When you depend on Search engine optimisation and information-based content material to develop your viewers, it’s time to rethink your strategy with character content material.
Informational content material was once the go-to methodology for constructing model consciousness and driving progress. And it was a reasonably easy course of: rank for key search phrases, appeal to internet site visitors, and convert leads.
However with AI’s rising capabilities, this class of content material has change into commoditized — simply generated, extensively distributed, and tougher to differentiate from the competitors. In consequence, it’s more and more tough for manufacturers to take care of a singular voice and stand out in an oversaturated market.
That is the place personality-led content material is available in. By tapping into storytelling and the human expertise, it connects with audiences in ways in which AI merely can’t. However what precisely is character content material, and how are you going to add it to your advertising playbook?
In a latest episode of Advertising Towards the Grain, Kieran and I discover the shift from informational content material to a personality-led strategy. We additionally cowl 5 sensible ideas to assist manufacturers regain management of their narratives and create content material that stands out from AI-generated materials. Let’s dive in.
Informational vs. Character Content material: What’s the Distinction?
Data-led content material — additionally known as ‘academic’ content material — is all about delivering information, knowledge, and solutions to particular questions. Consider property like how-to guides, tutorials, or product comparisons. However with AI instruments now in a position to generate these solutions in seconds (and with much more precision than Google), the sort of content material has change into much less worthwhile and far tougher to rank for in search outcomes.
Character-led content material, however, connects with audiences via storytelling and real-life experiences. This might appear to be behind-the-scenes movies that give a peek into your model’s tradition, opinion items from trade thought leaders, or influencer-driven tales that construct belief by that includes acquainted faces.
Particularly as consideration spans shrink and the competitors for viewers engagement grows, personality-driven content material offers companies a strategic benefit by fostering genuine, emotionally-driven connections and making them extra memorable.
Sensible Tricks to Construct a Character Content material Technique
Concerned with implementing a personality-led content material technique? Kieran and I’ve recognized 5 key ways to assist your model thrive — whilst AI-generated content material continues to develop.
1. Revamp your hiring technique.
Top-of-the-line methods to jumpstart your personality-driven content material technique is by rethinking the way you construction and rent in your advertising group.
Take Mohak Nahta, for instance, a founder within the journey trade. He realized that Search engine optimisation-driven content material that addressed widespread journey questions — like visa functions and logistics — was shedding its influence, as AI might simply churn out that form of data.
As a substitute of continuous with the identical strategy, he pivoted to a personality-led technique and employed in-house influencers to share their private journey experiences on the corporate’s advertising channels.
This not solely made the content material tougher for AI to duplicate but in addition helped the model develop its viewers on community-driven platforms like TikTok.
2. Incentivize your creators and influencers.
Creators and influencers are amongst essentially the most trusted voices at this time, however working with them may be difficult.
Many desire to construct their very own platforms somewhat than absolutely decide to a model, particularly if they’ve the talents to develop their very own channels. In consequence, influencers who’re prepared to collaborate with manufacturers are sometimes both early of their careers or much less established. To bridge this hole, providing the precise incentives is essential.
One strategy is to rent aspiring influencers as in-house content material creators and spend money on their growth. The higher they carry out, the extra coaching and alternatives they obtain.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to appeal to established influencers by providing incentives like revenue-sharing fashions, unique model offers, or entry to premium experiences that align with their private model.
Whichever route you select, the bottom line is to align their success along with your model’s objectives, making certain a win-win for each events.
3. Differentiate in key areas.
As a substitute of making an attempt to compete for internet site visitors in all places, zoom in on one or two locations the place you’ll be able to really win. This implies obsessing over a couple of key areas — whether or not that’s one platform or a selected content material model — and changing into the most effective in these areas.
As Kieran factors out through the episode, the market is much more saturated since you’re not simply competing with manufacturers anymore — you’re up towards particular person influencers, too. So it’s a must to actually know: the place am I distinctive? The place’s the differentiation?
By narrowing your focus, you’ll be able to develop content material that stands out from the competitors and resonates along with your viewers in a manner that AI-generated content material cannot.
4. Personal your content material infrastructure.
Trendy B2B creator advertising must be structured just like the Marvel Universe. For instance, similar to Marvel owns the IP, the characters, and the storyline, corporations have to personal their most useful property — social accounts and platforms, strategic playbooks, content material libraries.
The creators themselves, very similar to actors, can come and go. You might need completely different folks enjoying the position, relying on the venture or the message, however the core infrastructure and model id stay constant.
5. Go deep on experience.
Deep experience is what separates really worthwhile content material from the remainder. At HubSpot, for instance, we’ve taken all of our informational content material, sorted it into classes, and recognized the items which might be essentially the most defensible.
From there, we go deeper, including distinctive worth to these posts in methods AI can’t simply replicate — video, buyer statistics, interactive options — which ensures that our content material stays extremely specialised and distinctive to our model.
Character content material is the way forward for content material advertising.
Character-led content material is the important thing to surviving and thriving within the face of AI. By specializing in authenticity, differentiation, and strategic use of creators, advertising executives can defend their manufacturers and maintain management over their narrative.
To be taught extra about character content material, take a look at the full episode of Advertising Towards the Grain under:
This weblog sequence is in partnership with Advertising Towards the Grain, the video podcast. It digs deeper into concepts shared by advertising leaders Kipp Bodnar (HubSpot’s CMO) and Kieran Flanagan (SVP, Advertising at HubSpot) as they unpack progress methods and be taught from standout founders and friends.
