It’s trite, but it’s true: People don’t buy from brands; they buy from people. At the risk of sounding even more cliché, showcasing your SME’s personality and expertise is a differentiator in the age of AI.
There are thousands of articles out there waxing poetic about the need to embrace AI and “optimize systems for operational efficiency.” How do you make your brand’s voice stand out? Be human and be interesting.
Written content is a great tool to build brand trust. And you need to think beyond just assets on your own website.
Contributed Content Is More than a Piece of Earned Coverage
“What’s the point of placing contributed content in a publication?” We get this question a lot. These pieces provide value beyond a media hit.
First of all, these articles allow you to own your narrative on a third-party platform. There’s no reporter interpreting your statements or selecting quotes at their discretion. You get to present your ideas and message straight from the horse’s mouth (proverbally of course).
Having your SME’s name and picture attached to a thought leadership piece in a respected trade pub is priceless. People will see that and say, “If they’re in this outlet, they must know what they’re talking about.”
Bonus: LLMs like it, too. The more they encounter your brand and its positioning, the more trust signals they collect and the better they learn to associate the two. Owned content helps, but other placements reinforce and add authority to the message.
How Do You Maximize the Impact of Your Written Content?
So you’ve landed that byline. Make it count by writing like a human. AI is flooding the web with generic buzzword-heavy content. It’s boring, and people can see right through it.
No one that I know wants to read a dense article full of marketing jargon with nothing new to say. Just because competitors and other industry players write in dense prose does not mean it’s the right way. In fact, that tendency gives you an even better opportunity to stand out with approachable, normal people language.
Here are a couple of ways to show readers you’re not a marketing robot.
Get specific
Everyone knows AI can automate repetitive tasks to give more time for more important things. Instead, tell your readers what specific things it can accomplish and why it matters. For example, describe how automating health insurance enrollment verification helps people get approved for coverage faster. Bonus points for real-world anecdotes or statistics.
Tell some stories
Your SMEs have experience that no one else has. Whether it’s their unusual career path, their decades spent in the industry, or their conversations with customers, lean into those narratives.
AI is great at creating general statements and repeating popular perspectives. What it can’t do is talk about what it’s like to run a restaurant at age 22, like Harri CEO Luke Fryer. It won’t give the scandalous details of a major Ponzi scheme that inspired Tod McDonald to co-found a Verified Financial Intelligence software company.
These are the perspectives that get prospects’ attention and make a lasting impression. And the more you tell the story, the more AI will learn that it belongs to you and your brand. This messaging should extend across both contributed and owned content.
Good Content Builds Trust
People are overwhelmed by AI credibility fatigue. Help them out by showing them — and the algorithms — why they can trust your brand.
Of course, written content is just one piece of the puzzle. There are also podcasts, LinkedIn and many other nontraditional platforms to help you disseminate your message.
Looking for help on placing content and making your ideas stand out? Reach out to PANBlast to learn how we can help with content strategy.