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Content saturation has emerged as a major issue for marketing leaders in 2024. While content might still be the key to connecting with your target audience and nurturing them through the buyer journey, standing out is harder than ever. Part of the reason for this is the AI revolution.
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and WriteSonic transformed the market in 2023. Soon after ChatGPT burst into the spotlight, a report revealed that 61.4% of marketers were already using it to create content. The right tools can generate briefs, market research reports, and even entire blog posts or video scripts in seconds, making it easier for every business to scale its content efforts.
This means in 2024, we’re likely to see more content on the web than ever before, but less of that content will be truly influential, impactful, or engaging for customers.
Fortunately, thought leadership content could be the solution, giving businesses a new way to differentiate themselves in a saturated market.
While AI might help companies scale their content marketing strategies faster, and more cost-effectively, it does have its downsides. Studies show that 85.1% of companies are using AI tools for content creation, and only 20% believe it will negatively impact content quality.
However, consumers aren’t entirely convinced. 63% of consumers are concerned about the inaccuracy or bias of AI-written content. Plus, a majority of people say AI-driven content can have a negative impact on the relationships they build with other individuals and brands.
As companies continue to struggle in the face of economic issues and dwindling consumer trust, thought leadership could be the key to overcoming the issues of AI-driven content saturation. Thought leadership content helps organisations build meaningful connections with their target audiences, particularly in the B2B world.
One study found that 60% of C-Suite executives say they’ll pay a premium for a brand that has demonstrated thought leadership in its industry. Plus, 45% of decision-makers have asked companies to bid on projects based on the thought leadership content they’ve produced.
Here are just some of the reasons thought leadership content will thrive in 2024:
AI-driven content can be creative, inspirational, and even engaging, but it can’t be brand-new, fresh, or unique. AI tools can only regurgitate information they collect from other environments, like the web. They can’t form new opinions or share unique insights on emerging trends.
Alternatively, 62% of respondents to a LinkedIn and Edelman Thought Leadership study said they appreciate thought leadership content because it analyses trends and insights relevant to their business. 38% even said this content should be speculative, and opinionated.
Thought leadership content allows companies to create pieces that combine personal experience and understanding of a specific market, with news from their industry. The result is that you end up with far more unique, fresh, and interesting content, that stands out from the noise.
Today’s consumers are overwhelmed by marketing messages from countless similar companies, all promising the same benefits, features, and opportunities. As content saturation increases, differentiating your company from the competition with basic content marketing strategies alone is becoming a lot more difficult.
However, since consumers expect thought leadership content to be opinionated, and even controversial at times, it gives companies a great chance to stand out. It’s your opportunity to take a unique stance on a trending topic or look at a concept from a different point of view.
For instance, Elon Musk’s content covering his opinions on AI might not appeal to everyone, but they’ve caused him to be quoted by countless media publications and consumers. If you need to make a splash in 2024, thought leadership content could be the way to do it.
One of the reasons 66% of companies say they believe investing in thought leadership is crucial to their brand, is that this kind of content generates trust and credibility. Thought leadership content isn’t just about promoting your business, services, or products. It’s about sharing unique experiences and expertise that benefits your audience.
Used correctly, the right content can help strengthen relationships with both new prospects and existing buyers for your company. Around 64% of buyers said thought leadership content represents a more trustworthy way for them to assess the capabilities of a brand. Additionally, another 63% say this content acts as proof that an organisation can solve their challenges.
If your company is struggling to connect with consumers on a deeper level in today’s difficult world, thought leadership content could be the key to strengthening future relationships.
While evolutions in generative AI technology are making it easier to produce personalised content, based on the customer data you’ve already collected, there are still limitations to what these tools can do. It’s often difficult for AI tools to precisely tailor your content campaigns to specific audience groups without extensive training and manipulation.
On the other hand, with thought leadership content, you’re free to customise your content however you see fit. You can use your existing knowledge of your target audience, insights from your sales and marketing teams, and other data to create highly unique campaigns.
Plus, you can convert your content into a variety of different formats, from interactive and immersive videos, to multi-stage social media campaigns, webinars, and online courses. You could even consider creating multiple podcasts tailored to different user groups.
Right now, it’s difficult to know for certain how the rise of generative AI solutions will affect search engine ranking algorithms. Companies like Google are adapting their strategy to help AI-generated content rank higher. Plus, many AI content creation tools include features that help them optimise content for certain keywords and consumer intent stages.
However, even as algorithms continue to change, Google and other search companies are still retaining their focus on delivering unique, intuitive experiences to consumers. EEAT, or Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trust scores could be more important than ever in today’s world.
After all, AI tools can’t show genuine experience, which is why so many AI-generated review articles were dropped from the search result pages in the last year. Thought leadership content is an excellent way to demonstrate comprehensive EEAT. Creating genuine articles, inspired by authentic experiences, and human insight, could give you an edge in the future of SEO.
The changing digital landscape presents a number of opportunities and challenges for marketers. With AI taking over the modern industry, there’s the potential to create more content than ever before. However, while content remains crucial to many digital marketing strategies, simply increasing production might not be the right move.
To resonate with consumers in an age of growing content fatigue and data overwhelm, companies will need to take a different approach. Thought leadership content could be the key to elevating and differentiating your brand in the modern world. Plus, in the B2B landscape, where relationships with consumers are waning, it can help strengthen consumer connections and establish authority.
If you’re worrying about how you can get the best ROI from your content marketing strategy in 2024, this could be the time to start thinking about adding more thought leadership to your campaigns.
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