Content and Gen AI: How Much is Too Much?

Recently, I've been re-reading Kurt Vonnegut stories from the 1950s. And while some of the tech might seem dated, his dystopic vision of automation and AI are as relevant today as they were when he conceived them.

I've always liked his short stories.

They paint a bite-sized picture of the world, with enough detail to understand the characters, what their lives are like and the obstacles they have to overcome.

They capture its essence in perfect simplicity.

Something all marketers and communicators should aspire to.

Of course, it's easier said than done, especially when you factor in our natural propensity to over-tell. That is, not knowing which details to leave out.

As a result, your audiences are left with shaggy, meandering posts that look like they're in desperate need of a haircut.

So they tune out. And who can blame them?

Generative AI: Easier to Spew than Stop

Why are we so attached to more?

There are many reasons for publishing longer posts including establishing authority and improving SEO. And those are important considerations.

But most content isn't overwritten for those reasons.

Paring your writing down to its essence takes precision, practice, attention to detail ...

And time.

When you get it right, you see the results in your audience's behavior.

Unfortunately, the way many of us use generative AI, doesn't help. Prompts are too generic and don't tell the machine what it needs.

So you end up with 2,000 words of jargon-laden AI slop. That should never see the light of day.

Yet, because it's well formatted with no grammatical or spelling errors, it looks 'good enough'.

Plus, you're on deadline and have lots of other tasks to complete so you copy, paste and publish.

And your customers are left with a dull pot of sludge and have to wade through the muck.

How Can You Tighten Your Content Belt?

For starters, re-read your favorite author.

Analyse their sentence structure, the words they use, their tone of voice and style and the overall feeling their writing engenders.

Once you've done that and are ready to craft your own posts, here are three other tips.

1. Don't let AI write your first draft. I'm far from the first person to say this, but when you start with AI, you're adjusting your settings to bland. Write the first draft yourself. It's OK if you meander. You want to get as much of your personality on the page as you can.
2. Love your writing. Then, be ruthless. Trim, restructure, cut. And repeat. Read it out loud. Have another person look at it. Then give it some time, and review and revise it again.
3. Treat AI as a constructive critic. Once you have a draft you like, paste it into your chatbot of choice and ask questions like: What's working, what isn't and why? What are the main points of the article? Could you convey them more clearly? What's missing? You could even describe your ideal customer and suggest the AI read your post as if it were that person and tell you what it thinks.

And just before you hit send, read your writing one more time and consider:

If you saw this piece of content, would you stick around or leave it behind?

Keeping Your Eye on the Screen

Short and sweet creative isn't just for writing, it's for your video content, too.

Right now, generative AI tools like RunwayML or Pika only let you create short clips.

But soon, you'll be able to produce a full video from a prompt. And make changes with voice or text commands.

So it will be easier than ever to fall into the long content trap.

Effective video storytelling is the topic for this week's Digital Marketing Trends video.

I look at the tradeoffs between vertical and landscape video, the benefits of social media stories and how AI can help.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

DIgital Marketing Trends in 2025

As we barrel toward the end of the year, what are some of the trends marketers should pay attention to in 2025?

Join me for a virtual AMA event on December 12 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm CT.

We'll dig into some of the changes and challenges reshaping marketing and I'll offer strategies to adapt.

And if you use the code MARTIN10, you'll get 10% off the registration price.

Here's where to get more info or sign up or you can click on the image below.

Building Relationships with Media and Influencers

Before I go, I wanted to tell you about the next DM Show, Thursday, November 21, at 12:00 pm ET.

Deirdre Breakenridge and I will be talking with talented publicist Robyn Stevens about how to develop long-lasting relationships with media.

Robyn will share tips on how to position your brand as a leader, craft memorable and engaging stories and use SEO, SEM and social networking to connect with media and influencers.

Here's where to RSVP to the free event or you can click on the image below.

Follow Me on LinkedIn

Well, it's been a quick ride to the end of issue #112.

Thank you to all of you who follow me and subscribe, read, comment and share this newsletter! It's great having all of you along for the ride.

This newsletter comes out every two weeks. But between issues, I share shorter daily posts with my take on digital marketing and the latest on generative AI. It's another way to stay on top of the trends.

And while you're at it, follow the Future of Marketing Institute, too. Every day we post content and perspectives on where we may be heading and what the shift might mean.

Let me know if you have questions about any of the videos in Digital Marketing Trends, or my other LinkedIn Learning courses. You can also visit my website and send a message or a question.

How do you pare down your content to its essential length? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

See you shortly ... well, in a couple of weeks.

Note: All the content in this post was written by a human—me and not Martin-bot. The editing for this newsletter is done by a person, Maureen Judge .