Avant Marketeer Nikki Alvin-Smith Offers Timely Insights For Your Marketing Delight
“Artificial intelligence is just that. Artificial. And for professional content writers, real authors and writers, the human intellect with its innate creative manner and ability to bring humor, humility and anecdotal evidence to fruition on the page or video script, the earning path forward is still a productive one.
Consider AI as a new horse that has just arrived in your business stable. It will only be as good as what you feed it, how you train it and your level of knowledge. It will need constant attention and monitoring. While rote tasks like taking a herd of emails and compiling a decent summary of them to trot out to the next hurdle will be a time-saver in everyone’s working day, AI will be limited in its ability to connect to the increasingly savvy public.
There is much more to writing and communicating than assimilation of existing knowledge, because individuality is key and must be addressed. As an advanced level equestrian, an international competitor/clinician/coach, I know every horse must be treated and developed as an individual. Usually some measure of imaginative approach is needed to address specific issues to truly develop a horse to its full potential, and these directives are born of human empathy, innate intelligence and flexibility.
Consider that no matter how much material on a single business entity or product/service AI combines, there will be nothing discernibly attractive or new about its content. There will be little if any imaginative or creative approach. Ironic perhaps that the heavily promoted software company Salesforce, chose to name their assimilating intelligence system after the great Einstein. Perhaps someone should have first considered Einstein’s most notable quote,
“Imagination is more important than knowledge”.
There is little imaginative in the application’s workings is there? Rather it is built on what it is fed, and how algorithms choose to categorize its content worth built on industry standards. Of course, it is a school-age Einstein, and no doubt it will develop as we educate it.
Be aware that your AI horse will need constant feeding with bucketfuls of high-quality nutritional feed and forage; it will need the right supplements added at the right time to feed its dietary shortcomings. Issues that will need an imaginative and timely approach to solve and to develop despite A/B switching and click testing and other rotational applications. The intuitive aspect of AI is still much in its infancy. The consumer will become very much aware of the usual tactics ( if they aren’t already) of follow-up email blasts and linear-thought processes of how to knock on their doors even as AI reaches adulthood.
To target the whims and fancies of the buying public; the current fashion or climate for a specific product or service; to build trust and transparency in a brand; content writing is still going to come down to real authorship talents. Wordsmith wizardry will always be needed, and depending on the author’s angles, inherent knowledge and thought leadership on topic and a good measure of creative genius, their careers are secure.
It is encouraging for writers and publishers to note that the U.S. Copyright Office has already stated they will not accept any AI driven or incorporated AI materials for copyright. Most book publishers are adding a note on their copyright pages to identify the fact that no AI has been utilized in the works and certifying their compliance with the regulation.
Writers should not be naïve. AI scraping of published materials will happen, but it is not so much different to what already occurs with works produced by bloggers and content producers. Their original works are parlayed by a newly hired writer and they may be abstracted, excerpted and generally manipulated into a pretense of something new and re-published online. Certainly as most professional writers’ have already done, having an IP attorney on cue to follow-up on any copyright infringement issues as they are noted is a good idea. Enforcement of copyright laws still has to be proactively sought and executed but the window for its application is three years.
As a seasoned writer I find it helpful to consider AI as an ally rather than an antagonistic character. The content writers and marketing specialists that do know horses have a distinct advantage over the AI generated materials and ‘one stop does it all’ IT based crews and industry brigades. Those folks that believe they can harness the words of others to capture a market share with content writing without any (or little) actual knowledge of horses, horse folks and what makes them tick.
In fact, when attending a recent PR/Marketing industry meeting at the NYC chapter, the consensus from the folks leading the meeting (that included some truly impressive personages in the world of marketing), was that experienced content writers with good credentials in their genre should expect to see an uptick in their worth to businesses and hence financial reimbursement.
Another speaker noted that e-blasts that issued follow-ups on a frequent and well-targeted basis resulted in some increase in sales, but only temporarily. Because the rate of unsubscribes also increased, and the option of repeat sales from existing customers were often lost in the process – thereby increases CAC and ultimately decreasing ROI. Noting that small, inexpensive product purchases saw a very different result overall and over time than companies that marketed high-value products.
Another significant (and iconic tech) business leader at the event told us that companies that chose to rely heavily on AI were doomed for what was on the books for their futures and competitive position in the marketplace, due to the inevitable generic presentation that would switch potential customers and prospective clients off – a lack of unique identity being an inevitable effect of amalgamation of already produced content.
He encouraged us to continue to work alongside AI to help improve it. But to be mindful that while it would of course continue to develop, it would likely be decades if at all before it was able to offer a complete replacement value for the human aspect when it came to influence in marketing. Surprising news perhaps. As the evening wound down, discussions between the more cynical minds among us noted the statements this gentleman made seemed incongruous given his industry heritage, but there was an overall feeling that as with most things there was an element of truth – as we had already noted in our marketing endeavors firsthand reviewing trackable sales propagation techniques.
Each aspect of marketing reach and strategy has to be thoughtfully developed over time. The reality, as the icons of the marketing industry realize, is still in educational content that targets and captures the attention of the buyer that is founded in an accurate and non-sensational approach. Most businesses want to create building blocks of satisfied clients that will spread news of their product or services through word-of-mouth and online. The preferred customer is an educated consumer, because this customer will likely ultimately return to buy because they are happy with their original purchase.
For business owners that are looking for a new or better direction to build your business visit Horse in a Kilt Media Inc., to learn more about my stable full of marketing skills as an artful content writer, published author, equestrian blogger, columnist, video producer and scriptwriter, film production showrunner, professional photographer, and marketing specialist and strategist. As a British/American professional Grand Prix competitor/coach/clinician I bring unique angles, experiences and thought leadership/authority to my wordsmith wizardry with a proven successful track record in boosting brand visibility and viability.”
About Nikki:
Internationally published writer, content creator, PR/Marketing specialist, photographer and equestrian Nikki Alvin-Smith offers “Engaging Content that Engages Riders to Read,” with unique and fresh material for your horse or pet related business, magazine, website, newsletter, blog, and email-blast sales machine. Her portfolio of works is extensive and includes equestrian and pet features that have been published worldwide in over 260 different magazine titles. Her clients include/have included: equestrian and “B” list movie celebrities for whom she regularly ghostwrites and provides PR services; manufacturers of equine and pet related medical devices, feedstuffs, supplements, grooming supplies, fencing and barn equipment, horse transport, horse structures and professional equine service providers; profit and non-profit initiatives and organizations; and non-equestrian related businesses/publications in the pet industry, investment, real estate and international travel and rural lifestyle.
Nikki Alvin-Smith is a British international level Grand Prix dressage competitor/trainer/coach/clinician. Together with her husband Paul, who is also a Grand Prix dressage rider, Nikki operates Willowview Hill Farm , a private dressage yard and organic hay farm in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The duo provides ‘team’ clinician services to clients worldwide to riders of all levels and many riding disciplines.
Media Contact: Nikki Alvin-Smith: Content Writer; PR/Marketing Specialist
Email: Nikki@NikkiAlvinSmithStudio.com
Websites: https://www.horseinakiltmedia.com/
Cell: 607 434 4470