On Tuesday, September 24th, 2024, WiseTalk co hosts Natalie Stenge and Daniel Zweig were joined by a marketing expert panelists to learn how to use – and how NOT to use – AI for content creation.

Andy Crestodina, CMO and co-founder of Orbit Media Studios, gave an extensive presentation on his most successful prompts and processes for creating content that makes you stand out as a thought leader in your industry.

The discussion covers:

• Which AI tools to use
• Top prompts and a successful prompt strategy
• Creating personas
• SEO and keyword optimization
• Finding gaps in high-priority sales pages

It’s not your typical marketing chat—it’s a wake-up call. 

Below, we’ve listed some of the game-changing takeaways, no sugar-coating. If you want your marketing to thrive, there are a few cold, hard truths you need to hear.

Takeaway 1: AI won’t replace you, but people who use AI might.

The fact is that AI is a tool – one that’s only as strong as the person who wields it. Despite the hype, AI won’t magically make your content perform, and it certainly won’t turn you into an instant thought-leader. 

As Crestodina aptly puts it, “AI might as well stand for ‘Average Information.’ If your content feels like AI could write it, you’re already losing.” 

You’ll notice as he takes us through his ChatGPT strategy that he is constantly “chatting” with the bot; challenging it to find better iterations, and infusing it with his authentic voice and punchy attitude. This, Crestodina argues, is a necessary step that, sadly, far too many marketers skip.

Takeaway 2: If you’re not willing to invest time, don’t expect results.

Marketers have turned their strategy into a race to churn out as much content as possible. This is all fine and good as long as you don’t lose sight of giving value to the reader. But unfortunately, this is an all too common occurrence.

The reality is that there’s no cutting corners when it comes to creating high-quality content. You have to go deep into topics and showcase your expertise. This will always win out AI-generated fluff. 

Crestodina boldly states: “I don’t care about being faster; I’ll spend 12 hours on an article because quality beats speed every time.” So feeling crunched for time isn’t an automatic green light for delegating your writing to AI. Scale back your quotas and focus on quality instead.

Takeaway 3: Generic content is SEO suicide. Be bold or be invisible.

Fact: AI-generated content has flooded the internet, and Google is mopping up the mess. 

“AI is just spitting out the same tired content everywhere. If you’re not differentiating, you’re drowning in the noise.”

If your content isn’t original, bold, and human, it will be outranked by content that is. Strong opinions, real stories, and unique perspectives are your only way to stand out. Crestodina in fact points out that this is a key way that AI simply won’t be able to replace great writing. AI doesn’t have friends, it doesn’t have an opinion, and it doesn’t (for now) have the ability to create supporting video monologues that turn blog posts into a master work of thought leadership.

Takeaway 4: Use AI to do what you can’t.

AI is an incredible tool. Crestodina says, “AI isn’t a threat to great content. It’s a tool to help you create more of it. The real threat? Doing nothing while your competitors use AI to outpace you.”

How? Yes, let it handle persona creation, data crunching, keyword research, and repetitive tasks. 

But if you really want to dominate your niche, learn how to use AI to find gaps in content strategy and keywords in your own website, and in your competitors. After all, the human eye is trained to determine what it can see, not what it can’t. And this is an important gap that AI can fill.

Yet another successful WiseTalk is brought to the table

Our September edition of the WiseTalk webinar series wasn’t just another marketing chat. Crestodina’s robust presentation provided a play-for-play strategy on how to use AI the right way. His bold approach and unique insights – while slightly intimidating – reassure us all that AI is far from replacing human talent and creativity. 

But you have to be ready to step it up.

WiseTalk is a series of conversations on all things marketing and SaaS. To learn about future WiseTalk episodes, follow the WiseStamp LinkedIn page, or sign up to our monthly newsletter, GetWiser.