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ChatGPT for Marketing: How This AI Tool Will Impact Agencies

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ChatGPT for Marketing: How This AI Tool Will Impact Agencies

Once ChatGPT made its debut, the discussion about what it will do to marketing agencies started almost immediately. There have been tons of articles, videos, and podcasts on this topic. As a result, those in the industry are getting a lot of mixed messages about the impact and use of ChatGPT for marketing purposes.

If you’re feeling confused (and concerned for your business’s future), you’re not alone.

So, let’s talk about it…

How ChatGPT Can Be Used for Marketing

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot that gives conversational responses to questions and prompts, making it a valuable tool for marketing purposes. Instead of typing a query into Google and reviewing each result, you can head over to ChatGPT and get a single answer. Plus, you can keep the conversation going to dive deeper into the topic or refine the responses.

Here are some common applications of ChatGPT for marketing:

  • It can help brainstorm new content ideas.
  • It can aid in keyword research for SEO.
  • It can generate ad copy.
  • It can be used to draft business emails and letters.
  • It can provide short descriptions for videos.
  • It can produce content for blogs, ebooks, etc.
  • It can assist in debugging code errors.
  • It can analyze customer data.
  • It can offer responses for customer service automation.

As you can see, there’s a lot of potential in applying ChatGPT for various marketing tasks. But that’s part of the problem—at least for some marketers. The fact that this transformative software can do all the above (and more) has left many marketing professionals scared.

Why Some Marketers Are Afraid of ChatGPT

One of the biggest concerns in the whole debate about ChatGPT is that the tool will negatively affect marketers. There’s a fear it will replace specific roles, including writers, programmers, PPC experts, and SEO specialists. But there’s also a fear it will wipe out marketing agencies entirely.

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Basically, marketing professionals are worried that ChatGPT will make their jobs obsolete.

Part of this is because the applications of ChatGPT for marketing are growing by the day. As mentioned earlier, it can be used to complete a number of tasks that people usually handle. Its current capabilities are already impressive, and it will only improve with time.

The other part is the idea that ChatGPT might become a substitute for Google and other search engines. After all, it is more convenient to generate one answer than to scroll through multiple results on a SERP. So if more people opt for ChatGPT than Google, it could spell trouble for marketers specializing in SEO and paid advertising.

This isn’t the first time we’ve been threatened by new technology, and it probably won’t be the last. But that’s why it’s worth examining what we, as marketers, can do that ChatGPT can’t.

Where ChatGPT Falls Short

Despite its speed, convenience, and capabilities, ChatGPT has its fair share of limitations. There’s no doubt about that. It’s not quite sophisticated enough to take on some tasks completely. Plus, it has the potential to be…well, wrong.

Here are a few examples:

  • The answers aren’t always reliable or available.

If you ask ChatGPT a question, there’s a chance you’ll get an incorrect answer. The tool doesn’t actually know if an answer is accurate or not. Sometimes (about 15-20% of the time), it “hallucinates” and just makes things up.
Additionally, ChatGPT can’t always generate a response to a question. This often happens when you ask about current events. ChatGPT’s training data was cut off in 2021, which means up-to-date knowledge may not be available.

  • It can introduce plagiarism issues.

If you use content from ChatGPT as is, you may end up plagiarizing. Tests have shown the tool has a tendency to paraphrase or outright copy text without citing the original source. Remember that every response is based on training data. So, it’s pulling and distilling information into its own language rather than producing it outright.

  • It often requires very specific instructions.

When you use ChatGPT for marketing purposes, you still have to be pretty hands on. The tool gets confused by ambiguity, so you need to provide specific instructions. Depending on the scope of work, it may be faster to handle it manually…

Ultimately, ChatGPT’s limitations prevent it from matching us as marketers. And even ChatGPT agrees…

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A ChatGPT response to the prompt will ChatGPT replace marketers.

What Experts Are Saying about ChatGPT

As discussed in the beginning, there are a lot of conflicting viewpoints about the use of ChatGPT for marketing and whether it bodes well for us or not. So, here’s what some of the experts are saying…

Karen Hite of Hite Digital

“I think that ChatGPT (currently at least) is as good as the person feeding the prompt to it. Which tells you the tool itself is not ready to make (on its own) an amazing copy right off the bat with just a question… I believe that true marketers will use this tool to make their lives easier AND add to it to make amazing copy that adds value.”

Perry Belcher

“ChatGPT is just the tip of the iceberg of what the automaton tsunami that’s coming quick, fast and in a hurry… For the smart ones of us who grasp these 4.0 smart technologies and keep our eyes on the horizon for what is next, this is an exciting time because we see what is ahead.”

Mark de Grasse of DigitalMarketer

In a previous article about AI’s impact on marketing careers, DigitalMarketer’s own Mark de Grasse had this to say: “You don’t have be afraid of the coming changes, but you do need to be open and aware of them. Start using AI right now, and really start to think about what makes you special as a person.”

Ann Gynn of Content Marketing Institute

In an article about a content marketing experiment with ChatGPT, Ann Gynn stated, “ChatGPT can be a useful tool, but it’s no replacement for human creativity and judgment.”

Dr. Peter J. Meyers of Moz

Soothing fears about ChatGPT replacing Google, Moz Marketing Scientist Dr. Peter J. Meyers said, “While Google isn’t going anywhere, we can expect the landscape of search to change in unexpected (and occasionally unwanted) ways in the next year.”

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As for me, I think ChatGPT is just another tool. It’s something we can use to streamline our efforts and become more efficient. Of course, this is only true if you’re focused on delivering valuable, educational content (and high-quality work overall) for your clients.

How the Use of ChatGPT for Marketing Will Affect Agencies

Ultimately, ChatGPT will prove beneficial for some and harmful for others.

Here’s what I mean…

True marketers and legitimate agencies work hard for their clients. They invest in themselves and their teams, taking every opportunity to improve their skills. And they do all this to ensure they’re equipped to help their clients grow.

Becoming a successful marketing professional—no matter the specialty—takes time, effort, and passion. And despite how great a tool like ChatGPT may seem, it can’t replace years of training and experience. It can’t tackle every task or even deliver the same level of service as marketers.

Why?

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Because it’s not able to do things such as the following:

  • Take brand guidelines into consideration
  • Apply principles learned from training
  • Double-check the accuracy of information
  • Speak to customers’ emotions
  • Create great copy right off the bat

What it can do is help great agencies become even better. By leveraging ChatGPT for marketing, teams can work even smarter and faster. The time normally spent on simple or repetitive tasks can be shifted to those that require a personal touch. And on top of all that, there’s also the potential to work more efficiently while keeping pricing the same.

Just to hit the point home, here’s the response from ChatGPT when asked how it will impact marketing agencies:

A ChatGPT response to the prompt how will ChatGPT impact marketing agencies.

On to the bad news…

For agencies that do the bare minimum for their clients, ChatGPT could be problematic. But that’s primarily because those types of agencies might rely on it completely. And as we’ve already covered, that’s not the way to go. Doing so will just worsen results, cause job losses, and drive away customers.

You shouldn’t run from ChatGPT and other AI technology, but you also shouldn’t depend on it.

Bottom Line

There’s virtually no chance that ChatGPT will wipe out legitimate marketing agencies. If you strive to create high-quality work for your clients, you can rest easy knowing this is just another tool you can use to your advantage. And if applied correctly, it can go a long way toward reducing expenses and streamlining your efforts.


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How To Combine PR and Content Marketing Superpowers To Achieve Business Goals

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A figure pulls open a dress shirt to reveal the term PR on a Superman-like costume, reflecting the superpower resulting from combining content and PR.

A transformative shift is happening, and it’s not AI.

The aisle between public relations and content marketing is rapidly narrowing. If you’re smart about the convergence, you can forever enhance your brand’s storytelling.

The goals and roles of content marketing and PR overlap more and more. The job descriptions look awfully similar. Shrinking budgets and a shrewd eye for efficiency mean you and your PR pals could face the chopping block if you don’t streamline operations and deliver on the company’s goals (because marketing communications is always first to be axed, right?).

Yikes. Let’s take a big, deep breath. This is not a threat. It’s an opportunity.

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Reach across the aisle to PR and streamline content creation, improve distribution strategies, and get back to the heart of what you both are meant to do: Build strong relationships and tell impactful stories.

So, before you panic-post that open-to-work banner on LinkedIn, consider these tips from content marketing, PR, and journalism pros who’ve figured out how to thrive in an increasingly narrowing content ecosystem.

1. See journalists as your audience

Savvy pros know the ability to tell an impactful story — and support it with publish-ready collateral — grounds successful media relationships. And as a content marketer, your skills in storytelling and connecting with audiences, including journalists, naturally support your PR pals’ media outreach.

Strategic storytelling creates content focused on what the audience needs and wants. Sharing content on your blog or social media builds relationships with journalists who source those channels for story ideas, event updates, and subject matter experts.

“Embedding PR strategies in your content marketing pieces informs your audience and can easily be picked up by media,” says Alex Sanchez, chief experience officer at BeWell, New Mexico’s Health Insurance Marketplace. “We have seen reporters do this many times, pulling stories from our blogs and putting them in the nightly news — most of the time without even reaching out to us.”

Acacia James, weekend producer/morning associate producer at WTOP radio in Washington, D.C., says blogs and social media posts are helpful to her work. “If I see a story idea, and I see that they’re willing to share information, it’s easier to contact them — and we can also backlink their content. It’s huge for us to be able to use every avenue.” 

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Kirby Winn, manager of PR at ImpactLife, says reporters and assignment editors are key consumers of their content. “And I don’t mean a news release that just hit their inbox. They’re going to our blog and consuming our stories, just like any other audience member,” he says. “Our organization has put more focus into content marketing in the past few years — it supports a media pitch so well and highlights the stories we have to tell.”

Storytelling attracts earned media that might not pick up the generic news topic. “It’s one thing to pitch a general story about how we help consumers sign up for low-cost health insurance,” Alex says. “Now, imagine a single mom who just got a plan after years of thinking it was too expensive. She had a terrible car accident, and the $60,000 ER bill that would have ruined her financially was covered. Now that’s a story journalists will want to cover, and that will be relatable to their audience and ours.” 

2. Learn the media outlet’s audience

Seventy-three percent of reporters say one-fourth or less of the stories pitched are relevant to their audiences, according to Cision’s 2023 State of the Media Report (registration required).

PR pros are known for building relationships with journalists, while content marketers thrive in building communities around content. Merge these best practices to build desirable content that works for your target audience and the media’s audiences simultaneously.

WTOP’s Acacia James says sources who show they’re ready to share helpful, relevant content often win pitches for coverage. “In radio, we do a lot of research on who is listening to us, and we’re focused on a prototype called ‘Mike and Jen’ — normal, everyday people in Generation X … So when we get press releases and pitches, we ask, ‘How interested will Mike and Jen be in this story?’” 

3. Deliver the full content package (and make journalists’ jobs easier)

Cranking out content to their media outlet’s standards has never been tougher for journalists. Newsrooms are significantly understaffed, and anything you can do to make their lives easier will be appreciated and potentially rewarded with coverage. Content marketers are built to think about all the elements to tell the story through multiple mediums and channels.

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“Today’s content marketing pretty much provides a package to the media outlet,” says So Young Pak, director of media relations at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “PR is doing a lot of storytelling work in advance of media publication. We (and content marketing) work together to provide the elements to go with each story — photos, subject matter experts, patients, videos, and data points, if needed.”   

At WTOP, the successful content package includes audio. “As a radio station, we are focused on high-quality sound,” Acacia James says. “Savvy sources know to record and send us voice memos, and then we pull cuts from the audio … You will naturally want to do someone a favor if they did you one — like providing helpful soundbites, audio, and newsworthy stories.”  

While production value matters to some media, you shouldn’t stress about it. “In the past decade, how we work with reporters has changed. Back in the day, if they couldn’t be there in person, they weren’t going to interview your expert,” says Jason Carlton, an accredited PR professional and manager of marketing and communications at Intermountain Health. “During COVID, we had to switch to virtual interviewing. Now, many journalists are OK with running a Teams or Zoom interview they’ve done with an expert on the news.”

BeWell’s Alex Sanchez agrees. “I’ve heard old school PR folks cringe at the idea of putting up a Zoom video instead of getting traditional video interviews. It doesn’t really matter to consumers. Focus on the story, on the timeliness, and the relevance. Consumers want authenticity, not super stylized, stiff content.”

4. Unite great minds to maximize efficiency

Everyone needs to set aside the debate about which team — PR or content marketing — gets credit for the resulting media coverage.

At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, So Young and colleagues adopt a collaborative mindset on multichannel stories. “We can get the interview and gather information for all the different pieces — blog, audio, video, press release, internal newsletter, or magazine. That way, we’re not trying to figure things out individually, and the subject matter experts only have to have that conversation once,” she says.

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Regular, cross-team meetings are essential to understand the best channels for reaching key audiences, including the media. A story that began life as a press release might reap SEO and earned media gold if it’s strategized as a blog, video, and media pitch.

“At Intermountain Health, we have individual teams for media relations, marketing, social media, and hospital communications. That setup works well because it allows us to bring in the people who are the given experts in those areas,” says Intermountain’s Jason Carlton. “Together, we decide if a story is best for the blog, a media pitch, or a mix of channels — that way, we avoid duplicating work and the risk of diluting the story’s impact.”

5. Measure what matters

Cutting through the noise to earn media mentions requires keen attention to metrics. Since content marketing and PR metrics overlap, synthesizing the data in your team meetings can save time while streamlining your storytelling efforts.

“For content marketers, using analytical tools such as GA4 can help measure the effectiveness of their content campaigns and landing pages to determine meaningful KPIs such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, lead generation, and conversion rates,” says John Martino, director of digital marketing for Visiting Angels. “PR teams can use media coverage and social interactions to assess user engagement and brand awareness. A unified and omnichannel approach can help both teams demonstrate their value in enhancing brand visibility, engagement, and overall business success.”

To track your shared goals, launch a shared dashboard that helps tell the combined “story of your stories” to internal and executive teams. Among the metrics to monitor:

  • Page views: Obviously, this queen of metrics continues to be important across PR and content marketing. Take your analysis to the next level by evaluating which niche audiences are contributing to these views to further hone your storytelling targets, including media outlets.
  • Earned media mentions: Through a media tracker service or good old Google Alerts, you can tally the echo of your content marketing and PR. Look at your site’s referral traffic report to identify media outlets that send traffic to your blog or other web pages.
  • Organic search queries: Dive into your analytics platform to surface organic search queries that lead to visitors. Build from those questions to develop stories that further resonate with your audience and your targeted media.
  • On-page actions: When visitors show up on your content, what are they doing? What do they click? Where do they go next? Building next-step pathways is your bread and butter in content marketing — and PR can use them as a natural pipeline for media to pick up more stories, angles, and quotes.

But perhaps the biggest metric to track is team satisfaction. Who on the collaborative team had the most fun writing blogs, producing videos, or calling the news stations? Lean into the natural skills and passions of your team members to distribute work properly, maximize the team output, and improve relationships with the media, your audience, and internal teams.

“It’s really trying to understand the problem to solve — the needle to move — and determining a plan that will help them achieve their goal,” Jason says. “If you don’t have those measurable objectives, you’re not going to know whether you made a difference.”

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Don’t fear the merger

Whether you deliberately work together or not, content marketing and public relations are tied together. ImpactLife’s Kirby Winn explains, “As soon as we begin to talk about (ourselves) to a reporter who doesn’t know us, they are certainly going to check out our stories.”

But consciously uniting PR and content marketing will ease the challenges you both face. Working together allows you to save time, eliminate duplicate work, and gain free time to tell more stories and drive them into impactful media placements.

Register to attend Content Marketing World in San Diego. Use the code BLOG100 to save $100. Can’t attend in person this year? Check out the Digital Pass for access to on-demand session recordings from the live event through the end of the year.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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Trends in Content Localization – Moz

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Trends in Content Localization - Moz

Multinational fast food chains are one of the best-known examples of recognizing that product menus may sometimes have to change significantly to serve distinct audiences. The above video is just a short run-through of the same business selling smokehouse burgers, kofta, paneer, and rice bowls in an effort to appeal to people in a variety of places. I can’t personally judge the validity of these representations, but what I can see is that, in such cases, you don’t merely localize your content but the products on which your content is founded.

Sometimes, even the branding of businesses is different around the world; what we call Burger King in America is Hungry Jack’s in Australia, Lays potato chips here are Sabritas in Mexico, and DiGiorno frozen pizza is familiar in the US, but Canada knows it as Delissio.

Tales of product tailoring failures often become famous, likely because some of them may seem humorous from a distance, but cultural sensitivity should always be taken seriously. If a brand you are marketing is on its way to becoming a large global seller, the best insurance against reputation damage and revenue loss as a result of cultural insensitivity is to employ regional and cultural experts whose first-hand and lived experiences can steward the organization in acting with awareness and respect.

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

AI and startups? It just makes sense.

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