Why AI Can’t Write Your B2B Thought Leadership
This post was created 100% by humans.
We are on the verge of widespread adoption of generative AI (GenAI) in marketing. A McKinsey study released in December 2023 showed that 14% of the organizations surveyed said their marketing function was regularly using GenAI. By 2025, 30% of outbound marketing messages from large organizations will be synthetically generated, up from 2% in 2022. (Gartner)
Whether it’s jumping into Poe to explore blog post ideas, creating images in Jasper Art, or using the tools embedded in platforms like HubSpot to generate email copy, GenAI has forever changed how marketers create content.
AI-generated content has a place, and GenAI sure makes marketing content creation faster. Our team uses GenAI to explore topic ideas, generate first drafts drawn from interviews, edit down lengthy text, summarize notes from meetings, and find or enhance images, as just a few examples.
While it’s tempting to lean heavily on GenAI to produce more and more marketing content, this can backfire. This is especially true with your strategic thought leadership content, as it’s so visible and a point of differentiation for your brand.
With thought leadership, individuals or companies show their expertise and unique point of view through speaking or writing to become more credible and recognized experts.
Risks of using GenAI to write thought leadership:
It sometimes delivers inaccurate content.
The content it generates may not be ethically attributed or sourced.
It can’t produce original ideas and critical thinking.
These risks are at odds with the intention of good thought leadership, which is to offer value and build trust with your audience.
Human-to-human thought leadership
We help our clients reach and engage learning and HR leaders in large organizations. These leaders buy from people they trust. They value intellectual integrity and bold thinking. They are also curious learners. They listen to podcasts. They take courses. And they read.
Real, live humans want to read something truly original from a source they trust–not qualities that GenAI is known for.
Writing by humans, for humans
Human-to-human thought leadership is not about piles of “content,” but sharing a fresh point of view and advice that people will value.
Your thought leadership content should:
demonstrate the unique value you deliver in your market,
showcase your team’s expertise and differentiated point of view, and
be trusted, verified, and ethically produced.
Don’t feed the glut of “look-alike” thought leadership
As marketers jump on this GenAI wave, we expect to see more and more content that looks so familiar that our eyes glaze over. It only takes a quick scan of the expected SEO-tuned subheads to see a post is just B2B marketing clickbait–regurgitation of the same keywords and phrases. Same old content, just from a different source, and maybe slightly repackaged.
Consider. Is all your content designed for the Google algorithm?
Do you have content that serves humans who actually want to read?
How long do your website visitors spend on your content pages?
How many people actually read through a piece of content they download?
Are they getting value from what you produce, or are they just frustrated?
Thought leadership strengthens client relationships
Quality human-to-human thought leadership generates higher engagement by sparking an emotional connection around pain points and burning issues that your audience cares about. It's not a sales tactic to push your products and services.
A great point of view piece can drive website traffic and record downloads, AND open doors to relationships and engagements for long-term revenue. Done well, thought leadership will differentiate you from competitors and get a prospect to take a second look, helping your conversion rates. It also gives your revenue team a reason to reach out to customers.
Related Content: 5 Ways to Secure More Customer Stories and Testimonials
Find your fresh take that GenAI can’t
Whether you are speaking at a conference, writing a blog post, or publishing your recent research, human-to-human thought leadership must be deeply rooted in your personal perspective, experience and areas of work or study.
While every word or idea may not be original, work to make your organization’s thought leadership recognizable as being yours – in your voice, with your stories, and highlighting your personal opinions. This builds trust, credibility, and ultimately, audience loyalty—with those humans you want as your customers.