I’ve been asked to check how our content marketing has performed in the first half of the year and suggest ideas for the next half. Has anyone here tried using AI for something similar? Besides asking it to look at the numbers and share its thoughts, what questions did you ask to get the best insights? What is the best way to use GenAI to help with content planning
I think AI is good at analyzing, summarizing, and brainstorming, but I don’t see it as effective for planning.
AI often struggles with planning strategies, especially with understanding target audiences. I’ve had situations where AI gave me ridiculous responses about my audience, which led to ineffective plans and inappropriate content.
I prefer to use AI during my analysis, like for processing my datasets or texts. But when it comes to planning, that’s on me.
Another thing about using AI for planning is that it might not have the latest data. Tools like ChatGPT can still rely on outdated info, which can make our plans irrelevant to current trends and changes.
@River
Thanks for sharing. In that case, what’s the best way to get AI to analyze, summarize, and brainstorm? What processes or questions have worked well for you to gain insights
Keir said:
@River
Thanks for sharing. In that case, what’s the best way to get AI to analyze, summarize, and brainstorm? What processes or questions have worked well for you to gain insights
My work isn’t usually the same, so I can’t give a standard answer. It really depends on the project. Different datasets might need different summarization methods.
For datasets, I often upload the info and ask AI to create a presentation to highlight some key points. Then I decide on the next steps.
For documents like PDFs, I usually just ask for a summary and refer to the original text for more detail. This saves time in deciding whether I should read the whole thing.
When it comes to brainstorming, I typically give AI prompts that include the perspective, target audience, and channel. Brainstorming is about gathering as many ideas as possible, not just quality ones. AI can help us quickly sort out lesser ideas and focus on the good ones.
But again, everything depends on the specific task. Sometimes, I create content that leans more towards quantity, and in those cases, AI outputs can be quite useful.
It seems like it needs a closer look. What have you personally seen from the first half of the year? How well do you understand the products, focus groups, and outcomes? AI works based on stats and its findings, which might lead to oversights.
Create your own thesis first, then use AI to build on that. Think of it as a tool that needs some adjustment.
Sometimes AI might suggest content that didn’t do well. But if you look closer, it might have had low clicks because your audience was small but still engaged effectively.
A better approach is to ask it for a framework to analyze the data you already have. Fill that out first, then ask your specific questions.
Or you might ask AI for recommendations on what to do next, or if it can create a template to help you figure out wins and losses.
@Skyler
I totally agree
The main question is why would you want AI to handle such an important part of the job
Reilly said:
The main question is why would you want AI to handle such an important part of the job
Actually, the main question is the one I asked earlier
In my opinion, AI can give you a basic setup for what content strategy could look like. However, you will still need to adapt it to fit your needs better. Start by reviewing what’s been done in the first half of the year, see what worked, and suggest strategies that build on successful content.
Yes. I put my details into FolioProjects including goals and what we’ve completed so far.
Then I use the various LLMs for Generative, Prescriptive, and Predictive analysis. The platform shares insights like:
- success likelihood
- risks involved
- skills we lack
- missing tasks
The more suggestions I pick, the better they become because I’m giving it context. Past lessons learned improve the current projects.
I don’t need to come up with the questions; the LLMs account for a lot of different factors. The more info I provide, the better their recommendations get.
Yes, many have used AI to review their content marketing strategies. AI tools, especially generative AI, can provide helpful insights and recommendations based on data analysis. But for planning, it’s better to combine AI usage with human creativity. Use AI for data-driven tasks and allow your marketing knowledge to guide the strategy and execution. Marketing effectively needs human insight and emotions, which AI usually lacks. Understanding the brand and products you are working with is important for a successful strategy.
If you are looking for prompts to help plan your content marketing strategy, here are some suggestions:
- Performance Review:
- What content pieces have performed best in traffic, engagement, and conversion?
- Which topics or keywords have gained interest in the last two quarters?
- Audience Insights:
- What are the main demographics and behaviors of our most engaged audience segments?
- What interests or preferences do users who convert typically have?
- Content Gaps and Opportunities:
- What are the gaps in our current strategy that we need to fill?
- What trending topics in our industry are we not covering?
- Optimization Strategies:
- What are the best times and days to publish content for better engagement?
- How can we improve our headlines, meta descriptions, and calls to action for better performance
No, don’t go down that road. If you hand off this kind of work, you won’t be able to run it or answer questions about it. You need to know your strategy and why you chose it, as you will be accountable for it.
If it’s something you wouldn’t trust a junior assistant with, then it’s not for AI.
@Micah
Fair point. I’m not actually looking for AI to just handle numbers and create a content strategy for me. I want to know the best way to use it to get clear insights from our analytics that will help me create the strategy.
Honestly, it’s not a good approach.
I’d rather brainstorm with my team than plan my strategy with AI. You can’t expect deep understanding or creativity from AI; for that, you really need to push your own thinking.