, as it’s a term I’m constantly hearing. In very simple terms, generative AI is writing, text, or images that are produced using artificial intelligence.
This is definitely something we’re going to see a lot more of. I think that marketers and content creators need to recognise and prepare for this, as the amount of content produced by AI is only going to increase. Will this be a good or bad thing for writers, marketers, SEOs and other creatives? It depends on how we choose to use AI.
AI gives us a chance to show our human qualities
The nightmare scenario that AI conjures up for some is that it will make people redundant in many areas of working life that we know. Thankfully, we’re nowhere near this point just yet.
There are human qualities and experiences that AI can’t replicate, and highlighting those qualities will be the difference between those who will let AI control them and those who will use AI to become better writers, marketers, and creators.
AI tools are great for doing research, optimising content for SEO purposes and promotion. AI should be a great personal assistant; one that helps you in your writing and content creation tasks.
When people start to get lazy and use AI as a quick fix tool to get things done, that where we’re going to see problems. AI makes it easy to recreate and regurgitate the same old content that people have seen and heard before. The question to ask is: Where can you add something new? Where can you show genuine human qualities?
When I started learning about SEO and search engines, I remember always hearing about the importance of writing for humans and not search engines, and this still applies with AI, think about the human.
Content creators should be focussing on high quality content that’s been created by humans and not just generative AI. This is where you build trust and a connection with your audience and stand out from your competitors.
So how do you do this?
Start improving your E-E-A-T
If you’re not familiar with this acronym, it stands for:
- Expertise
- Experience
- Authority
- Trust
E-E-A-T term comes from Google’s Search Quality guidelines. I was previously aware of E-A-T, but Google have now added an extra E for Experience.
When you’re creating digital content, you want Google to recognise that a real person has produced the content. That it’s not fake or just collated content from other sources from across the internet.
How does E-E-A-T work in practice?
It means highlighting and elevating knowledge and expertise. You want to send signals to Google and show your audience consuming your content that it’s been created by genuine experts and not amateurs. You want to demonstrate that authority and trust.
E-E-A-T is really important when it comes to ‘Your Money or Your Life’ (YMYL) topics. Google defines YMYL as topics that could potentially impact a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability or safety.
I used to work in pet insurance, which includes all these things. You have the financial aspect of choosing a policy you can afford and which will provide cover for your pets, but pet insurance also relates to the health and wellbeing of pets and their owners.
Creating content on pet insurance and pet health that had authority and gained people’s trust was incredibly important from a business perspective.
A few takeaway points to consider on AI
AI isn’t there to do the role of SEO or content creation for you. It’s there to assist you. AI, used well, will perfectly complement your knowledge and creativity.
Expertise will help differentiate yourself from your competitors. Providing genuine insight and data is ideal, and remember to attribute content to authors with names.
As more AI content is published, users will turn to brands, companies and individuals they trust for helpful content. Sharing stories, solving problems, will help resonate with audiences.
And finally, I really liked this idea. Whether individually or as a group, draft a set of AI policies and guidelines for your team, department or company. That way, everyone knows how AI should be used for the benefit of business objectives.