Content Chaos is Coming

(and Maybe It's Already Here): Gen AI Empowered Everyone, Now What?

Gen AI content creation? It’s here. It’s powerful. And it’s now in the hands of… well, pretty much everyone on your team. 

Great, right? 

In theory, yes. In practice, it can quickly turn into a content free-for-all. This newsletter isn't about slamming Gen AI – it's amazing tech. It's about facing the new challenges it creates. 

If everyone can create content, how do you maintain brand consistency, avoid opinion-driven chaos, and actually create content that performs? 

Let's dive into the "now what?" of Gen AI-powered content creation and build a smarter, data-driven approach.

Why does managing Gen AI content creation matter urgently for your business?

Because content is still king, but chaotic content is… well, a royal mess. If everyone’s creating content willy-nilly, without strategy or data, you risk diluting your brand, confusing your audience, and wasting a ton of effort on content that simply doesn’t resonate. 

You need to shift from just creating more content to creating more effective content. And in the Gen AI era, that means moving beyond gut feeling and embracing a data-driven, test-and-learn approach to content optimization. 

It’s about quality and impact, not just quantity and chaos.

The Gen AI Content Flood & the Consensus Trap:

Gen AI has democratized content creation like never before. Suddenly, anyone in your company can whip up blog posts, social media updates, email copy, you name it, in minutes. 

That’s incredible potential… and a recipe for chaos if you're not careful. Imagine this: you ask five colleagues to review a Gen AI-generated draft. Each, armed with their own AI tools, tweaks it, "improves" it, and now you have five (or more!) different versions. 

Then comes the dreaded consensus-seeking process. Endless email chains, unproductive meetings, subjective opinions flying around, and hours wasted debating which version "sounds best." 

Meanwhile, your content is delayed, your brand message gets diluted by committee, and you're still guessing about what will actually work with your audience. 

This is the Gen AI content flood problem – and the consensus trap is making it even worse.

Gen AI empowers everyone to create content, but opinions don't equal results. In the age of content abundance, data-driven A/B testing and performance analysis are your only true north for effective content creation.

From Consensus Chaos to Data-Driven Content Optimization:

• Ditch the "Sounds Good to Me" Consensus – Embrace Data-Driven A/B Testing: Stop relying on subjective opinions; start testing real content variations with your audience.

• Brand Guidelines & Tone are Your Starting Line, Not Your Finish Line: Establish clear brand parameters, but empower data to refine and optimize your voice.

• Measure Content Performance, Not Just Colleague Approval: Focus on metrics that matter – engagement, conversions, traffic – not just internal opinions.

• Implement A/B Testing Tools – Your Data-Driven Content Compass: Equip yourself with the right tools to easily test variations and track performance.

• Analyze, Iterate, and Optimize – Data is Your Content Feedback Loop: Continuously learn from your A/B tests, refine your content strategy based on data, and iterate for ongoing improvement.

Ditch the "Sounds Good to Me" Consensus – Embrace Data-Driven A/B Testing:

Stop wasting time and energy seeking subjective consensus on content drafts. In the GenAI era, opinions are cheap and plentiful. 

What you need is data-driven validation. Instead of asking "Does this sound good?", start asking "Does this perform well?". Embrace A/B testing as your primary content decision-making tool.

Actionable Advice:

• Identify Key Content Variables to Test: Don't A/B test everything at once. Focus on testing specific variables that can significantly impact performance: Headlines, subject lines, calls to action, visuals, even different tones of voice generated by AI.

• Use A/B Testing Tools for Everything (Email, Landing Pages, Social Media, etc.): Utilize built-in A/B testing features in your email marketing platform, landing page builder, and social media management tools. Even simple tools can provide valuable data.

• Set Clear A/B Testing Goals and Metrics: Before launching any test, define what you want to achieve and how you will measure success. Focus on metrics that align with your business objectives (e.g., click-through rates, conversion rates, engagement).

Brand Guidelines & Tone are Your Starting Line, Not Your Finish Line:

Brand guidelines and tone-of-voice documents are still important in the Gen AI era – they provide a crucial starting point for content creation and ensure basic brand consistency. But don't treat them as rigid, unchanging rules etched in stone. 

Think of them as your initial brand DNA, which data can help you refine and optimize.

Actionable Advice:

• Establish Clear & Concise Brand Guidelines (if you don't have them already): Document your core brand values, target audience, key messaging pillars, and basic tone-of-voice guidelines. This provides a foundational framework for GenAI content creation.
• Use Brand Guidelines as Input for Gen AI Prompts: Incorporate your brand guidelines into your prompts when using Gen AI tools. Instruct the AI to generate content that aligns with your established brand voice and messaging.
• Allow Data to Evolve Your Brand Tone (Within Guidelines): Be open to the idea that data from A/B testing might reveal that certain tone variations or messaging styles resonate more strongly with your audience than your initial brand guidelines suggested. Use data to inform and evolve your brand voice, while still staying true to your core brand values.

Measure Content Performance, Not Just Colleague Approval:

Stop prioritizing internal opinions and start focusing on external results. Your colleagues' subjective preferences, even when AI-enhanced, are not a reliable indicator of content effectiveness. The only true judge of content performance is your audience and the data they generate through their engagement and actions.

Actionable Advice:

• Prioritize Data Over Opinions in Content Decisions: When evaluating content variations, always prioritize data from A/B tests and performance analytics over subjective opinions from internal stakeholders. Let the data be the tie-breaker.
• Track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Every Content Piece: Define and track relevant KPIs for your content, such as website traffic, bounce rate, time on page, social media engagement (likes, shares, comments), lead generation, and conversion rates.
• Regularly Review Content Performance Dashboards: Set up dashboards to monitor your content performance metrics regularly. Identify top-performing content, underperforming content, and trends in audience engagement. Use these insights to inform your content strategy and A/B testing priorities.

Implement A/B Testing Tools – Your Data-Driven Content Compass:

A/B testing without the right tools is like navigating without a compass. You need user-friendly and effective A/B testing tools to make data-driven content optimization efficient and scalable. Luckily, many affordable and even free tools are available for SMBs.

Actionable Advice:

• Utilize Google Analytics for Website A/B Testing (Free & Powerful): Google Analytics offers robust A/B testing capabilities (formerly Google Optimize, now integrated). Use it to test variations of landing pages, website copy, and user interface elements.
• Leverage Built-in A/B Testing Features in Email Marketing Platforms: Platforms like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign have integrated A/B testing tools for email subject lines, email body copy, calls to action, and send times.
• Explore Social Media A/B Testing Options: Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn offer basic A/B testing features for ad campaigns. For organic social media content, use social media management tools with analytics to track performance of different post variations.
• Consider Dedicated A/B Testing Platforms for More Advanced Needs: For more sophisticated A/B testing across multiple channels and platforms, explore dedicated A/B testing platforms like Optimizely, VWO, or AB Tasty (consider free trials or entry-level plans for SMBs).

Analyze, Iterate, and Optimize – Data is Your Content Feedback Loop:

A/B testing is not a one-time activity; it's an ongoing process of continuous improvement. Data from your A/B tests is your valuable content feedback loop. Actively analyze your A/B testing results, identify what's working and what's not, and use these insights to iterate on your content strategy and optimize for better performance over time.

Actionable Advice:

• Establish a Regular A/B Testing Review Cycle: Schedule regular reviews of your A/B testing results – weekly or bi-weekly. Dedicate time to analyze data, identify key learnings, and discuss next steps.
• Document Your A/B Testing Learnings and Best Practices: Create a central repository to document your A/B testing experiments, results, and key takeaways. Build a knowledge base of what content strategies and tactics are most effective for your audience.
• Iterate Your Content Strategy Based on Data Insights: Use the insights from your A/B testing data to continuously refine your content strategy. Double down on what's working, eliminate what's not, and constantly experiment with new variations based on data-driven hypotheses.

Key Takeaways:

• Gen AI Creates Content Abundance, But Also Content Chaos: Democratization requires new management strategies.

• Consensus-Based Content Approval is Outdated: Subjective opinions are no longer sufficient in a data-driven world.

• Data-Driven A/B Testing is Your New Content Compass: Let data guide your content decisions, not just gut feeling.

• Brand Guidelines Provide a Foundation, Data Drives Optimization: Use guidelines as a starting point, data to refine and evolve your brand voice.

• Continuous Analysis & Iteration are Key: A/B testing is an ongoing cycle of learning, optimizing, and improving content performance.

Call to Action:

Ready to step out of the Gen AI content chaos and start building a data-driven, results-oriented content strategy for your business? Take action today!

• Reply to this email and tell me: What's your biggest content creation challenge right now in the age of Gen AI? I'm eager to hear about your specific struggles and offer tailored advice on how to implement data-driven A/B testing.

• Commit to implementing one A/B test for your content this week. Even a simple test can provide valuable insights and shift your mindset towards data-driven optimization.

• Share this newsletter with another business leader who's navigating the Gen AI content landscape. Let's empower each other to create smarter, more effective content in this new era of content abundance.

Let's build content strategies that are not just Gen AI-powered, but data-driven, results-focused, and truly impactful. Stop guessing, start testing.