How AI is automating writing and marketing messages

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There is a growing trend of using AI to generate content. This can be used to create text, videos, or even images. The benefits of using AI to generate content include being able to create high-quality content quickly and cheaply. Additionally, AI-generated content can be personalized for each user, making it more engaging.

As AI technology advances, so does its ability to generate content. This has led to some concerns that AI-generated content could one day replace human writers. However, it is more likely that AI will simply supplement human writing, providing assistance with things like grammar and spelling. In any case, AI-generated content is already starting to appear in a variety of places, from social media to news articles.

The rise of AI-generated content has led to some interesting developments in the world of online content. One of the most notable is the rise of so-called “content farms”, which are sites that generate large amounts of low-quality content for the purpose of search engine optimization.

Content farms are websites that produce large amounts of content primarily for the purpose of SEO. The term is derived from the analogy of a real farm, where crops are grown for the purpose of harvest. The main characteristic of a content farm is the large amount of content that is produced. This content is typically low in quality and is often duplicated from other sources.

AI can generate written content but it lacks the ability to do research. If you want to write a blog post about a specific topic, you can use AI to help you generate ideas for the post. However, you will still need to do your own research to ensure that the information in your post is accurate.

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have made it possible for businesses to personalize their products and services like never before. By harnessing the power of data, AI can help companies better understand their customers and offer them tailored experiences that meet their needs.

This is already happening in many industries, from retail to healthcare, and it is only going to become more commonplace in the years to come. As AI gets better at understanding human behavior, we can expect even more personalized products and services.

A recent study has shown that AI can be used to personalize experiences for users. The study found that AI can be used to create customized experiences for users based on their individual preferences. This type of personalization can be used to improve the user experience and make it more efficient.

There are many benefits to using AI for customer segmentation. By using AI, businesses can more accurately target their marketing and advertising efforts, better understand their customers’ needs and wants, and improve customer satisfaction. Additionally, AI can help businesses save time and money by automating the segmentation process.

There are many ways to segment customers, but using AI can help you do it more accurately. By using data from past customer behavior, you can develop models that better predict which segments your customers belong to. This can help you target your marketing and sales efforts more effectively, resulting in more business and happier customers.

 

The Ins and Outs of AI Content Generation Tools

Artificial intelligence has become something of a buzzword in marketing, but not everybody is clear on how this technology can be used for content generation. Here are the essential insights and recommendations for how to implement AI-generated content into your business strategy.

Can AI Replace Content Writers?

As artificial intelligence (AI) grows more sophisticated, there is a growing concern that it could eventually replace content writers. AI has the ability to analyze data and create content that is both accurate and engaging. This could potentially lead to a world where content is written by machines rather than humans.

But to understand how artificial intelligence (AI) technology can be used for content generation, we need to first look at the four main types of machine learning and why it’s important. Types of AI

There are four main types of machine learning that AI uses:

  • Supervised Machine Learning (SML) Training an algorithm based on real-world examples.
  • Reinforcement Learning (RL) This involves a machine learning algorithm that learns by doing.
  • Autonomous Machine Learning (AML) This form of machine learning is used to let machines determine how to reach an objective by themselves.
  • Unsupervised Machine Learning (UL) This involves an algorithm where data is used to explore new information with no restrictions.

These different types of machine learning enable an AI to perform different tasks. For example, a pattern recognition algorithm might be able to tell the difference between two different patterns even if it has never seen them before.

AI-generated content can become a viable alternative to hiring or training a team of content writers. Like any other technology, AI can be used effectively for generating content in different ways, and learning how to do so will help you decide if it’s a viable option for your company.

In this article, we’ll look at the different ways AI can be used to generate content including what kind of tasks each type of machine learning can perform.

Nearly 40 Years Later, I’m Still Proud of This Article

While leafing through some old clip files recently I came upon this editorial I wrote way back in 1982 for The Patriot, which was an internal publication for Massachusetts employees of Honeywell. I had long forgotten about this short piece, but in reading it over again I think it was one of the better pieces I’ve ever written. Of course, the story is so compelling that it almost tells itself. 

One of the most pleasant jobs I have is taking pictures of retirees. I meet them in their workplace, snap their photo, and invariably we chat for a while. Always, they are upbeat, enthusiastic about their new leisure, making plans, expressing no regrets about the past. They are content.

Bill Curtis was to be the third retiree I would photograph on Thursday morning. I met him in the hardware engineering lab in Billerica. Bill was due to retire the next day. He was only 55, he told me, but he was well prepared for the future. He had been with the company 15 good years, he said. Before that, he had been a career man in the Air Force, a lieutenant. The combined pensions would set him up nicely. I asked him what he expected to do with his time, and he chuckled, “Enjoy all that money.”

He said he wanted to retire to Florida, that he had bid on a house there already, but he had to sell his

home in Nashua first. I said housing prices were dropping and he said yes, he knew. He would probably only get for his house what he paid for it, but, he shrugged, “That’s life.”

I said I was having a hard time getting him to smile for the picture. He managed a smirk. I told him that wasn’t good enough and he said, “Well, I guess smirking is more my  style.” Then he laughed and I got my picture.

We parted company with a handshake. I told him I noticed there was a retirement luncheon being held that day in his honor. He said he was looking forward to it. I wished him well. He said thank you.

Three hours later, Bill Curtis collapsed at his retirement luncheon. He died within an hour. His friends did all they could, but of course, there was little they could do.

The news spread quickly throughout the building. It touched everyone differently. It touched me deeply. I knew Bill Curtis barely ten minutes. But they were ten minutes of hope, minutes in which he talked eagerly of the plans he had made so carefully. My perceptions of Bill, my impressions of the man were shaped entirely by those plans.

When Bill Curtis died, he was lost to me completely.

When I heard the news, I thought about what he said. I thought that someone else would have to take that home in Florida. I thought it didn’t really matter anymore how much his Nashua home was worth.

I thought about how the film in my camera held the last images of Bill Curtis. I thought about how hard it was to make him smile.

I thought about the few minutes I had known him, and how that made his loss so much closer. What hurts most is that he’ll never know how much I miss him.

Good Music, Cheap Eats, and the Music is Free

If you’re west of Boston (or even if you aren’t), come hear Seven Hills Symphony play at the UMass Medical Center in Worcester Friday evening. As you can see by the program, there’s a little bit of something for everyone, and the young violin soloist is out of this world. Admission is free (a donation is appreciated) and there’s a great bake sale.

Seven Hills Symphony Spring 2018 Concert

 

Can Someone Explain Printer Economics?

ricoh-spc250dn color laser printerI just bought a very nice Ricoh SP C250DN color laser printer from Adorama for the crazy low price of $66, including shipping. The friggin’ think arrived 22 hours after I ordered it. Nice job, Adorama! I was very upset but then I played some video games with elo boosting services to relax myself.

Here’s what I don’t get. UPS shipping on a package of that weight is $56. Even accounting for Adorama’s discounts, that means they’re effectively selling a 52-pound color laser printer for no more than $20. But the kicker is that replacement toner cartridges for this sucker cost over $200 each.

So that means even at the current price of $100 it’s far cheaper for me to stock up on replacement cartridges by buying several more printers, removing the cartridges and throwing away the printers.

Can anyone explain how this industry makes money?

The Most Fun Class Ever

Babson 301

Last week I had the opportunity, for the second year in a row, to teach social media marketing to a group of former NFL players under a league program call The Trust, which helps former players set up and run their own businesses.

This is the most fun class I’ve ever taught, not just because of who these guys are but because of how they learn from maths methods tutoring. The group of 12 was like a brotherhood. They laughed and trash-talked each other and had a great time. They also worked hard, stayed engaged and showed tremendous eagerness to learn. And they’re wicked smart. For example, Jamall Broussard (who played for the Bengals, Panthers and Dolphins) is a derivatives trader who’s been accepted into the MBA program at Oxford University next spring.

I got to spend some time with Jordan Babineaux, who played nine years for the Seahawks and Titans and who earned the nickname “Big Play Babs.” Nicest guy you’ll ever meet. Watch him stuff Tony Romo on the 1-yard-line  in the 2007 playoffs. He’s in the video production business now.

Jordan’s brother John (didn’t get a photo – damn) has a successful health club in Silicon Valley. Leonard Stephens (Seahawks and Redskins) also has an athletic development company focused mainly on kids. Jason Kyle (16-year career with the Browns, 49ers, Panthers and Saints, runs a successful gourmet coffee chain in Scottsdale (check out the Press Coffee Roasters Facebook page; it’s great). Tommy Barnhardt (punter for 14 years with the Redskins, Saints, Panthers and Bucaneers) sells low-cal, low-carb, naturally sweetened foods for diabetics like him.

Other players in the class:

Darryl Ingram (TE – Vikings, Browns, Packers) has a business that connects student athletes to college scholarships. Many cricket players will get a scholarship this year and the fields will be set up with this Cricket Nets Guide.

Freddy Keiaho (LB – Colts, Jaguars) is a partner in a company that builds fine pools.

Ron Mabra (DB – Falcons and Jets in the 1970s) is a food distributor in Atlanta.

Bernard Robertson (T – Bears) has a financial services business.

Todd Scott (DB – Vikings, Buccaneers and Chiefs and a Pro Bowler) runs a real estate services company with 50 properties under management.

Ken Bungarda (T – 49ers) developed trading software for commodities traders and is now building a hedge fund.

Leonard Stephens (TE – Redskins, Lions, Seahawks, Titans) has an athletic training business for schoolkids.

Justin Watson (RB – Rams) owns a fitness studio and wears a Super Bowl ring.

Bernard Robertson (left) and Jason Kyle

Bernard Robertson (left) and Jason Kyle

Jamall Broussard (front), Jordan Babineaux (rear) and some grinning idiot.

Jamall Broussard (front), Jordan Babineaux (rear) and some grinning idiot.

(left to right) Jordan Babineaux, Todd Scott, Ron Mabra, Leonard Stephens and Justin Watson

(rear, left to right) Jordan Babineaux, Todd Scott, Ron Mabra, Leonard Stephens and Justin Watson; (front, left to right) Jamall Broussard and Darryl Ingram

Tommy Barnhardt

Tommy Barnhardt told me social media nearly put him out of business by creating such a strong spike in demand for his Guiltless Desserts that his company almost couldn’t keep up with fulfillment.

 

 

McCarthy 2.0

Khizr KhanI watched Khiza Khan and his wife on TV tonight, again attempting to defend themselves against charges that no one in their position should have to confront – that they represent what is bad about Islam. The irony of watching these two people who have paid the ultimate sacrifice being subjected to accusations of disloyalty turns my stomach. As the post-convention Trump campaign unfolds, I can’t help thinking of the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950s and wonder if this is a distant mirror 60 years later.

Sen. McCarthy briefly managed to convince a large percentage of the American public in the mid-1950s that a communist menace dwelt in our midst. He did so without evidence, other than a secret list of names that he never divulged. His evasiveness didn’t stop Americans from believing him. In a Gallup poll in early 1954, McCarthy’s approval rating hit 50%.

McCarthy played on unjustified fears that were never supported by facts. In the age of social media, you’d think we’d insist on more verification of the truth, but that hasn’t stopped Donald Trump from winning his party’s nomination. Where is the validation that Muslims are a threat to our society? Or evidence that Muslims are any more responsible for the 9/11 crimes than Christians were for the Oklahoma City bombings? Where’s the evidence that religion has anything to do with terror? Terrorists are often fanatics, but fanaticism is a disorder that associates itself with religion out of convenience, in the same way that people who kill their classmates blame social ostracism for their actions when the real reason is the demons inside their own brains.

McCarthy’s case unraveled quickly once reasonable heads prevailed. Let’s hope the same thing happens to the Trump campaign. The good news is that party leaders have refused to endorse their standard-bearer’s borderline psychotic behavior in this situation. The bad news is that they have refused to disavow him entirely. Apparently, party unity is more important than isolating a candidate whose paranoid ravings threaten the party itself. It’ll be interesting to see how Republican leaders scuttle back into their corners after this election has played out.

3 Branded B2B News Services That Get It Right

Most content marketing is currently delivered piecemeal in the form of white papers, e-books, webcasts and the like. While there’s nothing wrong with that, drive-by customers are hard to engage in conversation. What if you could go a step beyond the downloads and become a trusted and even indispensable information source that customers visit every day? Some B2B marketers have gone that. Here are three I think are worth emulating.

CMO.com

This site launched nearly seven years ago as part of a bigger Adobe plan to evangelize digital marketing to a core audience. CMO.com was originally a pure curation model; content consisted of brief summaries of articles and video from other sources on the Web. On other news, checkout this blog about airbnb and discrimination issues with their customers.

The site filled a need, however, and traffic has grown steadily to more than 350,000 monthly page views. Its popularity has enabled Adobe to invest in a growing amount of original content, and even sell some advertising space to cover costs.

tim moranAdobe wisely hired a professional editor at the outset – veteran tech journalist Tim Moran (right) – to oversee content at the outset, and the site has benefited from his steady and experienced hand. Navigation is clean, headlines are well-written and content is timely, with continuous updates throughout the day. Bonus points to Adobe for nabbing the domain. My only quibble is the need to click through twice to get from a homepage headline to a source story.

While Adobe uses CMO.com to build thought leadership, it maintains a strict church-state separation between ownership and the editorial product. Adobe doesn’t even have access to the 30,000-name newsletter mailing list. If the parent company ever misused its popular property it would violate reader trust, and that’s the most important asset CMO.com has.

Cisco Connected Futures

Cisco Connected Futures

Cisco does a lot of things well with social media, from its expansive blog network to its innovative newsroom, The Network. Connected Futures is a little-known gem. This image-rich site features a smorgasbord of content about how technology is changing business and our way of life. It’s presented in a variety of formats, including research reports, articles and podcasts. The podcast library is particularly impressive.

Most of Connected Futures’ articles advocate a point of view, and many are written by influential thought leaders. The theme dovetails well with Cisco’s vision of a future in which all things and people are continuously connected and business moves at the speed of bits. There’s a lot of material here about digital business and corporate reinvention, but a fair amount of nuts-and-bolts management advice as well. The target audience is not Cisco’s traditional CIO customer but board room executives. The writing is lively and accessible.

Why Cisco keeps this light under a basket I don’t know. It gets almost no visibility on The Network, despite having content that is as good as that produced by The Network’s veteran journalists. In companies as large as Cisco, such siloed behavior is unfortunately common. Full disclosure: I am an occasional paid contributor to Connected Futures.

Knowledge at Wharton

Knowledge@Wharton

True, a university has a bit of an unfair advantage in the subject matter expert department, but I would argue that a lot of companies have as many PhD’s and patents as Wharton does. This site is a terrific resource for anyone who wants to know what smart people are thinking about the most important things going on in the world. K@W is like Harvard Business Review, but with a much better web presence.

Wharton has every bit as much a business purpose for supporting this resource as Adobe and Cisco do. It’s trying to recruit the best students and faculty for its MBA program. It does that by showing off the skills of its faculty through a steady stream of articles and interviews in audio, video and written form. But this isn’t just about the faculty. The site always seems to have interviews with authors of the hottest new business books, and it makes them available in every format you can imagine.

Which is one thing I really, really like about K@W – its resourceful use of multiple media. Most Q&As are published both as audio podcasts and written transcripts; in some cases, video is used as well. The idea is to make it convenient for visitors to consume content in whatever format they prefer. The site also hosts a two-hour live radio program on SiriusXM each weekday and repackages that content into snackable podcast segments. I am addicted to K@W podcasts.

Yes, each of these efforts costs money, but each has attracted tens of thousands of regular visitors who have registered their approval with an email address. How valuable is that?

Marketing firm piggybacks on March Madness for fun social media “bracket”

Big sports events are a great opportunity to show off your products and services, particularly if you can apply them to the combatants on the field, companies as SMR Digital recommend using this technique to getting good resutls. Here’s a good example I that came over the transom from Blue Fountain Media, design an online media firm. If you really need help knowing if your services are great, then get these online reputation management services.

The company decided to show off its social media savvy by analyzing the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts of each March Madness team to see how they did with social media engagement, they noticed that many used to buy Instagram followers for their accounts. They researched average engagement rates across each social platform. The result was a formula average engagement rates across each account, focusing only on “owned” accounts (not fan pages)

The results showed that engagement rates for social media accounts owned by brands and teams were very different. Not surprisingly, brands had lower overall engagement in 2015:

  • Facebook: 0.2%
  • Instagram: 2.261%
  • Twitter: 0.02%

These contrasted significantly to those accounts owned by college basketball teams:

  • Facebook: 0.9%
  • Instagram: 6.2%
  • Twitter: 0.3%

Here’s a nice infographic (click on it to enlarge).

March Madness social media anlysis

Five Often-Overlooked Reasons Senior Executives Should Use Social Media

connections-990699_1280“I don’t have time to build my LinkedIn profile. I already get more useless messages than I can handle anyway.”

“Why would I want to be on Twitter? It’s a lot of noise, and no one cares about what I’m reading.”

“I want to be a thought leader, but I don’t have time for blogging.”

Sound familiar? I hear these objections all the time when speaking to top executives about social media. Their concerns are motivated by a basic misunderstanding of how people use tools like LinkedIn and Twitter. There is special value to these platforms for executives that don’t necessarily apply to the rest of us.

To follow my reasoning, you have to understand the concept of “connection points.” These are details of our lives that create opportunities to establish connections with others. We constantly seek connection points in all our interactions because they create a foundation for trust. That’s why the first few minutes of any meeting, even one with people we know very well, invariably consists of small talk about stuff that has nothing to do with business. Finding common ground puts everyone more at ease.

The same applies to online interactions, and that’s why social networks can be so powerful for executives. Here are five little-known benefits to consider.

1. Finding connection points with customers and prospects – Executives typically spend a lot of time meeting with customers and business partners. It’s a fair bet that most of the people they’re meeting with do some research in advance. Because of LinkedIn’s exceptional search performance, a search on nearly any executive’s name is likely to turn up a LinkedIn profile within the top three results. That profile should be rich with connection points.

A good LinkedIn profile is a lot more than just a resume. The summary statement should talk about accomplishments, motivations, passions, and turnoffs. It should also include some personal details, such as favorite sports teams or hobbies. Schools, professional memberships and volunteer activities should also be filled out. These connection points are built-in conversation starters. You never know where a connection point is going to surface.

Customers, partners, and employees also follow executives who matter to them. By updating your profile with new responsibilities, achievements, and publications you keep these important constituents up to date on your progress.

2. Alerting the media – Why do CEOs like Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Rupert Murdoch and Elon Musk waste time on Twitter? They certainly don’t need the publicity. One reason is because they know that the journalists, analysts and others who influence audiences they care about are following them. That means they can reach large numbers of people who matter to them quickly and without the overhead and expense of press releases.

The same applies to corporate executives. As the people who are called upon to represent their businesses in public, they can use media like Twitter to communicate important business news and reinforce the image and culture of the companies they represent to the people who matter most to them. Without the red tape.

3. Cementing business relationships – When Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins tweets an attagirl to his company’s head of executive talent or thanks a customer for a great meeting, he’s doing more than just casting off casual praise. He’s reinforcing a relationship that matters to his business. Compliments are one of the most powerful ways we had to support others and thereby earn their trust. Executives have special leverage in this respect. By recognizing an associates qualities or achievements in public, we not only do them a favor but issue a warning to competitors and interlopers to back off. That’s one of the values of having a large Twitter following. When Bill Gates compliments Code.org on Twitter, he’s giving that organization a publicity boost.

4. Building thought leadership – Most organizations want their executives to exhibit thought leadership, but placing articles in management magazines is both time-consuming and unpredictable. Many executives create thought-leading content all the time in emails and posts on the company intranet. With a little wordsmithing, these can be turned into essays on platforms like LinkedIn Publishing, Medium, and Svbtle. LinkedIn is particularly valuable in this respect, because it has a built-in promotion medium through notifications. And because executives tend to be followed by other influencers, their LinkedIn posts can spread particularly fast.

5. Recruiting – In the same way that customers and prospects research the people they do business with, so do prospective employees. People want to work for people they like and admire, so creating a LinkedIn profile that showcases both your accomplishments and personality presence enhances your ability to reach people who are a good fit for your culture. Conversely, it can dissuade people who are the wrong candidates from wasting your time.

In short, a social media profile that reflects who you are rather than simply what you do creates a trust foundation that pays off in many ways. You just have to look below the surface.

This post originally appeared on Biznology.

Photo by nzchrissy2 via Pixabay