Now that AI content generation tools are in the hands of just about every person out there, consumers are growing tired of it. The end result? Authentic content is winning in a world flooded with low effort, sloppy AI media. There are plenty of ways businesses can use AI in marketing that can be effective. However, businesses and organizations need to be aware of how AI media can hurt their brand, and how authentic media now holds substantially more value in marketing.
Let’s dive right into this to see why authentic media holds so much value in today’s AI flooded environment.
AI Content Feels Weird
Consumers have recently developed a radar for AI-generated content. You’ve definitely seen it at this point. The overly smooth, plastic-looking stock photos, the slightly mismatched hands in a graphic, or the captions that sound like some pompous English professor is trying to dumb himself down to speak to the peasants (kidding – but you get the point).
When a potential customer sees content associated with a business that came from an AI tool, they’re now filing it away as low effort, sloppy, and lazy. That’s a direct reflection on your organization.
If you are a local business, non-profit, or municipal organization, your entire reputation is built on consumer trust (read more here). When you use generic AI media, you signal to your audience that you’re cutting corners. If you cut corners on your marketing, a customer is going to think you cut corners on your services, too. Not a good look!
Consumers are Speaking Out
Most of us have seen it by now, but there has been a sharp turn against businesses and organizations using AI media. This is especially true when the media is more traditionally filled by creative providers such as drawings, paintings, etc.
Certain people now call this out, especially on social media. There are comments made that are harmful to the business’s brand, and only end up alienating an audience that otherwise would have been open to your brand.
So now you’ve not only gotten a silent cold shoulder, you also have loud and direct opposition to your brand. Ask yourself, is that really worth the time or cost you saved by making a sloppy AI flyer instead of using a tool like Canva or Adobe Express?
Authentic Media Catches Attention
With the pendulum swing towards so many organizations using AI generated content, high quality authentic media is now much more valuable for catching attention and building trust.
Let’s take a quick example. I asked AI (using Google’s Gemini image generator) to make me a social media photo for a coffee shop. On the other side, I made a very quick image using Adobe Express and a real image captured from a photo shoot.
Now imagine you’re scrolling through social media. When you see that first image, your brain jumps to the flyer seeming inauthentic, fake, and bland. This becomes a reflection of the business that posted it. On the right side, even though it doesn’t have all the fancy design elements of the first one, it comes off as authentic and genuine. More importantly, it builds trust and credibility with the viewer.
It took nearly the same amount of time to generate each of these, but the authentic content wins when it comes to catching attention and building user trust. A recent Forbes article showcases this with consumer [1].
The Strategy For Authentic Content
AI content is being over-used because it fills the marketing need of consistent content. However, filling that need with content that drives consumers away is not a good move. So instead, here are some steps your organization can take to fill your content bucket without spending crazy amounts of time or budget.
1. User-Friendly Design Tools
Tools such as Canva and Adobe Express are extremely user friendly and can be used to generate polished, professional content on the fly [2]. They are relatively low cost and can be leveraged for content including logos, flyers, social media content, and more. A word of warning though, these tools will also lean into AI if you let them. AI can be useful for some design elements or design ideas, but should not be the bulk of your content.
2. Creative Asset Libraries
Keeping a bulk bucket of content (photos, videos, graphics) is helpful in scenarios where you want quick media produced. You can generate these yourself, or with the help of a creative media firm (like us!) with a little bit of planning. Generally, having content that showcases your products, people, location, and brand will be helpful here. With this, you can quickly build finished content around the photos/videos that you have in your asset library.
3. Quality Over Quantity
Many of the organizations that utilize AI generated content are doing so daily (or sometimes more). Ignoring the fact that it’s AI content, that’s probably too much content for most small to mid sized organizations. Don’t feel the need to send out content every day through all of your channels. Instead create a few high quality pieces of content that are used over 1-2 weeks, ensuring that they are meeting the consumer needs and interest. Low effort content (including AI generated content) just doesn’t perform well across marketing channels. Authentic high quality content, even when used weekly, performs much better.
4. Pay Attention to the Data
You could spend all day generating and posting content across your marketing channels. Most businesses don’t have time for that, so it’s important to know two things about your content: Which content performs the best, and where it performs the best. If you spend a ton of time posting Instagram reels with low engagement and views but get exceptional click-through rate from an email blast, this tells you where you should focus more of your content effort.
Get The Most Value Out of Your Content
Arwing Creative can help your organization maximize content value. In today’s age of AI generated content, having high-quality and engaging media will make your organization connect with consumers and stand out from your competitors. We have the capabilities and experience needed to design and produce the perfect content for your organization. Our team can work with your organization to find the right content, right channel, and right time for your marketing needs. Contact us today to see how we can help your organization connect with more consumers!