Content Creation

[lslving]

Hello all, I am trying to gain an understanding of whether businesses struggle to generate consistent high quality and high volume content for their products/services to market on different social media channels. I would be very interested in hearing thoughts on this topic or thoughts in general about content creation - what works/isn't working well for your business. Have you tried to incorporate AI solutions?

 

[fisicx]

Most content creation is junk. Even more so when AI gets involved.

Content creation should be properly researched and curated. It should add value, be interesting and informative and have a clear purpose. What happens currently is businesses pay someone or use and AI tool to churn out content that meets none of the above criteria.

AI (eg ChatGPT) can be used for content creation but should be used with care and edited to remove the guff and occasional hallucination.

 

[lslving]

I completely agree with you, so you're basically saying if the ai generation can be guaranteed to produce quality images it would work but at the moment there's not enough quality to it

 

[fisicx]

No, I’m saying people will use AI for endless content creation, filling the tubes with pointless crud. More than is being churned out right now.

Marketing wonks tell us that content creation is a good thing. It isn’t.

The right content is good. And you don’t need much of it.

 

[YuriyZaletskyy]

Content, which you'll be able to create with AI will be as good, as you are expert in that content. Unless you targeting just kind of empty text.
I'd compare it with Excel. When Excel rised in popularity, common fear was that Excel will replace accountants. And indeed, some accountants were replaced with Excel. But what accountants they were? Their job was basically to take calculator, and count total, commision according to formula. Suchlike people were replaced with Excel.
The same holds true about ChatGPT or any other LLM. If your knowledge about content is around zero, then ChatGPT will give you around zero. Just because you can't control that. But if you are subject matter expert, then you can throw ideas into chatGPT, ask it to polish them a bit better, rephrase them, and then you'll be able to give a content of good quality, above zero. But again, if you are not a subject matter expert, ChatGPT will not be subject matter expert instead of you. I'd say, lack of knowledge transferred from operator to LLM itself.

 

[NickZ]

No, I’m saying people will use AI for endless content creation, filling the tubes with pointless crud. More than is being churned out right now.

Marketing wonks tell us that content creation is a good thing. It isn’t.

Most marketing wonks just copy & paste artists. No creativity there, doing what all do does not propel anyone to the top.

I find it quite positve that AI folks produce a lot of garbish, easier it is to convince new clients that content is not a mass product.

 

[columbo]

I am trying to gain an understanding of whether businesses struggle to generate consistent high quality and high volume content for their products/services to market on different social media channels

The question should be whether businesses generate enough STRATEGIC content.

You have high quality content and high volume content but these factors are not necessarily correlated with the generation of new business.

What are some examples of strategic content?

1- Content that is highly aligned with the questions that prospects most likely need answering from all stages of the purchasing cycle.

2- Strategic content is also content that answers the "How to do XYZ process?"

3- Strategic content is content the effectively demonstrates that you have a proven track record in executing the goals of your prospects. This usually takes the form of case studies.

4- Finally, and this is the factor that most businesses forget. Strategic content is about demonstrating "Thought Leadership". You need to demonstrate to your prospects that your ways of thinking about your work area are indeed top-notch. Your firm is a company of master-craftspeople who are able sift through the chaff and can can blend together old and new ways of doing things that only deliver the best results for clients. This is your opportunity to show that your firm is not some commoner garden type but an operation where your team has real wisdom in blending perfect solutions for your clients.

AI is going to be great for content types 1 or 2.

But AI is going probably going to be lousy in types 3 and 4 because AI does not really do narratives well.

 

[ethical PR]

No, I’m saying people will use AI for endless content creation, filling the tubes with pointless crud. More than is being churned out right now.

Marketing wonks tell us that content creation is a good thing. It isn’t.

The right content is good. And you don’t need much of it.

To be fair many of us marketing/PR's don't say that. AI does have it's uses - all about context.

 

[DontAsk]

4- Finally, and this is the factor that most businesses forget. Strategic content is about demonstrating "Thought Leadership".

Anyone who self-identifies as a thought leader instantly leads my thoughts in a direction they did not intend.

 

[Videoguy]

When creating content it's always best to ask yourself: What is the single most important thing I want people to come away thinking after they have read/watched the content? Everything else works back from that. AI is a great research tool and a real time saver, but as other posters have said, most of the time it creates rubbish. AI generated voices are awful, too. Here's an example I created to prove the point: https://youtu.be/lxGCprs7p5I

There are also online tools now that can check whether content is AI generated or not - although they're not 100% accurate. I use AI to generate bullet points, and then create my own content based on the suggested topics.

 

[HFE Signs]

Just picking up on the AI content creation - it seem to be a lazy way to generate seo friendly content but it does tend to follow a format that you can easily detect, will Google soon realise this and de value it? I expect it will. Authentic original human written content is still better in my opinion.

 

[YuriyZaletskyy]

I can't be dogmatic, but as far as I found, google analyzes how long searcher stays on the found website. If he will spend a lot of time, then Google will not punish your content. For now, Google tracks satisfaction, not how the content is created. It may be changed with time.

 

[fisicx]

I can't be dogmatic, but as far as I found, google analyzes how long searcher stays on the found website. If he will spend a lot of time, then Google will not punish your content. For now, Google tracks satisfaction, not how the content is created. It may be changed with time.

It's a tiny and miniscule ranking signal. Too easily manipulated.

All google cares about is the provision of the best answers to a search query. Focus on that and ranking will follow. It's all clearly explained in the Quality Rater's guidelines.

 

[MarketingQuote]

To answer your original question, we write all our own content.

There is always going to be times of 'writers block', but writing content to 'scratch itches' is always better than writing something just to produce content.

Quality over quantity.

 

[Mark James]

I honestly think there are a lot of content creators and web developers who are just frightened of AI so revert to standard human behaviour and attack/dismiss it.

You can’t hold it back. Get on it now, embrace it, learn it and offer it as a service.

If you want to spend 4 days thinking of writing a well thought out blog for example that can be done in 2 minutes and be better than yours with a bit of adjustment, then fill your boots.

Remember the internet was never going to catch on.

 

[fisicx]

@Mark James - AI tried to do what I do and failed. So I think I’m safe for a while.

It also couldn’t fix the leak in the kitchen.

 

[Mark James]

Perfect timing Graham was waiting for you personally to fall into my trap and was just about to go to the gym, so I’ll be quick.

Now then- my post above - written by AI with the input being - write me short paragraph about the integration of AI for content purposes and the argument against a old skool mentality written and disguised as if it’s written by a working class mid 50’s man with a CSE grade 2 in English.. didn’t spot that did you grey ?

 

[Shopclicks]

Now then- my post above - written by AI with the input being - write me short paragraph about the integration of AI for content purposes and the argument against a old skool mentality written and disguised as if it’s written by a working class mid 50’s man with a CSE grade 2 in English.. didn’t spot that did you grey ?

In the time it took you to think about the prompt then type it out and get the response you wanted .... you probably could have just written the post.

What trap????

 

[Mark James]

My point is if you cannot distinguish what is written or created by AI compared to what a human can write/create then why would you spend more time and money getting a human to write/create it?

My parents stopped washing clothes by hand in the late 50’s early 60’s when a thing called a washing machine was invented.

Keep in mind when I say as long as it’s indistinguishable. As if you can spot two essays written on space exploration, one by AI and one by the Quale (pen) and tell me with certainty which ones which I will buy you a Mars bar.

 

[ethical PR]

No, I’m saying people will use AI for endless content creation, filling the tubes with pointless crud. More than is being churned out right now.

Marketing wonks tell us that content creation is a good thing. It isn’t.

The right content is good. And you don’t need much of it.

No decent marketing/PR person will tell you content creation for its own sake is a good thing. They will tell you that it's about having appropriate/useful content that engages your target market. Now SEO's that's another matter

 

[Shopclicks]

My point is if you cannot distinguish what is written or created by AI compared to what a human can write/create then why would you spend more time and money getting a human to write/create it?

I'm not against the use of AI as a basis for content writing but raw AI is generally distinguishable. Like I said, it would have taken you just as long to get that response out of Chat, Bard, etc., as it would to just type what you were thinking. And after all, who cares how you wrote it.

 

[fisicx]

Perfect timing Graham was waiting for you personally to fall into my trap…

What trap?

Did you even read my post?

 

[Mark James]

I'm not against the use of AI as a basis for content writing but raw AI is generally distinguishable. Like I said, it would have taken you just as long to get that response out of Chat, Bard, etc., as it would to just type what you were thinking. And after all, who cares how you wrote it.

Bingo - so you get the point between distinguishable and indistinguishable.

 

[Mark James]

What trap?

Did you even read my post?

What trap?

Did you even read my post?

I’m sorry Grey but AI can create plugins and will continue too improve and be better and cheaper. Accept it, my strong advice is get with the programme and learn AI plug-ins and either use the technology to speed up your own work including the quality or teach people/companies how to use AI for this very reason and charge a nice fee.

Dinasours will become extinct.

PS - Did I write this or was it a bot?

 

[Shopclicks]

Bingo - so you get the point between distinguishable and indistinguishable.

The point is ... your 'trap' wasn't a trap. Your post could have been written by a person or generated by AI. Nobody cares.

 

[Mark James]

The point is ... your 'trap' wasn't a trap. Your post could have been written by a person or generated by AI. Nobody cares.

Obviously you do ?

 

[Shopclicks]

Obviously you do ?

Couldn't give a toss how it was written. It didn't work.

 

[Mark James]

Yes you keep saying, like I say you obviously don’t care about it. So leave it.

 

[Shopclicks]

Yes you keep saying, like I say you obviously don’t care about it. So leave it.

'So leave it'? You get that you're on a forum and not talking to an AI bot right?

 

[Mark James]

Ok ok you win. 100% your the winner, the guy who doesn’t care can have the last word (my thumbs on my nose and fingers spread apart doing a wave like motion with eyes closed)

Ok you and Graham please answer this question if you would be so kind gentlemen.

Answer is A or B only.

Option A - Would you pay someone qualified £375 plus vat to write you a piece of content for your marketing material that takes two weeks.

Option B - Get it done for free in 2mins.

NOTE * - The content is more or less identical.

A or B only.

 

[Mark James]

Errr A or B only, no waffle- I can see you. Naughty

 

[Shopclicks]

NOTE * - The content is more or less identical.

It can't be. If the copywriter is worth the £375.

 

[Ozzy]

It can't be. If the copywriter is worth the £375.

I disagree that the copywriter is still worth £375. They may have previously been worth it per unit but they aren't anymore. I also disagree that the programmer is still worth £350 or whatever they were charging before. They may have been worth that per unit in the past but they aren't any more. They need to increase their productivity to keep up.

I also disagree that just logging into ChatGPT and expecting it to produce great content off the bat will yield decent results. I'd recommend that content writers spend a few days of their time developing a bespoke configured GPT for their needs and their expectations. Fine-tune it, adjust and train it just like they would an apprentice. These tools are nothing more than an addition to the workforce with better memories and better consistency.

Just like how car factories increased production by introducing robots to work faster and cheaper than manual labour, these tools will increase productivity and reduce costs. Those consuming the content don't care how it is produced so long as it answers the question, so content creators/developers/etc will need to become more efficient (which will also drive down the price)

 

[fisicx]

Not concerned at all about using AI to write blog posts. Or using AI to assist with software development.

But AI isn’t the solution to everything. Manual input is still required to make the outputs effective.

As an example. I’m working with a Norwegian company where there are a lot of complex calculations with multiple nuances depending on postcode and other factors. They tried using copilot and an AI expert and still couldn’t get it right, to many tiny errors crept in. After much discussion I got it sorted. Two lines of code. The copilot attempt had nearly 200 lines of code.

Tests have shown that copilot generated code can add a significant performance overhead.

So use AI, it’s a useful set of tools. But don’t replace everybody, you still need someone to maintain quality.

 

[Shopclicks]

I disagree that the copywriter is still worth £375.

@Ozzy Apples & Oranges. The two can't be compared without paying the copywriter. I don't believe that an experienced copywriter is now worth less just because there's an alternative. Businesses and organisations which use the services of a copywriter, do it because they are serious about their reputation. They won't hand that over to ChatGPT.

 

[Ozzy]

I don't believe that an experienced copywriter is now worth less just because there's an alternative.

That is why I specifically stated "per unit", the copywriter might as a resource still be worth £375 but per production unit I would argue they are worth less which is driven by market forces.

To me it's simply math, just look at it from the perspective that all content creators are nothing more than a resource for business - because ultimately that is all we all are when looking at it from a business productivity perspective.

The economy moves and things change, and as I said content creators need to look at their recruitment strategy and I would say seriously look at recruiting a GPT as their next hire rather than a human - and spend the time training that new hire to do the job properly.

I never said sack the human currently in place, I said they need to improve their productivity per unit.

They tried using copilot and an AI expert and still couldn’t get it right, to many tiny errors crept in. After much discussion I got it sorted. Two lines of code. The copilot attempt had nearly 200 lines of code.

That sounds to me like the trainer was a bad trainer who didn't know how to train the recruit properly, but sounds like you could have trained it to be more efficient.

 

[fisicx]

That sounds to me like the trainer was a bad trainer who didn't know how to train the recruit properly, but sounds like you could have trained it to be more efficient.

That wasn't the case. Would take far too long to explain why here but the initial data set was pulled daily via an API and then needed to be converted into a workable array. Filters could then be applied and the calculation performed. There is a thing called Påslag that the AI kept misinterpreting despite being trained on exactly how to do the maths. It kept using the wrong entity because of the naming conventions in the initial data set.

 

[Shopclicks]

That is why I specifically stated "per unit", the copywriter might as a resource still be worth £375 but per production unit I would argue they are worth less which is driven by market forces.

I believe there are two markets (there will be exceptions). People who have always paid for quality work and will not change. And people who used to write their own copy but have now found an 'assistant' in Chat.
There will always be plenty of work for good copywriters. When the 3 copywriters I know, start scratching around for work, I may change my mind.

 

[Fagin2021]

As an experiment, I asked Bard to come up with a passage to describe someone opening and eating an oyster - in the style of Somerset Maughan. This is what I got in less than a minute (sorry about the length)...

"The oyster clung to its rocky cradle like a pearl in a tarnished locket. Its shell, rough and barnacle-encrusted, whispered of the secrets of the briny deep. In my hand, it felt surprisingly heavy, a dense knot of the sea's essence. With the oyster knife, cold and gleaming in the sun, I pried at the obstinate hinge, feeling the muscle flex in silent resistance. A whisper of salt spray tickled my nostrils as the shell gaped open like a surprised eye.

Inside, nestled in the pearly folds, lay the prize. A plump, opalescent jewel of flesh, shimmering with the rainbow hues of the captured seawater. The aroma rose in a delicate wave, the scent of the ocean floor, of sun-warmed brine, and a whisper of something distinctly mineral, a primal tang that hinted at forgotten depths.

With a practiced flick of the thumb, I severed the tiny foot, the only hint of muscle in this creature of pure sensation. Then, the moment of truth. The cold, smooth flesh slid onto my tongue, a living pearl against the heat of my mouth. The ocean exploded – not with the roaring fury of a storm, but with a nuanced symphony of salinity, a kiss of seaweed, and a whisper of metal from the knife's kiss. It was a taste of the world before time, a primordial essence distilled into one perfect, fleeting bite.

And then, silence. The oyster was gone, leaving behind a lingering echo of the sea and a profound respect for the creature that housed such potent beauty in its humble shell."

Not perfect - I'd want to modify it a bit - but could a content creator have achieved the same without hours or days of practise and research ?

I think @Ozzy has the answer - don't sack the content creator but train him or her in the use of AI. That way everyone wins. On the other hand @fisicx is also correct. AI is going to struggle with certain tasks - at least for the moment.

 

[Shopclicks]

Not perfect - I'd want to modify it a bit - but could a content creator have achieved the same without hours or days of practise and research ?

I'm not surprised at the quality of the response but what use is that to anyone? Just being clever doesn't make it useful.
Now ask it to write a 500 word biography on each senior staff member at Barry's Widget Co. Or a report on how good a brand of hiking boots are on a trek up Helvellyn.