By Caroline Forsey

If you’ve ever stared down a sea of bland AI content and whispered, “Is this my job now?”, you’ll enjoy this master’s take: “The amount of blog posts that are written with AI is at an all-time high… And all of it is trash.”

Ross Simmonds joins us with some spicy takes on experimentation, distribution, and AI. And I promise: It’s not trash.

Ross Simmonds

Founder, Foundation Marketing; Digital marketing strategist, entrepreneur

• Fun fact: He once rappelled down a 20-story building in slacks and dress shoes.
• Claim to fame: Simmonds has done something most marketers would be afraid to even attempt — he’s made the front page of Reddit six times over the last few years, and has helped clients do the same.

Lesson 1: Dedicate 20% of your budget and time to experimentation.

Here’s the thing about marketing teams: We love a good spreadsheet, a strong quarterly plan, and the warm, fuzzy feeling of “proven tactics.” But Ross Simmonds wants you to spice things up.

Don’t worry, we’re not talking about going completely unhinged. “Eighty percent of your work should be low- to mid-risk, but carve out 20% for the stuff your competitors are too scared to try,” Simmonds tells me.

In other words, treat experimentation like guac at Chipotle: It costs a little extra, but it’s worth it.

Simmonds suggests allocating time on your team’s calendar for experimentation in the same way you’d block off a week in the Caribbean.

One way to do this is an “experiment week,” in which everybody experiments with a different channel for a few hours each day — TikTok, Reddit, you name it. The teams then present to the larger org, and everyone votes on one winning idea.

If it makes your bowtie-wearing, type-A data analyst uncomfortable and your creative director thrilled, you’re on the right track.

This lesson is mainly about not falling into the safe zone. Pushing the boundaries and playing bold is the only way to stand out.

Lesson 2: Let AI nurture your leads while you sleep.

I would never waste your time by blabbering on about how AI helps create scalable content.

That lesson has been hammered into the ground already. But Simmonds offers a sharper, more human take: The real winners will be the brands that empower their marketers to create content that’s insightful, data-driven, emotional, and uplifting.

“Content that gives hope and inspires people — that will win amidst the mediocrity we’re going to see across the internet,” Simmonds says.

So, where does that leave AI? Squarely in the lead-gen space.

“The most value in B2B that we’ve ever seen will be unlocked when we allow humans to create ridiculously valuable content, and then allow AI to study the other humans who are connecting with these stories and nurture those relationships at-scale. And then AI can bring those two humans back together to do business.”

Simmonds sees …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron