The AI and Content Partnership – With Andy Crestodina

Picture this: the average person spends 143 minutes a day consuming content — nearly two and a half hours of scrolling, watching and reading. Every piece of content we release is under the microscope of public attention, in an environment where focus is fleeting.

The challenge — how do we create content that resonates with our audience before they blink and move on?

But there's more. Along with short attention spans, we’re drowning in choices.

Want a new book? 40 TikTok creators will push 15 titles each.

Need a bag? Amazon has 6,000 options.

Planning a vacation? You’ll find 14 destinations competing for your attention, all at once.

It’s a complex formula — a world overflowing with content, yet one where consumers have less patience than ever. It's like shooting in the dark and hoping that something sticks. And maybe, just maybe, that’s where AI steps in for marketing.

For those of us in the content game (and if that’s you, my sincerest sympathy), we’re all seeking the path to achieve that chemical reaction. Enter Andy Crestodina, co-founder and CMO at Orbit Media. He’s a true alchemist when it comes to content marketing, and in his latest discussion on the CX-WISE podcast, he reveals how AI can give you that breakthrough moment, transforming the way we approach content creation.

Let’s go through those revelations one by one.

The evolution of content value in the AI era

Imagine a world without ChatGPT for a second. A world without the convenience of AI, and a world where we (marketers) would spend hours upon hours conceptualizing, editing, and planning our content.

We would be endlessly scrolling through search engines for ideas, inevitably wasting those first few seconds on ads.

It's hard to imagine that reality was a mere two years ago.

Today AI has reimagined the search engine. Having understood that all we want is a clean, private and ad free search experience, ChatGPT among several other AI chatbots, offers us the ultimate time and cost-efficient search solution.

Efficiency is the most sought-after benefit when it comes to AI-powered content. Crestodina believes that organizations are going to evolve and enter an era of efficiency with AI-powered tools.

When this user behavior begins to shift, and companies paying agencies billions of dollars realize that they can become self-sufficient with AI, the value proposition of the content marketing industry as a whole will begin to change.

But wait, aren't we forgetting something?

What about all the people behind the content marketing industry? If AI is truly the endgame, what will happen to their role? Their experience and their expertise? Well, it's simple.

Content marketers know the business.

AI knows the chemistry.

So, the best course of action: They partner up.

Mastering the AI partnership

Every great partnership begins with a briefing. In other words, getting a good grasp of your assignment. For content marketing, the first step in this 1000-mile journey is creating your ideal customer profile (ICP). Without understanding who you're talking to, how can you even hope to create an everlasting bond.

So how does AI come into play? Crestodina suggests looking at AI as “Another Input” to use it as it was first intended to be used: a tool to help create perfection.

Before we as content marketers turn entirely to AI to create a perfect e-book or blog, the system in question needs to familiarize itself with your brand, your audience and your tone of voice.

Start by uploading your persona, target audience and key demographics into your AI tool. No experiment succeeds on the first try (well, most don’t), so keep iterating. Remember, ChatGPT isn’t called "AnswersGPT" for a reason.

If you're starting from scratch, Crestodina suggests using this prompt to build your persona:

"Build me a persona of a [job title] in [an industry] in [a geography], currently facing [the challenge], who hopes to [the objective]."

Outline their hopes, fears, pain points and emotional triggers. Don’t assume the first result is perfect — keep refining until you’ve crafted the ideal persona.

Once your persona is locked in, AI will understand who you’re trying to reach. From there, ask it to create personalized content, social media posts, drip campaigns and even a content calendar.

Crestodina’s advice? Keep tweaking and experimenting until you reach the “moment of truth.”

Crafting your brand's digital voice

Now that AI is familiar with your target persona and has built a great jumping off point, it's time to use it for some heavy lifting – content wise.

Today, AI is making waves across various creative fields — it can compose music, produce movies, write novels, and, if we let it, potentially replace human effort altogether. But this raises two critical questions:

1. What happens to your unique voice as a content creator if you lean too heavily on AI?
2. How can your brand maintain authenticity amid a sea of AI-generated content?

The answer? If you can’t beat them, join them. Or better yet, harness their strengths to your advantage.

If your AI is familiar with your brand’s audience, you also have the ability to train this system to follow your brand’s unique tone of voice.

The best way to achieve this is by training the AI with previously written content. Upload your articles, reports, style guides and polished creative briefs that reflect your brand’s essence. This method not only enhances efficiency but also significantly elevates the quality of creative deliverables.

According to Crestodina, the future of content creation lies in training AI to capture your voice and craft compelling narratives that resonate with your audience.

Optimizing for impact

With a solid persona in place, along with content that accurately echos your brand values, you are now ready to take it to the people. For a customer looking through the internet, there are various touchpoints in the journey to purchase. In this journey there’s a pivotal moment that Google calls “The Zero Moment of Truth.” This is the stage just before the big decision — the moment when a consumer chooses to delve into research about a product before making a purchase.

Amidst the vast sea of information, your prospect has opted to learn more about your brand, navigating through your webpage. So, what have you done right, and how can you push the lead toward the finish line?

Upon landing on your website’s homepage, they’re seeking reassurance: “Are you the right fit for me?”

How can you, as a content marketer, effectively answer that question?

With the help of AI of course!

According to Crestodina, brands can rely on AI to achieve top tier positioning when it comes to search results. Over 75% of customers don't go past the second page when looking up anything on a search engine. So, the goal here is to rank higher.

Crestodina recommends downloading or exporting the content from your most crucial webpage and then prompting AI with the following question:

"To what extent does the content of this webpage meet, or not meet, the expectations of my target persona?"

(Make sure your AI assistant of choice is familiar with your persona first.)

AI can then provide you with effective strategies to optimize your content, improve its ranking, and ensure that you meet customer expectations at this stage of the journey.

This process can begin even when your webpage hasn’t begun to rank yet. Crestodina suggests copying the content from your webpage, pasting it into AI along with the phrases for which you rank, and asking for recommendations on copy edits to enhance your rankings. By doing this, you can kickstart your impact journey and ensure you stand out from the very beginning.

Building the ideal customer journey

Discovering your webpage on search engines is symbolically the first step toward building that perfect customer experience and hopefully a long-lasting relationship with your target audience. With AI, you have probably used keywords perfectly and have lured your customers to your site.

Here’s where AI can help you seal the deal. Every stage in the customer journey as she navigates your webpage is different. There is a different thought process that goes through every scroll and every click.

The content on the homepage cannot be the same as the content on your product offering screens. On the homepage, your customer is looking for reassurance. Indication that you as a brand have succeeded with other similar customers. As she scrolls deeper, she is looking for solidified proof before finally engaging.

To craft the perfect message at every touchpoint, content marketers need to understand the journey perfectly.

Now that AI understands your persona, tone of voice and has even helped you rank higher in search results, it can help marketers simulate the ideal customer journey.

This prompt could help:

“Use the information from my website homepage (uploaded) to build the ideal customer journey. Describe the customer mindset at every touchpoint.”

With this simulation in place, it becomes easier to craft content for every stop on the customer journey.

On the homepage, your audience is looking for reassurance — with customer testimonials and awards, this could guide him to the next step.

When it comes to your product pages, your visitor is less interested in the backstory of your brand and more focused on outcomes. The role of content marketers here is to simulate a sales conversation on the webpage. You need to present clear points and value propositions that highlight the ultimate takeaway before they complete their journey.

By feeding content from your web pages to AI to help it understand the customer journey, it can craft the perfect messaging that will push prospective audiences down the funnel and inevitably towards the zero moment of truth. All it takes is a little bit of understanding and the right messages to get there.

Conclusion

As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of content marketing, it's clear that embracing AI is not just a trend — it's a necessity for creating impactful narratives that resonate with our audience. By understanding the customer journey and harnessing AI effectively, we can craft content that cuts through the noise and speaks directly to the hearts of our target personas.

However, as Crestodina wisely advises, there's no need to overcomplicate things. In a saturated market, clarity is key; customers crave straightforward communication over clever gimmicks. Keeping your messaging direct and to the point will ensure that your content stands out and meets their expectations.

If you’re eager to dive deeper into these insights and learn more about optimizing your content strategy, watch the full episode below on the CX-WISE podcast.

PS: If something in this podcast episode caught your attention, share it on your preferred social media platform using the hashtag #CXWISE for a chance to win a free copy of Crestodina’s book, “Content Chemistry”