Artificial intelligence programs are bringing insights to content marketing while saving end users valuable time and effort. This includes AI marketing assistants that are gobbling up data and spitting out key points like which regions should be targeted first and what competitors in the same sector are doing.
In an article for Forbes, contributor Lilach Bullock posed an important question: “Will AI take over content writing jobs completely?” That would mean that yours truly, as well as thousand of other writers across the country, would face unemployment.
We’ll take a look at the current and potential impact of AI, as well as other updates including Google’s Web.dev, in this week’s Content Marketing Weekly.
The 3 Ways That Artificial Intelligence Will Change Content Marketing
When I first read this headline, I thought to myself, “ooOOoo, interesting.” Then, I cruised down to the subhead, “Will AI Take Over Content Writing Jobs Completely,” and I have to admit, I had a moment of panic.
This kind of question (Will [insert technology here] take over jobs?) isn’t anything new, and probably won’t disappear as new systems, platforms and tech of all kinds continue to emerge. However, as Bullock pointed out, since so-called “robot journalism” has been on the rise since 2015, it’s a question worth asking.
Now, AI marketing assistants like IBM Watson’s Lucy are more capable than ever, and can auto-generate news and content on all types of topics. In fact, Forbes reported that the Washington Post published 850 robot journalist-created articles in the space of just one year, and even the Associated Press is jumping on the AI content bandwagon.
But, fear not, my fellow content creators – AI programs might be able to spit out hard news story with a few facts and figures, but Lucy and other AI-powered marketing assistants won’t be putting us out of business anytime soon. Actually, similar to the introduction of AI in other industries, these programs will simply enable us to focus on the more complex topics that will always require an experienced, human touch.
“Rather, this type of AI technology can be used to free up your time and give you all the data you need so that you can focus on creating better content,” Bullock wrote.
Read the full story – including the other ways AI is impacting content marketing – here.
Google’s New Website Analysis Tool, Web.dev, Has Several Reported Bugs
Google certainly has no lack of tools for those looking to get a better idea of their search engine optimization, website speed, overall analytics and more. Last week, the search engine made waves with the release of Web.dev, a new tool that provides an actual grade on a website’s overall SEO. As Search Engine Journal reported, Web.dev includes a 100-point scale based on things like performance, accessibility, best practices and the application of SEO.
A day later, SEJ contributor Matt Southern reported that numerous bugs had emerged in Web.dev.
While this isn’t unheard of, especially for a new software tool that’s currently in open beta, users must still be aware of these issues as they use the platform to support their site audits.
In some instances, Web.dev will identify an error on a website during an audit, but the identified issue is actually a result of a bug within Google’s tool. For instance, SEJ’s own developer worked for hours to fix an error related to the site’s support of HTTP/2 – only to realize there was no error on their site, and the problem was actually with Web.dev.
“If the tool reports an error that you believe to be false, check to see if it’s a known issue,” Southern wrote. “It’s possible that there’s not really an error at all.”
This doesn’t mean that Google’s tool isn’t useful or valuable – it can provide key insights to help organizations boost their site performance and overall SEO. If you find an issue within Web.dev that you suspect is an error, you can report it here on this GitHub forum.
Read more about the issues here. And check out this other article from Search Engine Journal to learn more about translating your website’s Web.dev score.
AR And Social Media: Is Augmented Reality The Future Of Social Media?
AI isn’t the only advanced tech having an impact on the content marketing industry – as Forbes contributor Lilach Bullock pointed out, AR is bringing new possibilities for marketers, particularly for social media.
While many people are most familiar with AR thanks to Pokemon Go and Snapchat’s filters, other social media platforms are taking cues from these forerunners, and AR will soon be popping up more prominently. Instagram, for instance, is bringing Snapchat-like filters to its platform, and Facebook recently revealed its Facebook AR Studio for developers.
Many forms of AR and AR-centered marketing strategies are surprisingly accessible for today’s brands. Some of trends we’ll start to see in this arena include:
- Creating virtual, shoppable stores: Brands will begin looking to build out consumers’ social media purchasing power with virtual stores accessible through social media platforms. This means users can check out products and complete transactions in an AR-supported virtual store, and that these capabilities will all be connected to the brand’s social page.
- AR videos: AR takes the traditional video a step further, offering another, more advanced layer of engagement for users. AR videos provide all kinds of opportunities for brands, including to showcase product uses, or the type of experience users can expect from a service offering.
Video content is gaining popularity, and AR will take this to the next level, providing shareable experiences to help support brand awareness. Check out more here.
Check back next week for more top content marketing news and updates.
