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Will artificial intelligence render content writers obsolete?

A study released earlier this month by market research firm Forrester predicted that automation (robots) will kill 24.7 million U.S. jobs by 2027. The firm concluded that automation and other developing technologies will create 14.9 million new jobs in that same time frame. That’s still a net loss of nearly 10 million jobs. Customer service, manual labor and complex calculation tasks are the most at-risk.

Writing would seemingly be the last jobs robots take over because of “human exceptionalism.” Emotional nuances, cognizance and other human faculties are ostensibly unique to homo sapiens. People craft words that resonate with other people. Star Wars fans remember when Luke Skywalker first met C3PO in The New Hope. Luke asked C3PO about some of the battles he’s seen between the Rebellion and the Empire. But C3PO was programmed only to be a language interpreter. He did not have the functional capacity to tell a story. C3PO apparently received more advanced programming in Return of the Jedi. He sure told the Ewoks a compelling story.

Artificial intelligence technology in 2017

There are already robots writing certain types of copy. The practice is growing in scope. Daryl Plummer, managing vice president and chief researcher at Gartner, said at the company’s Symposium/ITxpo 2016 in Orlando that robots will author 20% of business content by 2018. Budget reports and quick recaps of sporting events are currently the most common types of content written by artificial intelligence (AI).

Financial writers combed through 10-K, 10-Q and other SEC earnings reports in the old days (meaning a few years ago). They took notes in the margins and even did audio narratives of their weeks-long absorption of these textbook-like documents.  Some 10-K and 10-Q reports for large companies easily exceed 100 pages of headache-inducing, cryptic blather. Writers translated the garble and wrote articles that regular readers could understand.

The Associated Press (AP) reported in January of 2015 that it previously wrote about 300 articles per quarter about corporate earnings. The tasks was too tedious to assign much more to financial journalists. The AP formed partnerships with Automated Insights, Inc. and Zacks Investment Research in late 2014. Automated’s natural language generation platform called Wordsmith, combined with Zacks’ research and analytics, enabled the AP to published 3,000 such articles in one quarter. That’s a ten-fold increase in production.

Artificial intelligence and copywriting in 2017

Automated Insights was purchased by venture capital firm Vista Equity Partners in early 2015. Vista also owns Stats LLC. Fantasy sports players recognize the name Stats LLC. as one of the industry leaders in providing real-time scoring for their leagues. The partnership is only scratching the surface as to its capabilities. Stats’ huge vault of sports data and Insights’ AI technology provide endless opportunities.

Scientists at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Hyderabad, India, also married sports and AI in late 2015. A robot “watched” hundreds of taped cricket matches on the ESPNcricinfo website. It also watched the Indian Premiere League channel on Youtube. The robot learned via word association. It matched actions on the screen and players’ names with the announcers’ commentary. The computer taught itself an algorithm to write its own real-time commentary during live games. It was 90% accurate in its commentary. Robots have also tried their hand at writing movie scripts. But the end results didn’t exactly impress the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Successful writers are perpetually adapting to the ever-changing landscape of SEO and content marketing. It comes with the territory for those who wish to remain in the industry. The expansion of AI is simply another challenge writers must accept.

Sports and financial writers’ jobs at risk?

Robots have the ability to view box scores and write intelligible summaries about the game. Fox Sports and Yahoo! have been generating this type of content with AI for several years now. Chicago-based Narrative Science is leasing its natural language generation platform called Quill to financial firms like Credit Suisse and T. Rowe Price. It writes performance reports on mutual funds, hedge funds, and stocks.

The days of sports writers sitting in press boxes, collecting stat sheets from team personnel, and writing recaps after games are likely numbered because of AI. But robot commentators won’t be doing play-by-play for basketball, football and ice hockey anytime soon. Opinion journalism is the norm in professional and amateur sports. That gives human writers the edge over machines.

Sports and financial writers have adapted to this reality. Job security and fierce competition are forcing their hands. Financial writers used to let the numbers speak for themselves. But a human touch is essential in the fast-paced 21st century. It distinguish them from both machines and their human competition.

Artificial intelligence isn’t cheap

Automation is on the wish lists of many companies. It streamlines workflows and significantly reduces the time it takes to complete certain tasks. The reality is that AI is cost prohibitive for most businesses.

The legal industry is bullish on AI for its potential money and time-saving capabilities. But Connie Brenton, chairman of the board at the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, is more skeptical. She told law publication Corporate Counsel in February that AI is not a “silver bullet” that will disrupt the legal profession overnight. Brenton elaborated at Legalweek: The Experience 2017 Conference. She noted that initial costs exceed six-figures in many cases. There is also a 5-6 month time investment before virtual assistants are ready for implementation into legal workflows. Full-time administrators must be hired to maintain the system. Frequently consultation with the AI vendor is also necessary.

Seth Earley, CEO of Earley Information Science, agreed that cost and time investment eliminate AI as a realistic option for most companies in the near term. Earley suggested via Harvard Business Review that the more realistic option for small and medium-sized companies is what he termed “AI Lite” systems. They lack cognitive computing ability. AI Lite is programmed to complete only certain tasks. These systems require additional coding to learn new tasks. But AI Lite is scalable. It provides a foundation for companies as the technology becomes more affordable and accessible.

Breathe easy, writers

Financial writers had job security because few people understand economic regulations, indexes and statistics enough to compose compelling stories. AI is already impacting that segment of writers. The journalistic aspect of financial writing is still a human activity. Interviews with industry experts, CEOs, etc. provide perspective to readers. Journalists have difficulty contacting sources on the phone and/or via email to get direct quotes. Its doubtful CEOs and market analysts are willingly to talk to robots on the phone or via email versus responding to another human being.

AI is everywhere in 2017. The trend is not slowing down whether humanity likes it or not. Robots drive some cars today. But 75% of Americans and a majority of Europeans are afraid of autonomous technology. They would rather drive themselves. An Indiegogo virtual sex robot campaign was suspended because demand was so high. But most (normal) people still favor sex with other humans, not robots.

A 1940s experiment also proved human touch is vital to human life. Note this was before the United States had medical ethics. One group of caretakers was ordered to hold, look at, talk to, etc. a group of babies. The other group only changed the baby’s diapers and fed them. They excluding all physical contact, communication, etc. The experiment ceased after four months. Four of the babies that received no human contact died. Two more died months later even with real parental care thereafter.

Artificial intelligence not ready for prime time

AI is presenting writers the opportunity to better themselves. Writers must be subject matter experts in more industries. They must acquire new skills like graphic design, web design and/or SEO. Writing is innately a human form of communication. It requires humans to craft and subsequently appreciate.

Professional writers know the basics: cite primary sources, use keywords in headlines, hit deadlines, etc. But most importantly, give your writing that human touch. Humans understand and appreciate other human experiences. Adapt or be replaced. It’s as simple as that.

#Happy420: Is writing about cannabis on company blogs still taboo?

The United States is a much different place than it was 80 years ago. The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 criminalized cannabis for the first time in U.S. history. The federal law required anyone who possessed or distributed marijuana to obtain and publicly display a federal tax stamp.


But the process of acquiring the tax stamp was viewed as an admission of criminal activity in a court of law. Doctors and commercial hemp farmers were typically the only people issued tax stamps without much hassle. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the law as unconstitutional in 1969. Requiring defendants to incriminate themselves to obtain the stamp violated the Fifth Amendment. Congress quickly passed the Controlled Substances Act a few months later. Possession and consumption of marijuana remained a federal offense as a result.

Attitudes towards cannabis have changed dramatically in the 21st century. A 2015 Gallup poll found that 58% of Americans supported legalization of marijuana. That’s a significant increase from the 36% that supported legalization 10 years earlier. Eight U.S. states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington) have legalized marijuana for recreational use in that same time frame. Meanwhile 21 more states allow medicinal marijuana and/or have decriminalized the plant.

The legal conundrum between federal and state law complicates matters. A memo issued by the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this month said it will enforce federal marijuana laws even in states that have legalized it for recreational use. Eleven U.S. Senators declared in March that they oppose enforcement of federal marijuana laws in their respective states.

The cannabis industry has morphed into a powerful economic force. The state of Colorado hit the $1 billion mark in cannabis sale by itself in 2016. Total North American revenues for both recreational and medicinal marijuana products reached $6.7 billion in 2016, according to data compiled by Arcview Market Research. That’s a 30% increase from the previous year. Tom Adams, editor-in-chief for Arcview, told Forbes the only industries he’s ever seen experience that level of compound growth were post-dot-com era broadband sales and cable television subscriptions in the 1990s.

Cannabis retailers and growers talk about their primary products on company blogs. But the cannabis political landscape still makes it a sensitive subject matter on company blogs in other industries. Here are a few things to consider before writing about cannabis on your company blog.

Location, Location

National and international companies should not mention cannabis on their blogs. But local and regional businesses with finite customer bases and physical presence have more freedom in this regard.

The above map from Governing.com shows geographic trends pertaining to marijuana attitudes across the country. Companies that are physically located in bright-green states, and have customer bases within said boundaries, should feel comfortable writing content about cannabis. All other should avoid it.

Relevance equals legitimacy

Auto repair shops, toy stores and accounting firms have no business mentioning cannabis on their blogs. But yoga instructors and massage therapists may speak to the relaxation properties of certain cannabis strains. Personal trainers and fitness instructors helping people lose weight may want to discourage cannabis due to what is known as cannabinoid-induced feeding, aka “munchies.” Travel blogs can provide maps and information on the best recreational cannabis shops in Colorado, Oregon and other legal states.

Companies with genuine, business-related reasons for discussing cannabis should feel comfortable doing so on their blogs.

Stick to the facts

Cannabis is a subject that triggers different emotions in different demographics. Most people have hard-wired viewpoints and are unlikely to be swayed by other’s opinions.

When writing anything about cannabis, always utilize original sources. Don’t make claims such as “marijuana cures cancer” without citing reputable, verifiable university and medical studies. Use the same approach when presenting negative information about cannabis, such as “it leads to other things.” Stating opinions on any controversial subject, regardless of which side you’re on, alienates some of your reader base and completely derails the discussion. Stick to indisputable facts and everything else will take care of itself.

Do you have white-glove type content ideas for your company blog that would be best produced by a professional content strategist and writer? Join the Content Coup today! Cut out the middle man and be a part of the revolution!

How much should you pay for content marketing?

A vast majority of banner ads online are completely ignored by internet users. Despite this fact, marketing professionals still pay premium prices for them.

Small businesses that utilize PPC (pay-per-click) ads as their primary advertising source, spend $9,000 to $10,000 per month on Google AdWords campaigns, according to Google partner and PPC marketing firm Wordstream. Marketing directors are willing to pay this kind of money for the prestige and reach of Google (Alphabet) regardless of the well-known drawbacks associated with AdWords.

Data compiled by marketing blog Invesp found that 85% of clicks on PPC display ads come from only 8% of the global internet using population. These dart-throw-type odds for conversions and high prices related to PPC campaigns have not deterred small businesses and their large corporate counterparts. Google revenues rose to $89 billion in 2016, with more than 90% of that coming from advertising. Meanwhile blogging continues to be the most effective, efficient and relatively inexpensive inbound marketing solution that is still (inexplicably) ignored by many small and medium-sized businesses.

A 2015 study by market research firm Clutch found that nearly half of all small businesses don’t even have websites, let alone blogs. Only 36% of Fortune 500 companies have blogs. Many companies, both B2B and B2C, cited cost and time as the primary reasons for not having blogs. Despite the reluctance, more companies are now prioritizing inbound marketing, specifically blogging, because of the obvious benefits.

A company blog with high-quality content provides a 24/7/365 de-facto advertising and customer relations platform that helps grow your brand. Its simply a matter of coming up with a plan and executing it for your company to start reaping the benefits. Writing, like driving, is something pretty much anybody and everybody can do. But everyone cannot be on the NASCAR circuit competing with the best drivers on the planet. The same can be said when it comes to writing.

Companies of all sizes have three choices when deciding on how to handle their blogging needs:

1. Have existing employees write all the content

2. Hire a full-time, in-house content strategist/writer. The salary range for a full-time content strategist/writer is between $81,000 and $115,000, according to Robert Half.

3. Hire a professional freelancer or marketing agency.

The first option is the worst since you’ll be sacrificing the quality and SEO benefits professional content strategists and writers bring to the table. Its best to mix employee content with professional SEO content. The second option is good if your company can afford to bring on another full-time employee. The third option is the most cost-effective without sacrificing quality and SEO.

RELATED: Why choose Content Coup vs. marketing agency?

The 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America report by the Content Marketing Institute found that successful companies blogs with measurable ROI spent an average of 42% of their total marketing budget on content marketing. Using that statistic and the above salary numbers as reference points, here are a few things to consider when budgeting for content marketing.

You get what you pay for

Freelancers and marketing agencies charge widely different rates depending on reputation, writer quality, order size, etc. Compare pricing of different marketing agencies to get an idea of what you’ll get for your money.

Upwork places the cost per blog at $700 – $1,500. That amounts to about $2 per word. A Clearvoice survey found that 40% of freelancers charge anywhere from $100-$300 per article, while 20% charge $300 or more per article. Content Factory has a wide price range, charging anywhere from $80-$950 per article.

Marketing agencies also charge monthly access and retainer fees, which of course increases cost per article. The best freelance writers that demand fees on the higher end of the scale should have a lot of published work samples for you to read and evaluate.

Be Prepared

A freelance writer or marketing agency provides professional writing, research and SEO experience when your content marketing endeavors begin. But you must inform them about the specific needs of your customers.

Why are your customers interested in your brand? What do they like best? What do they complain about most? What questions come up most from your customers? Your writer will read online reviews and social media comments about your company to get a broad feel for your brand. But your internal customer service and sales personnel have the most experience and insight with your most valuable assets. The writer and one of these individuals should have at least a one-hour conversation (whether by exchanging emails or by telephone) about your brand and company culture before the content creation process begins.

The more information writers have, the more targeted and relevant the content will be towards your customer base.

Measure ROI

Increasing web traffic, brand visibility and sales are the obvious goals of content marketing. But the money you invest in content marketing should provide noticeable differences to your online presence.

Quality content results in more social media engagement. Keep in mind Facebook algorithms have essentially eliminated organic reach for your posts and companies must now pay to get posts “boosted.” But you should still see increases in total engagements relative to your number of followers if the content is of high-quality. If one blog post gets more “likes,” shares and comments than your previous three posts combined, your investment is paying off. Writers also need to understand how to use hashtags on Twitter to maximize engagements there.

Another metric to monitor is direct engagements on your website and/or blog. Most people use social media to interact with companies. Effective content marketing should lead to more unique visitors to your website, direct comments, and newsletter subscriptions.

Leads and conversions are obviously the bottom line. But as long as your content is keeping your customers engaged and positioning your company as a thought leader in the industry, it is money well spent.

RELATED: Work Samples/FAQ

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